sweet peppers

bean, tomato, sweet pepper and corn salad / insalata di fagioli, pomodori, peperoni dolci e mais

| Simona

jump to Recipe

bean, tomato, sweet pepper and corn salad
bright colors and flavors on the plate
(placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO)

Our current Cook the Books Club selection is The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd1. The novel is set in South Carolina in 1964. Young Lily Owens, whose life has been shaped by her mother’s death and a violent father, and stand-in mother Rosaleen run away from their home and hometown and find refuge in the house of the three Boatwright sisters in Tiburon, South Carolina—a town that is somehow connected to Lily’s mother’s past. Lily learns about bees, beekeeping, making honey (miele) and about life in an environment that is nurturing — with a dose of eccentricity.

I can see how the novel became a bestseller (and a movie): individual lives play out in a small corner of the American south against the backdrop of the civil rights’ movement. Rosaleen gets assaulted at the beginning of the novel for wanting to register to vote, following the passing of the Civil Rights Act. It’s a bit slow-moving at times, like poured honey.

The view from Tiburon towards the Golden Gate Bridge
The view from Tiburon towards the Golden Gate Bridge

While Tiburon, SC, is fictional, Tiburon, CA2, is a lovely town on the San Francisco Bay (tiburón means “shark” in Spanish). I ride my bicycle through the town fairly often. The view from the bay front is spectacular. On a day without fog you can see the Golden Gate Bridge. When there is fog you can get a portion of it, like in the photo above, or you see nothing at all. From Tiburon, you can take the ferry (traghetto) to Angel Island. The U.S. Immigration Station, in operation between 1910 and 1940, was on the island, which is now a State Park3.

Given the novel’s setting, I should have been inspired to prepare something with honey, but instead I went with the color yellow and chose sweet corn. Freshly harvested Coco Nero beans in their pod at the farmers’ market4 plus seasonal delights like tomatoes and sweet peppers pointed towards a nice salad and that’s what I prepared.

farm fresh vegetables
vegetable composition with Coco nero beans
(placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO)

The salad requires some planning as the beans, sweet peppers and sweet corn must be cooked beforehand. The recipe can be easily doubled.

Print-friendly version of briciole’s recipe for Bean, tomato, sweet pepper and corn salad

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 pound / 225 grams Coco Nero beans in the pod, about 4 ounces / 113 g shelled
  • 1 cup / 240 ml water
  • 1/4 small onion, halved
  • 1 small garlic clove, peeled
  • 1/2 bay leaf
  • 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 3 ounces / 85 grams roasted sweet peppers or bell peppers (recipe below)
  • 3 ounces / 85 grams roasted sweet corn (recipe below)
  • 4 ounces / 113 grams tomatoes, slicing or small heirlooms
  • 1/2 ripe avocado
  • 1 teaspoon fresh lemon or lime juice
  • 1 tablespoon minced shallot
  • 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt, or to taste
  • 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Notes: For efficiency’s sake, I suggest shelling more beans and freeze what you don’t need for future use. Same for sweet peppers and sweet corn: you can use them right away in other dishes or freeze them for future use. Beans sold still in the pod require less water and less cooking time than dry beans.

I recommend roasting

  • at least 2 fresh ears of corn, still in their husks and with silks attached (otherwise wrap them in foil before roasting)
  • at least 1/2 pound / 8 ounces / 225 grams sweet peppers (choose a meaty variety)

Cook the beans
Place the beans in a saucepan with the water, onion, garlic, bay leaf and salt. Bring the water to a lively boil, then turn down the heat and let the beans simmer, covered, until they are tender. Taste them after 20 minutes and estimate if/how much longer they should cook. Check the beans at regular intervals and add some hot water, if needed to keep all the beans moist.

Let the beans cool in their cooking broth (pan uncovered), then remove the aromatics and discard them. Let the beans rest in their broth until ready to use.

Roast the corn
Heat the oven to 450 F / 230 C.

Place the corn on a baking sheet leaving a bit of space between the ears and roast for 20 minutes. Let the ears cool briefly, then remove the husks and silks.

