Hungarian Pepper Stew – Happiness Booster

What is happiness and how can you have more? Read Dana Gee‘s “The Real Road to Happiness” to find out. It turns out that optimism is paramount, genetics play a role and having a healthy diet is a key ingredient to the coveted state.

To give you a boost in your quest for great health and happiness, here’s one of Dr. Joe Schwarcz’s favourite dishes—Hungarian Pepper Stew. He is Hungarian and he extols the virtues of this low fat, high taste dish. And, it’s ready in half an hour!

Hungarian Pepper Stew

• 1 T olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 8 Hungarian peppers, long, light green, stemmed, sliced into thin rings, seeds removed
• 1 red bell pepper, stemmed, sliced into thin rings, seeds removed
• 1 large tomato, cubed
• 1/2 cauliflower, cut bite-sized
• 1 garlic bulb, cloves minced
• 3 T Hungarian paprika
• 2 t tomato paste
• 1/2 t sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• a pinch of chili pepper (optional)

Heat olive oil in a large pot on medium, and cook a chopped onion until it’s translucent. Add all other ingredients and cook, stirring occasionally. Serve on spaghetti squash or with fresh bread. Traditionally served as a vegetable side dish, appetizer or the main meal. Good cooked with sliced Hungarian sausage or cooked with a fried egg. Serves 6-8.

Hungarian Pepper Stew Print Ready Recipe

Final notes:

• Thank you, Caryn Roll, for suggesting that I make this original tasty dish!
• If you want a more personalized happiness profile, you can rate yourself on Dr. Martin Seligman‘s Authentic Happiness Questionnaire.
• And speaking of Dr. Joe Schwarcz, you can join the free McGill online course he’s co-teaching, Food for Thought (CHEM181x), to learn the latest about healthy dietary choices.
• Go see the Peter Doig exhibit at the MMFA. My good friend, Sonia Ribaux, did, and it inspired her photography on Clicking 50.
• Don’t miss Nebraska, starring Bruce Dern and Will Forte. Poignant, heartwarming, exquisitely filmed with flawless acting—It’s a giant of a film, dwarfed by all the gangsta glamour movies on offer.