Piedmont Peppers

The Recycled Cook

By Adrian Sleeman

Piedmont Peppers



Another vegetable dish for you today which can either be used as a starter, a side dish or even on as a light supper. The original recipe uses dried anchovies but I have substituted Serrano ham in this version.

 To make this as a vegetarian option simply revert back to the anchovies.

 Firstly halve the peppers, cutting through the stem which makes the presentation better. This is easiest with a large, sharp cooks knife.

 De-seed and take out the core.

Place some thinly sliced slivers of garlic in the base of each pepper, bashing them lightly with the handle of the knife to release their flavour.

 Tear some small slices of cured ham such as Bayonne, Serrano, Parma or, as I do sometimes, Carmarthen ham (legend has it that the Romans took this idea back to Italy and created Parma ham). 





Drizzle with a little olive oil and season with black pepper. Add some small sweet basil leaves if you have them or tear up some larger leaves.

Instead of buying expensive packets of herbs, buy a pot and keep it on your kitchen windowsill. It will last ages and keep producing new leaves. You could of course create a small herb garden in your flower beds, looks great and smells wonderful too.
The next thing you need to do is halve, core and de-seed some tomatoes. making sure that they are small enough to fit inside your peppers.
drizzle a little oil inside and season again with black pepper. Invert the tomato halves inside the peppers and you are ready to put them in the oven.

 Bake in a moderately hot oven for around 40 minutes then check with a sharp knife if the peppers are tender.




A great combination of sweet tomatoes and roasted red peppers



While roasting you can double up on oven time by chucking in some jacket potatoes too.

 Just prick the skins with a fork all over and rub with a little oil. For that extra earthy flavour try using truffle oil if you are lucky enough to have some, indulgent I know but worth it.

 This dish was first discovered by Elizabeth David but re-invented by the Italian chef, Franco Taruschio who then ran The Walnut Tree Inn, near Abergavenny in Wales.

Disclaimer: The suggestions and tips on these blog pages are meant to be used in conjunction with common sense. Keeping your family healthy is the priority. Do not use food that is unfit for human consumption and always follow sensible food hygiene guidelines.

  

http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/homehygiene/Pages/food-leftovers-safety.aspx


Always be careful in the kitchen, we accept no responsibility for any accidents caused as a direct or indirect result of preparing any of these dishes. Children should not be allowed to handle sharp cooking implements without the supervision of an adult. 

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