Working in a shallow bowl or dish, stand the corn vertically and use a knife to cut the kernels and scrapings from the cob. (Save the empty cobs to make stock or broth.) Weigh the necessary amount, toss with a fork to separate the kernels, and set aside.

Roast the peppers
Heat the oven to 375 F / 190 C.

Place the peppers on a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat or aluminum foil. Roast for 15 minutes, then turn the peppers 90 or 180 degrees, depending on their width.

Roast for 15 more minutes, then turn the peppers. Repeat after 10 minutes. Continue roasting until they are ready, i.e., when the skin has turned dark and is detaching in places. (The time depends on the type and size of peppers.)

Put the peppers in a sealed container or paper bag to steam, then peel off skin, discard stem and seeds, and the liquid they release. Weigh the necessary amount, dice and set aside.

Assemble the salad
Drain the beans and place them in a small salad bowl. (Set aside the cooking liquid for use in a soup or stew.)

Add the sweet peppers and corn to the beans. Chop the tomatoes and add to the bowl.

Scoop the avocado flesh into a ramekin and mash well with the lemon or lime juice. Spoon over the salad and toss.

Add the minced shallot and fresh parsley and toss briefly. Sprinkle sea salt and black pepper on the salad and toss one last time.

Refrigerate the salad an hour or so, then take it out of the refrigerator ahead of serving it so it is not too cold. The salad is best consumed the day it is assembled.

Store any leftover salad in the refrigerator and consume within a day.

Serves 2

1 The book page on the author’s website.
2 Wikipedia: Tiburon, California
3 Angel Island State Park. To learn more about the immigration station and the people who were detained and processed there, visit the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation website, which includes virtual exhibits.
4 Thanks to Star Route Farms farm in Bolinas for growing special produce including the Coco Nero beans

Click on the Play button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post

Cook the Books logoThis is my contribution to the current selection of our Cook the Books hosted by Debra of Eliot’s Eats. (You can find the guidelines for participating in the event on this page.)

The roundup of the event.

FTC disclosure: I have received the table linen free of charge from the manufacturer (la FABBRICA del LINO). I have not and will not receive any monetary compensation for presenting it on my blog. The experience shared and the opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own.

Copyright © 2007 – 2026 Simona Carini. All rights reserved.

sweet pepper, onion and zucchini tart / torta salata con peperoni dolci, cipolle e zucchine

| Simona
sweet pepper, onion and zucchini tart / IMG_1261

a favorite dinner fare
(linen by La FABBRICA del LINO)

At a conference this past February I met author Anne Perry and a few days later to I found myself in a bookstore that had a copy of The Cater Street Hangman, first book of the Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series1. The coincidence was too tempting to resist. I liked the book so much that I read the following three novels in the series: Callander Square, Paragon Walk and Resurrection Row.

Besides being good mysteries, the novels attract me because of their setting: Victorian England. They look at the life of that time with a modern sensitivity. The author explains some situations, because she knows that her readers are not familiar with the social norms of the time, for example the uneasy relationship between upper class people and the Police, some of the norms regulating the movements of servants inside the house where they work.

Thomas Pitt is a police inspector in London. In the course of the investigation at the center of The Cater Street Hangman, Pitt meets Charlotte Ellison, who belongs to an upper-class family. Given that the series is called "Charlotte and Thomas Pitt" you can imagine at least one of the things that happens in that novel, but there is a lot more involving in different ways Charlotte's two sisters, Sarah and Emily. As is usually the case with mysteries, it is difficult to provide details without spoiling the surprise for readers, so I will not say more.

The immediate inspiration for the recipe I provide below is Charlotte's adventures in the kitchen. Raised in a house where the cook and her assistants took care of purchasing food and preparing meals, Charlotte goes through a learning curve as she becomes responsible for both activities in the Pitt household, since her husband's salary does not allow them to have a maid. (Thomas is keenly aware of the situation and shows deep appreciation for his wife's efforts.)

One of the dishes Charlotte sets about to learn to make is the traditional savory English pie. She waits to cut it until her husband comes back home tired and ready to push aside the day's worries to spend some time with his wife (and later their daughter, Jemima). Charlotte's attitude is positive: she does her best, sees where she must improve, and moves forward. And yes, she is more into helping her husband in solving his cases than in mastering cooking, but she does both with positive energy.

