The CookingBites recipe challenge: sweet peppers

I have a stuffed pepper recipe I may enter.

I'm working on a stuffed pepper entry, but it should be quite a bit different than most recipes.

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CD
 
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What I find fascinating about peppers is how they transform. Eaten raw or cooked quickly they are crunchy and sweet. Grilled and then with skins removed they emerge as silky soft with sweet and smoky flavour. They also seem to magically produce a sort of oil when grilled - yet they are very low calorie so it can't be real oil.

Peppers contain an oleoresin called capsaicin. The hotter the pepper, the more capsaicin they have. It is commonly called pepper oil.

CD
 
Here’s my first one:

Recipe - Autumn Giardiniera

Getting it all together:
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Ready for the brine:
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Two days later:


Ok, so it’s pickled vegetables, not a big surprise as to what it tastes like, but I happen to love giardiniera, but I’ve never made it, so when I was flipping through some cookbooks, I saw this and thought, “Now’s the time…,” and I’m glad I did.

First thing that I really like about this is that the pieces, especially the peppers, are left large. I actually split these - the original recipe (using Italian frying peppers) leaves them whole and just pricked with a fork. Banana peppers are my all-time favorite pepper, so getting a big ol’ half-pepper to nosh on suits me just right.

Sharp, tangy, crunchy, makes a wonderful little accompaniment on the plate, or just a good midday snack.

You can see a little separation of the oil and vinegar - just give it a good shake before eating and it’ll be fine.
 
Here comes the first. Peperonata
This is a simple, satisfying and classic Italian antipasto. The sweetness of the peppers is what comes through first, with the glorious mixture of garlic and fresh herbs. The sugar accents the sweetness of the peppers, while the vinegar adds just enough sharpness to contrast.
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Got my mice ‘n’ plaice (😆) for my next’un:

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The liquids (apart from the obvious oil) are white wine, water, OJ, and chicken broth. I’m not planning on serving this until tomorrow, so the peppers and olives won’t get addressed until then, as they’re last-minute additions.
 
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