Say hello to our newest and yummiest organic vegetables, the Yellow, Red, and Green Paprika grown by our friends at Bedugul Bounty.
Pak Liong and Ibu Surya are the founders and incredibly talented owners of Bedugul Bounty. They were both born and raised in Bedugul, an hour north of Ubud. Surya and Liong are from the same banjar (community of families), but didn’t really get to know each other until after Liong gave up on a career in tourism after the Bali bombing of 2008 and returned to Bedugul to take up farming. They married, and shared a desire to go beyond the traditional outdoor farming and limited crop selection practiced by most of the other farmers.
Pak Liong wanted to have more control of his growing conditions, and began investigating growing indoors, in hydroponic greenhouses. This means the plants are grown not in soil, but in individual “polybags” filled with either organic pupuk (fertilizer) or burned organic rice. It’s “clean” farming. The polybags are set on blocks to prevent soaking from underneath, and irrigated by a simple and elegant drip system from pipes suspended above the plants, twice a day for twenty minutes. Hydroponic vegetables grow faster with fewer resource inputs, while the output is still just as tasty and nutritious!
Pak Liong is a stickler for quality, and takes no shortcuts in his building supplies and farming techniques. You can’t imagine how many technical details are involved in constructing and operating a successful hydroponic greenhouse! For example, the transparent roofing of the greenhouses must have just the right glare factor to maximize the precious sunlight which is in short supply in Bedugul!
Liong and Surya use their hydroponic greenhouses to cultivate big, firm, tasty, and smooth-skinned Paprika. Surya and Liong work side-by-side as a seamless team about 5-6 hours a day in the greenhouses. Their two boys, 14 year-old Agung and five year-old Wisnu, both have chores, sweeping and helping with the harvest. The team constructing the greenhouses are all relatives who have known each other since childhood, so it is truly a family operation in every sense!
Paprika, also known as bell peppers or capsicum, are a versatile veggie that you can enjoy in salads, wraps, stir fries, or with your favorite dip.
If you feel like getting creative this week, we suggest making Stuffed Paprika using the recipe below.
Ingredients:
1 cup brown or red rice
4 yellow, red, or green paprika
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 onion bombay, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 avocado
1 lime
100 g fresh coriander
2 tsp cumin powder
1 ½ tsp chili powder
200 g Asiago cheese
Sunflower or olive oil
Instructions:
- Place 1 cup rice with 2 cups of water and turn to high heat. Once boiling, reduce heat, cover, and simmer until all liquid is absorbed and rice is ready to eat.
- Preheat oven to 190 C and lightly grease a baking dish or rimmed baking sheet.
- Brush halved paprika with with oil of your choice (sunflower or olive oil recommended)
- Move cooked rice to a large mixing and add chopped tomatoes, diced onion, minced garlic, cumin powder, and chili powder. Mix thoroughly and adjust seasoning, adding salt, pepper, or more spices as desired.
- Stuff halved paprika with rice mixture then cover the dish with foil.
- Bake for 30 minutes covered. Then remove foil, increase heat to 204 C, and bake for another 15-20 minutes, or until paprika are soft and slightly golden brown. Sprinkle Asiago cheese onto paprika for final 3-5 minutes in oven.
- Serve with sliced avocado, fresh coriander, and lime juice.
You can find nearly everything you need for this delicious Stuffed Paprika recipe in our store! Send us photos of your masterpiece at info@balidirectstore.com or tag us on Instagram @balidirect.
Happy Eating!