I am not married to a detective, nor do I aspire to detective work, but approach my cooking projects with enthusiasm and determination. The latter is particularly useful when what comes out of the oven or a pot is not exactly what I expected. I take notes and revise the plan for the next iteration.

I prefer tarts over pies, so with a nod to Charlotte Pitt, I created a recipe for savory tart using a gluten-free crust made of ground cashews (anacardi), coconut flour (farina di cocco) and butter (burro), which is a variation on the recipe for Coconut Quiche Base from the book The Ketogenic Kitchen by Domini Kemp and Patricia Daly2. I am not following a ketogenic diet, but I like a lot of recipes in the book. My changes to the original have mostly to do with reducing the quantities to make a thinner crust, but also with the preparation.

sweet peppers / IMG_4982

sweet looking and tasting

Once I had the crust, I started experimenting with fillings and given the season, I reached for sweet peppers and zucchini, both abundant at the various farmers' markets where I shop. I described my favorite recipe for preparing those vegetables in a previous post3. I doubled the quantities, because I wanted a vegetable-rich tart. The addition of cheese makes it basically a complete meal. (I use my homemade fresh chèvre.)

The crust can be made and baked ahead. The vegetables can be cooked ahead as well. Assembling the tart and baking it can be done close to mealtime. The ability to prepare the dish in steps is another characteristics that makes it appealing. 

peppers, zucchini and onion / IMG_1258

hurrah for colorful vegetables

Print-friendly version of briciole's recipe for Sweet pepper, onion and zucchini tart

Ingredients:

For the crust:

  • 60 g raw cashews
  • 55 g coconut flour
  • 1/8 teaspoon Harissa spice mix or sweet paprika
  • A pinch of salt
  • 55 g cold unsalted butter

For the filling:

  • 4 tablespoons / 60 ml extra-virgin olive oil
  • 10 ounces / 280 g sweet onions, like cipollini or walla walla
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/2 teaspoon Harissa spice mix
  • 14 ounces / 400 g sweet Italian peppers
  • 12 ounces / 340 g zucchini
  • Fine sea salt, to taste
  • 2 ounces / 55 g fresh chèvre
  • 3/4 ounce / 20 g freshly grated cheese, like manchego or cheddar

Prepare the crust
Put the cashews, coconut flour, spices and salt in a food processor and process until the cashews are finely ground. Add the butter cut into small cubes and pulse briefly a few times until the mixture resembles coarse meal.

To bake the tart, I recommend using a 9 or 9 1/2-inch / 23-24 cm fluted round tart pan with removable bottom, about 1 inch / 2.5 cm high, optionally lined with a circle or parchment paper (the buttery crust does not stick to the bottom, but as I cut it in the pan, the paper helps protect the metal surface from scratching).

Preheat the oven to 350 F / 177 C.

Put the crust mix in the tart pan and shake to distribute evenly. Press the mix to make an even layer all around. The butter should be soft enough at this point to allow you to easily shape the mix with your hands. Otherwise, wait a little bit. To keep my fingers less oily, I prefer the butter not to be completely soft.

Bake for 9-12 minutes, until the crust turns golden at the edge (see photo below). Take out of the oven and set aside until ready to assemble the tart.

blind-baked cashew and coconut crust / IMG_1259

partially baked tart crust
(linen by La FABBRICA del LINO)

Prepare the filling
Slice the onions lengthwise into thin sections no wider than 1/4 inch / 1/2 cm and separate the layers so you have short ribbons.

Cut the peppers lengthwise. Carve out and discard the stem portion, and the seeds and ribbing inside. Cut each half in half crosswise and finally slice each piece into short ribbons no wider than 1/4 inch / 1/2 cm.

Trim zucchini top and bottom, quarter lengthwise, then cut into 1/8 inch / 3 mm slices.

Warm up the olive oil in a large skillet (I use a cast-iron one). Add the onion to the skillet, stir to coat and let cook on medium-low heat for a couple of minutes, then add the garlic. Continue cooking, stirring every now and then.

Five minutes after you started cooking the onion, sprinkle the spice mix and stir well, then add the peppers, stir and continue cooking, stirring every now and then.

