Welcome to Week 12!
You may have noticed that we’re being inundated with peppers of all kinds. Lucky us! They are a wonderful, nutritious and delicious vegetable. Versatile, too.
Here’s a recipe for a traditional Basque dish, which can be served as a main dish with the addition of protein, can be used as a side dish, or may be used as a condiment. It’s called Piperade.
PIPERADE
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- 3 plum tomatoes
- 3TBS extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
- 2 medium green bell peppers, stem, seeds and ribs removed, roughly chopped (you can use any sweet peppers)
- ½ tsp salt
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp sugar
- ½ tsp hot paprika
- Cut a small X into the bottom of each tomato. Bring a pot of water to a boil, add the tomatoes and cook until the skin begins to wrinkle and peel at the edges of the cuts, about 30 seconds.
- Drain, rinse with cool water and peel off the tomato skins with your fingers. Roughly chop the tomatoes and set aside.
- In a 12-inch skillet heat the oil over medium high heat, until hot but not smoking. Add the onions, peppers and salt and sauté, stirring frequently, until the onions are translucent and the peppers have started to lighten in spots, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and continue to sauté for 1 more minute.
- Stir in the tomatoes, sugar and hot paprika, reduce the heat to medium, cover and cook until the tomatoes are starting to fall apart and the peppers are soft but still hold their shape, about 15 minutes.
- Remove the cover and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture thickens like a slightly runny relish, about 5 minutes more. Adjust the salt to taste.
Have a delicious week!
Best,
Judi