Peperonata
sandravalvassori.com
Bring a taste of Italy to your table with this colourful and exquisite Peperonata. This classic Italian dish highlights sweet peppers that have been slowly cooked with onions, garlic and tomatoes. Versatile and easy to prepare, peperonata can be served as a side dish, appetizer, or even as a main course when paired with crusty bread or pasta.
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- 2 medium red or yellow onions, sliced 1/4 inch thick
- kosher salt and freshly cracked pepper
- 5 medium cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 6 large sweet bell peppers (I use a mix of red, yellow, green and orange), stemmed, seeded, and sliced lengthwise 1/2 inch thick
- 1 cup tomato passata (pureed tomatoes - see notes)
- 3 tablespoons water
- 2 sprigs fresh basil or oregano
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons chopped basil, to finish
Instructions
- In a large pan that has a lid, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the sliced onions and a pinch of salt; cook until they become slightly soft, about 3 minutes. Stir in the sliced garlic and sauté for 30 seconds, or so.
- Add in the bell peppers and toss to coat in the oil. Cook the peppers, stirring occasionally, until they start to soften, about 15 minutes.
- Add the tomatoes to the pan along with 3 tablespoons of water and 1 oregano or basil sprig. Season with 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Stir, ensuring everything is evenly coated with the tomatoes.
- Lower the heat to a gentle simmer and cover the pan. Let the peperonata simmer for about 30-35 minutes, gently stirring occasionally, until the peppers are tender and the sauce has slightly thickened.
- Remove pan from heat and discard oregano (or basil) sprig. Stir in the vinegar and chopped fresh basil. Taste and adjust seasoning with a pinch more salt, pepper and/or a pinch of sugar, if needed.
- Allow the peperonata to cool slightly before serving.
Notes
- Peppers – For the sweetest peperonata, I like to use predominately red peppers with some yellow and orange, and only 1 green pepper in the mix. If you aren't a fan of green peppers, simply use more red or yellow.
- Tomatoes – You can also use finely chopped fresh tomatoes or canned whole tomatoes crushed by hand.
- Vinegar – You can also use white wine vinegar, sherry, or champagne vinegar.
- Cook low and slow. Cooking the peppers slowly over low heat allows them to release their natural sweetness and absorb the flavors of the other ingredients.
- Add sugar if peppers aren't in season. If using peppers that aren't in season, consider adding a teaspoon of sugar to sweeten the dish just a touch.
- Cooking time will vary. Some peppers will take longer to collapse and cook down than others so be patient and let them go for as long as needed. That said, don't cook them until they have completely lost their shape.
- Adjust to taste. It is important to taste your peperonata towards the end of its cooking time. It may need a touch of sugar, or a bit more acidity, depending on your personal taste or the sweetness of the peppers.
- Use only 1 green pepper, or none. I adore green peppers but you really don't want to use more than one green pepper in a peperonata since they can be on the bitter side. An exquisite peperonata relies on most of the peppers being very sweet so stick to mostly red, with yellow and orange playing the supporting roles.
- When stirring the peperonata, stir gently. You will need to occasionally stir the peperonata while it cooks but you want to stir very very gently so as to not break the peppers or encourage the peels to come off. I use a rubber spatula and gently lift the peppers from the bottom, rather than toss them around.