Five minutes later, add the zucchini, stir and cook for a couple of minutes. Cover and cook on gentle heat until the peppers are of the desired tenderness (20-25 minutes). Every few minutes, uncover and stir.

When the peppers are ready, sprinkle the salt, adjusting the amount to your taste and stir, then remove the pan from the heat. Let cool, then add the chèvre and stir well to distribute it evenly.

IMG_1260

ready for the oven

Assemble and bake the tart
Preheat the oven to 350 F / 177 C.

Transfer the filling on the prepared crust and distribute it evenly. Sprinkle the grated cheese on top.

Bake for 30-32 minutes. Take out of the oven, slice and serve right away. Serves 4-8.

I cut the tart in the pan. The crust is crumbly and as a result the plating may not be pretty, but the first bite of the tart will make you forget everything else.

Once you have tried making the tart and decided that you like it, you can certainly play with the filling, particularly as sweet pepper and zucchini season is coming to an end on the Northern hemisphere. I have successfully used grated carrots (carote) and shredded cabbage (cavolo cappuccio) as alternative and the result has always been excellent.

1 Anne Perry's website and the page devoted to the Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series
2 The book's website
3 Post including my recipe for Sweet peppers with onions and zucchini

Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post

torta salata con peperoni dolci, cipolle e zucchine

or launch the torta salata con peperoni dolci, cipolle e zucchine audio file

Small_NFlogoThis is my second contribution to the 34th edition of Novel Food, the literary/culinary event that Lisa of Champaign Taste and I started some time ago and that I continue to host.

The roundup of the event.

Fr2018-150I am also contributing to the October edition of Foodies Read the reading/cooking event hosted by Heather of Based on a True Story.

Visit the linkup page to see what others have read and cooked.

FTC disclosure: I have received the linen free of charge from the manufacturer (la FABBRICA del LINO). I have not and will not receive any monetary compensation for presenting it on my blog. The experience shared and the opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own.

sweet peppers, Italian peppers, onion, zucchini, tart, gluten free, cashews, coconut flour

recipe: sweet pepper, onion and zucchini tart

| Simona

Print Friendly and PDF
 

sweet peppers with onion and zucchini / peperoni dolci con cipolle e zucchine

| Simona
sweet peppers with onion and zucchini / DSC_8005

a skillet of goodies
(tablecloth by La FABBRICA del LINO)

In the bookstore ostensibly to get a guidebook, I stumbled on Norwegian by Night by Derek. B. Miller1. Anything related to Norway (Norvegia) gets my attention. A quick look at the book jacket made me decide to purchase it. I started reading it and the story grabbed me right away.

One one level it is a crime story, set in Oslo. On another level it is the story of an elderly man coming to terms with his life, in particular the death of his only son in the Vietnam War. And on yet another level it is the dramatic and funny story of an adventurous escape. All with a generous seasoning of quirky wisdom. The protagonist, Sheldon Horowitz, is a widower who finds himself transplanted from New York to Oslo, where his granddaughter lives with her Norwegian husband. 

Summarizing the story in a few lines is difficult, as there are several threads and I don't want to spoil the enjoyment of whoever decides to dive into the book. Suffice here to say that Sheldon finds himself on the run with a young boy whose mother has been murdered by his father. The situation transports Sheldon back to his training as a Marine and his experience in the Korean War. The boy does not say a word and Sheldon does the talking for the two of them.

The first leg of the escape occurs on a stolen boat. When the boat runs out of fuel, Sheldon docks and breaks into a nearby summer house, where he makes dinner for the boy and himself with whatever he finds in the cupboards.

sweet peppers with onion and zucchini / DSC_8005

ready to be served
(tablecloth by La FABBRICA del LINO
Stainless Steel Slotted Serving Spoon from Zeroll)

Sheldon's actions are familiar to me. Sometimes I plan ahead. Other times, I open the refrigerator and put together a meal with what I have. The side dish I am describing here is the result of a set of casual events. I had some sweet Italian peppers and some zucchini from the farmers' market, plus some cipollini onion from my CSA box.

