Name: Paprika u pavlaci
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 1 h 35 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Serbian cuisine
Ingredients: 900 g green sweet peppers, small to medium, whole; 30 ml sunflower oil; 400 g pasteurized sour cream, full-fat; 12 g garlic, finely minced; 6 g fine salt; 1 g ground black pepper

Yield 6 servings

Preparation 20 minutes

Cooking 30 minutes

Passive 45 minutes

Ingredients ↓

Overview

Paprika u Pavlaci with Cooked Peppers and Sour Cream

Paprika u pavlaci has several household interpretations: fresh or pickled peppers, peppers filled with dairy, and versions in which peppers and a cultured dairy mixture stand for an extended period. Those approaches are not interchangeable from a food-safety standpoint. This recipe takes the dish in a deliberately direct direction: whole green sweet peppers are pan-roasted until tender, cooled, then dressed with pasteurized sour cream and garlic and kept continuously cold.

Cooking the peppers in a covered pan gives a different result from charring them under a grill. The skins pick up brown patches, but the main goal is to soften the pepper walls all the way through. Piercing several small steam vents reduces pressure inside the whole peppers as they cook. Medium heat matters because high heat can blacken one side while the thick flesh remains raw and rigid. Turning regularly produces a pepper that can be cut with little resistance but still keeps its shape on the serving dish.

The dairy component is intentionally simple. Full-fat pasteurized sour cream has enough body to cling to the peppers, while minced garlic, salt and a little black pepper provide the savoury edge. There is no attempt to induce fermentation at room temperature. The peppers are allowed to stop steaming vigorously before the cold sour cream is added, then the assembled dish goes directly into the refrigerator at 4 °C or below.

Pepper juices will loosen the sour cream slightly during the chill. That is desirable up to a point: the sauce should become spoonable and carry pepper flavour, not separate into a watery pool. Splitting the cooked peppers lengthwise lets trapped liquid escape before assembly. If the peppers are extremely juicy, let them drain briefly on the dish rather than squeezing them, which would make them ragged and dry.

Serve paprika u pavlaci cold, with bread or corn bread, or as one component of an appetizer spread. Because this formula depends on dairy refrigeration rather than preservation, it belongs in the refrigerator promptly and should be treated like a prepared cold dish. A short three-day refrigerated window keeps the sour cream fresh and the peppers in good condition.

Practical

ControlDry peppers before they hit the oil to limit dangerous spattering.
ControlCook until the walls soften all the way through; scorching the skin alone does not soften the flesh.
ControlUse pasteurized sour cream and add it only after the peppers have cooled from active steaming.

Ingredients

Peppers and dairy dressing

900 g green sweet peppers, small to medium, whole
30 ml sunflower oil
400 g pasteurized sour cream, full-fat
12 g garlic, finely minced
6 g fine salt
1 g ground black pepper

Directions

Cook the peppers

Prepare the peppersRinse and dry the 900 g peppers, then pierce each one in several places so steam can escape during pan-roasting. The pepper skins should be dry and each pepper should have several clear steam vents.
Pan-roast the peppersHeat 30 ml sunflower oil in a wide covered pan and cook the peppers over medium heat, turning repeatedly until tender on all sides. The peppers are cooked when the skins are browned in patches and a knife meets little resistance through the thickest wall.
Cool the cooked peppersMove the peppers to a clean dish and cool them before adding dairy. The peppers should stop steaming vigorously before the cold sour cream is added.

Season and chill

Mix the sour-cream dressingStir 400 g pasteurized sour cream with 12 g garlic, 6 g salt and 1 g black pepper until evenly seasoned. The garlic and seasoning should be evenly distributed with no dry salt pockets.
Coat the peppersSplit the peppers lengthwise enough to release trapped cooking juice, arrange them in a shallow dish and spoon the sour-cream dressing over and around them. Every pepper should be in contact with the sour cream while remaining intact enough to lift for serving.
Refrigerate the finished dishRefrigerate the assembled peppers at 4 °C or below before serving. The dish is ready when the dairy is thoroughly chilled and lightly loosened by the pepper juices without separating into a watery layer.

Practical

Serving

Arrange the whole cooked peppers in a shallow dish and spoon the loosened sour cream from the bottom over each portion. Serve cold rather than at room-warm temperature.

Food-safe planning

Use pasteurized sour cream, cool the peppers before adding it, and return the assembled dish to refrigeration immediately. Refrigerate within 2 hours and keep at 4 °C or below.

Storage

Cover the dish once cold and use within 3 days. Do not leave it in a warm place to sour further and do not treat the dairy mixture as a shelf-preserving medium.

Control points

Sour cream turns very thinGuidance: The peppers were assembled while still hot or carried excessive liquid.Adjustment: Cool the peppers first, release trapped juice, and spoon on the cold dairy only after active steaming stops.
Peppers are charred but still firmGuidance: The pan was too hot and the exterior browned before the walls softened.Adjustment: Reduce to medium heat, cover, and turn the peppers regularly until a knife enters the thick wall easily.

Nutrition

Serving sizeAbout 225 g
Calories250 kcal
Carbohydrates12 g
Protein5 g
Fat21 g
Fibre3 g
Sodium480 mg

These figures are approximate and vary with ingredient brands, edible yield, moisture loss, trimming, absorption and portion size.

Allergens and food safety

Contains milk. Use pasteurized dairy. Refrigerate the finished paprika u pavlaci at 4 °C or below within 2 hours and maintain refrigeration continuously. Discard portions that have been left at unsafe warm temperatures beyond the 2-hour limit.

FAQ

Is this a fermented version?

No. The peppers are cooked, cooled and combined with pasteurized sour cream, then continuously refrigerated. The recipe intentionally avoids a warm fermentation stage.

Why pierce whole peppers before pan-roasting?

Small vents let steam escape and reduce forceful splitting or spattering while the pepper walls soften under the lid.

Result: This paprika u pavlaci keeps the pepper-and-dairy character while using cooked sweet peppers, pasteurized sour cream and continuous refrigeration instead of warm household fermentation.

Key: Dry peppers before they hit the oil to limit dangerous spattering.