I had also just received an envelope with the monthly spice selection from RawSpiceBar2 to try, which included a sachet of Chipotle Smoked Sea Salt. I had never used smoked salt (sale affumicato) before and was eager to try it. One of the recipes included with the spice selection was for zucchini, squash and pepper grilled then seasoned with the smoked salt. I don't grill, but the recipe made me think of cooking the vegetables in olive oil then finishing them with the salt. Detto fatto, as we say in Italian: said and done. I like the subtle smokiness the salt imparts to the dish. (I also liked the other two spice mixes I received in the envelope and in general I like the concept of subscribing to receive a variety of spice mixes every month: it is a gentle nudge to try something different and discover new flavors.)

sweet peppers / IMG_4982

sweet looking and tasting

I loved the result and was happy to be able to make it again the following day and take photos, since I had enough ingredients. Don't get too hung up on the quantities. If you have more peppers (which happened to me a few days after my initial rendition of the recipe) just increase the other quantities accordingly. If you have leftovers you can always use them as base for a frittata or make a nest and cook an egg in it the way I show in my recent recipe3 using leafy green vegetables (tried and recommended).

Print-friendly version of briciole's recipe for Sweet peppers with onion and zucchini

Ingredients:

  • 2 tablespoons / 30 ml extra-virgin olive oil
  • 5 ounces / 140 g sweet onion, like cipollini or walla walla
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 7 ounces / 200 g sweet Italian peppers
  • 6 ounces / 170 g zucchini
  • 3/8-1/2 teaspoon RawSpiceBar2 Chipotle smoked sea salt

Slice the onion lengthwise into thin sections no wider than 1/4 inch / 1/2 cm and separate the layers so you have short ribbons.

Cut the peppers lengthwise. Carve out and discard the stem portion, and the seeds and ribbing inside. Cut each half in half crosswise and finally slice each piece into short ribbons no wider than 1/4 inch / 1/2 cm.

Trim zucchini top and bottom, quarter lengthwise, then cut into 1/8 inch / 3 mm slices.

Warm up the olive oil in a skillet (I use a cast-iron one). Add the onion to the skillet, stir to coat and let cook on medium-low heat for a couple of minutes, then add the garlic. Continue cooking, stirring every now and then.

Five minutes after you started cooking the onion, add the peppers, stir and continue cooking, stirring every now and then.

Five minutes later, add the zucchini, stir and cook for a couple of minutes. Cover and cook on gentle heat until the peppers are of the desired tenderness (20-25 minutes). Every few minutes, uncover and stir.

When the peppers are ready, sprinkle the salt, adjusting the amount to your taste and stir, then remove the pan from the heat. Serve and eat right away.

Serves 2-3.

sweet peppers with onion and zucchini / IMG_4992

the view from above
(tablecloth by La FABBRICA del LINO)

I want to believe that both Sheldon and little Paul would enjoy my side dish, the way I enjoyed their moving story.

1 Norwegian by Night
2 RawSpice Bar
3 Post including my recipe for Nested leafy green vegetables

Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post

peperoni dolci con cipolle e zucchine

or launch the peperoni dolci con cipolle e zucchine audio file

Small_NFlogoThis is my second contribution to the 28th edition of Novel Food, the literary/culinary event that Lisa of Champaign Taste and I started some time ago and that I continue to host.

The roundup of the event.

FTC disclosure: I have received the linen and the Stainless Steel Slotted Serving Spoon free of charge from the manufacturer (la FABBRICA del LINO and Zeroll, respectively). I have not and will not receive any monetary compensation for presenting them on my blog. The experience shared and the opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own.

I have received the Chipotle smoked sea salt free of charge from the manufacturer (RawSpice Bar). I have not and will not receive any monetary compensation for presenting it on my blog. The experience shared and the opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own.

sweet peppers, Italian peppers, onion, zucchini, side dish

recipe: sweet peppers with onion and zucchini

| Simona

Print Friendly and PDF
 

recipe: roasted tomato and pepper soup (zuppa di pomodori e peperoni arrosto)

| Simona

Print Friendly and PDF

gnocchetti alla farina di castagne / chestnut flour gnocchetti

| Simona

A little (edible) math:

chestnut flour gnocchetti

a new version of a pretty pasta shape

+

roasted red pepper and almond dip

a beloved dip repurposed as pasta sauce

=

chestnut flour gnocchetti

a cheerful plate of pasta

Besides exploring new pasta shapes, I like creating variations of known ones. Today's pasta is an example. I took the pasta dough made with 50% farina di castagne (chestnut flour) previously used in making a version of strascinati and I tried making gnocchetti sardi (Sardinian gnocchi) with it. That worked very nicely.

I then took some roasted red pepper and almond dip (made last summer and frozen), and repurposed it as pasta sauce. The result? Sparkling!

The word "peppers" (peperoni) immediately brings to mind the summer farmers' market and the many varieties of this vegetable that I can find there, from sweet to mildly spicy to fiery hot. Fortunately, during pepper season, I did a bit of preservation work. 

Round of Hungary peppers, pimento peppers

Round of Hungary (or pimento) peppers

Sweet, meaty Round of Hungary peppers are perfect to make roasted red pepper and almond dip . A batch yields quite a bit, so a few times I froze half for future use. Hence now, in the dead of winter, I have some of the bright red spread to eat as usual or use in innovative ways.

chestnut flour gnocchetti

soft in sepia (for Black and White Wednesday)

My original post on gnocchetti sardi  includes a short video, which I am reposting here. The video shows my hands cutting the rope of pasta and shaping gnocchetti. As in the video that inspired me, I am showing two ways of shaping the pasta: you can use your thumb or your index finger, depending on how you feel more comfortable. You'll see in the video that the position of the gnocchi board depends on the finger you want to use. 

 

The trick here is to apply the right amount of pressure on the piece of dough while dragging it along the board so that you get the sort of curl with the grooves on the surface and the nice nook on the other side. If you press too hard, the dough gets sort of smushed and sticks to the board. Make sure to flour lightly the gnocchi board as needed to prevent sticking. Also, if you have experience making gnocchetti with the original dough, be advised that in this version they are softer, so a light touch is called for when shaping and handling them.

Ingredients (I recommend weighing flours and water because the quantities involved are small):

  • 50 g / 1.75 oz. chestnut flour
  • 50 g / 1.75 oz. all-purpose flour
  • A pinch of fine sea salt
  • 55 g / 2 oz. lukewarm water (I recommend weighing the water)
  • 2 tablespoons roasted red pepper and almond dip

Make a dough with the first four ingredients and knead until nice and smooth. Let the dough rest, covered, for half an hour or so.

Roll the dough into a thick salami and cut it into pieces. Keep them covered while you shape the gnocchetti. Roll each piece into a pencil-size snake (3/8 inch / 1 cm thick), then cut into 1 cm / 3/8 inch long pieces. Shape each small piece into a gnocchetto using a gnocchi board or other method (see above). Place a piece of dough on the board, apply to it some pressure with either your thumb or your index finger and drag it on the board to curl it. The resulting gnocchetto will have grooves on the convex surface and a nice nook on the other side. If you use your thumb, the board handle points towards you and the dragging motion is away from you. If you use your index finger, the board faces you and the dragging motion is towards you.

Lay out the gnocchetti to dry.

Bring a pot of salted water to a rolling boil, then toss the gnocchetti in it (what in Italian we call: buttare giù la pasta). They will come to the surface as they cook. The time needed is a bit variable, depending on the size of the gnocchetti, how dry they are, etc., but it is relatively short. Don't wander far away from the pot, so you can carefully check the process.

While the pasta is cooking, place the red pepper dip in a bowl and add 1/2 tablespoon or so of the pasta cooking water to soften it (adjusting the quantity based on the density of the dip). Drain the pasta and transfer it into the bowl with the sauce. Stir well with a delicate touch. Plate and serve immediately. The recipe makes two small portions.

Pasta pleaseThis is my contribution to the second edition of Pasta Please, a new pasta-centric event created by Jacqueline of Tinned Tomatoes and hosted this month by Lisa of We Don't Eat Anything With A Face. The theme this month is: peppers. 

This post contains the roundup of the event.

PantryThis post goes to Pantry Party, an event created by Elizabeth of The Law Student's Cookbook whose February theme is pasta. (My handmade pasta does not come from the pantry, but the flour(s) I use to make the dough do.)

This post contains the roundup of the event.

New bww logoThis is my contribution to edition #71 of Black and White Wednesday – A Culinary Photography Event created by Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook, now organized by Cinzia of Cindystar, and hosted this week by Shruthi of Food & Clicks.

The photo was shot in color and then converted to sepia (using Lightroom preset Sepia Tone).

This post contains the gallery of images submitted to the event.

Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post:

gnocchetti alla farina di castagne

or launch the gnocchetti alla farina di castagne audio file [mp3].

[Depending on your set-up, the audio file will be played within the browser or by your mp3 player application. Please, contact me if you encounter any problems.]

handmade pasta, chestnut flour, sweet pepper

recipe: curried sweet chili peppers (peperoni al curry)

| Simona
Print Friendly and PDF

salsa cremosa di peperoni rossi arrosto e mandorle / roasted red pepper and almond dip

| Simona

roasted red pepper and almond dip
In a recent post, I talked about Round of Hungary peppers (a.k.a., pimento peppers). Together with the Italian long peppers featured in my most recent post with recipe, they are my current favorites in the pepper department. I have been experimenting with roasted peppers in several recipes with varying degrees of success. On Saturday morning, I roasted seven Round of Hungary peppers, which gave me enough material for a couple of experiments. One of them was a success worth relating.

In looking around for ideas for a dip to pair with my version of Lavash crackers (which have become part of my repertoire, due to their popularity) and some of my homemade bread, I arrived at this recipe from Bon Appetit, which I amended to suit my ingredients and preferences. Roasted red peppers from a jar? Not as long as I can get these beauties at the farmers' market1:

Round of Hungary peppers, pimento peppers

Print-friendly version of briciole's recipe for Roasted red pepper and almond dip

My list of ingredients was as follows:

  • 1/2 cup whole almonds, blanched, peeled and toasted in the oven for 12 minutes at 350 F (I am not sure what "natural almonds" means in the original recipe) [Note: I measure the almonds after I toast them; the weight is 75 g]
  • 1 cup drained roasted peppers from jar my recent batch of oven-roasted Round of Hungary peppers (see Note below)
  • 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar (aceto balsamico) [I didn't have red wine vinegar]
  • 1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice2 [instead of some of the vinegar]
  • A generous pinch of dried grated orange zest (inspired by Mario Batali — more on this when I write my post for the current edition of Cook the Books)
  • 3 garlic cloves, roasted with the skin on and then peeled (see Note below)
  • 1 tablespoon fresh bread crumbs (made from my homemade walnut sourdough bread)
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil (olio d'oliva)
  • Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Note: Given their shape, I roast this kind of peppers whole, at 375 F. After 25 minutes or so, I turn them stem-side down and complete the roasting. When done, I put them in a paper bag to steam and then peel them and remove the seeds. I wrap the garlic cloves in a piece of foil and roast them with the peppers, taking them out when I turn the peppers. When cooled, I peel the cloves.

For the preparation, I followed mostly the inspiring recipe.

Finely chop the almonds in a food processor. Add roasted peppers, bread crumbs, orange zest, vinegar, lemon juice and garlic and process to a coarse purée.

With the machine running, pour the olive oil through the feed tube and process a little longer.

Season dip to taste with sea salt and pepper. Transfer to small bowl.

Cover and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before serving.

If you don't need the whole batch, spoon half in a one-cup container. Cover the surface with a small piece of wax paper, put the lid and freeze. Thaw before serving.

I really liked the result, and so did our dinner guests on Saturday. First, the color attracts you, then the flavor conquers you. And let's not forget the texture, with the almonds providing a pleasant crunch to counter the creaminess of the puréed roasted peppers. Round of Hungary peppers really shone in this recipe. If at some point I only have access to bell peppers, I will use those to make the dip, because I am sure I will make this again — and soon.

Whb254This is my contribution to edition #254 of Weekend Herb Blogging, an event started by Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen, now organized by Haalo of Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once and hosted this week by Yasmeen of Health Nut.

This post contains the roundup of the event.

1 The round of Hungary peppers in the photo were used to make Cauliflower with Cheese. The ones I used to make the recipe described in this post were all dark red like the one on the bottom right corner of the photo.

2 I had omitted this and added it after publishing the post: apologies to the early readers.

Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post:

salsa cremosa di peperoni rossi arrosto e mandorle

or launch the salsa cremosa di peperoni rossi arrosto e mandorle audio file [mp3].

[Depending on your set-up, the audio file will be played within the browser or by your mp3 player application. Please, contact me if you encounter any problems.]

involtini di peperoni / pepper roll-ups

| Simona

(one of an infinite number of possible variations)

Italian long peppers Summer lingers at our farmers' market in the shape of tomatoes and peppers, while fall makes itself known in the shape of winter squashes. In a recent post, I described my use of Round of Hungary peppers. In an older post, I described that of bell peppers.

Yesterday morning, I purchased four peppers called Italian long from a farmer that grows a wide range of pepper varieties. I tried his Italian peppers for the first time last year, as a result of a recommendation from my friend Christine of Christine Cooks, and I became instantly a fan. On this page, you will find some details about these peppers.

I must admit that I am not adventurous in the pepper area, so I tend to stay within the sweet camp. One thing that has always amazed me about peppers is that you can't tell whether they are sweet or hot, and if so, how hot, by their shape or color.

Preparing sweet peppers for me means oven-roasting them, and yesterday, after roasting the beauties you see in the photo (there was also another one), I decided to use them in a recipe I created some time ago, which uses bell peppers. First, I will give the original recipe, then will add some comments on my most recent realization of it. This can be called the recipe of 2's.

Ingredients:

  • 2 bell peppers, quartered, cored and seeded
  • 2 tablespoons small capers (capperi), rinsed and drained
  • 2 tablespoons pecans, lightly roasted in a dry skillet and finely chopped (about 8 halves)
  • 2 tablespoons raisins (uvetta), soaked in warm water for 15 minutes, drained and chopped
  • 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley (prezzemolo)
  • 2 tablespoons crumbled crumb (i.e., the soft part of bread)
  • 2 teaspoons olive oil
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oven to 375 F. Line a baking pan with foil and place the bell pepper quarters in it, skin side up. Roast them for 30 minutes or so. Place the roasted peppers inside a paper bag and put the bag on a plate. When cool, remove the skin from the pepper strips and spread them on a plate, skin side down. In the meantime, put all the ingredients for the filling into a small bowl, add the olive oil, salt and pepper and mix well. Place a tablespoon of filling at one end of each bell pepper strip and make a roll. Place all the rolls in an oiled frying pan and warm up on low until heated through. Serve immediately.

involtini di peperoni
The photo above shows a realization of the original recipe. The first departures from it was that I roasted the 4 Italian peppers whole, so the roasting phase took longer than 30 minutes. When ready, I placed the peppers in a plastic container, put the lid on, and let them cool. It was then very easy to remove the seeds (pulling the stem extracts the inner membrane and most of the seeds) and the skin. Given the shape of the peppers, from each one I obtained two strips wide enough for the involtini. (In two cases I also obtained a narrower strip that I set aside for another use, which I will describe in a future post.) Another, small, departure was the use of toasted walnuts instead of pecans.

involtini di peperoni
By then, it was clear to me that, Italian peppers being thinner than bell peppers, the rolling up would require a more delicate hand. Given their length, though — and the specimens I bought were large representative of the variety — each involtino still was thick enough to hold the filling (ripieno), as you can see in the photo above. By the way, the word involtino comes from involto (bundle): literally, it means small bundle.

involtini di peperoni with cheese The final departure from the original recipe was the placing of a thin slice of my homemade Wensleydale cheese on the top of two of the involtini, as shown in the photo. The result is an interesting variation. The head of my Quality Assurance department (a.k.a., my husband) liked the involtini and would not declare a preference between the variation with cheese and the one without it, opting for a non-committal "They are different," which I have learned to interpret as meaning "I'll eat either of them any time."

Whb253This is my contribution to edition #253 of Weekend Herb Blogging, an event started by Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen, now organized by Haalo of Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once and hosted this week by me, Simona of briciole.

This post contains the roundup of the event.

Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post:

involtini di peperoni

or launch the involtini di peperoni audio file [mp3].

[Depending on your set-up, the audio file will be played within the browser or by your mp3 player application. Please, contact me if you encounter any problems.]