Pick a pack of peppers

High tide time for peppers of every color, size and heat! All that vitamin C!
Now's the time to indulge in your favorite pepper recipes. Apparently everybody does because tasty recipes come from all over the world. Here are a few of mine.

Muhamarra (Persian)

5 lg. firm red bell peppers
1½ tsp. ground cumin
1/8 tsp. ground allspice
1/8 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 cups shelled walnuts (whole, halves or pieces)
1 lg. garlic clove
1 tbsp. pomegranate molasses (alas there is no adequate substitute)
½ lemon, juice only

Roast the red peppers for 10 minutes at 450 degrees to blister the skins (you can do this in a large toaster oven or regular oven). Remove from heat and put immediately into a brown paper bag. Fold down the top of the bag to stop steam from escaping and leave the bag on the counter for ten minutes. Remove the peppers and peel off the thin skin membrane that started to detach in the blistering process.

Chop the skinned peppers in a large dice, put in a sauce pan and cover slightly more than half way with water (about 1 ½ cups). Bring the water to a boil and boil hard for five to ten minutes to soften the peppers. Add water if necessary. Pour the pot contents into a food processor and puree the peppers. Return the puree to the pot, put over medium heat and boil uncovered to reduce the puree to a spreadable jam-like thickness (about 25 minutes), stirring frequently to be sure nothing burns. The pepper paste is thick enough when a spoon opens a clear path along the bottom of the pot. Remove from heat.

Meanwhile, roast the walnuts on a baking sheet at 350 degrees 8-10 minutes until they are golden brown and release a nutty aroma. Grind them in a food processor or grinder to create not so much fine meal as tiny splinters.

When the pepper sauce has thickened and been removed from the heat, stir in the salt and spices, garlic, molasses, lemon juice and ground walnuts. Blend well. Now stir in 3-4 tbsp. olive oil to create your desired spreadable consistency. Taste and adjust seasonings. Pour into a serving bowl and surround with thick cucumber disks or pita triangles. Optional garnishes could be chopped and roasted walnuts or breadcrumbs fried in olive oil.

Piperade (Basque)

serves 4-6

1 large green bell pepper, washed and seeded
1 large red bell pepper, washed and seeded
1 yellow or orange bell pepper, washed and seeded
1 med-lg red onion, peeled
3 lg garlic cloves, peeled and minced
¼ tsp dried oregano leaves
1/8 tsp salt
3-4 tbsp olive oil
Fresh ground black pepper to your taste
Optional additions: 1 cup chopped tomatoes
1 small Poblano or poblano pepper (if you want some chili hotness) treated like the bell peppers
¼ cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley for garnish

Slice all bell peppers into long thin strips. Optionally, you can julienne them into short, thin matchsticks.
Cut onion into thin rings, then in half and break the rings apart into thin half moon pieces. (Cut in half again if you are making matchsticks out of the peppers so everything is uniform size.)

In a large sauté pan, heat oil (use enough tbsp to thickly coat the entire bottom of the pan. Add garlic and oregano leaves and stir-fry over medium heat for 30 seconds. Add onion and sauté for another 30 seconds.Add all peppers, trying to keep them in a uniform direction. Continue cooking over medium or medium low heat until pepper strips are soft but haven’t lost their bright colors. This will take 10-15 minutes. Add salt and pepper. Remove from heat. (If you are using tomatoes, add them here and continue to sauté over medium low heat until they are mushy.)

 WHAT TO DO WITH PIPERADE: Put in on an omelet, over pasta, on baked white fish like halibut or haddock, serve beside a grit souffle or with a hamburger.

Pepperonata (the Italian version)
for 6

2 tbsp butter

2 lbs green peppers, blanched and seeded
¼ c olive oil 

2 lbs tomatoes, seeded and chopped or a 32 oz box

2 lg onions, thinly sliced 

1 tsp. red wine vinegar 

1 tsp salt 

1/8 tsp freshly ground or cracked black pepper

Cut peppers into strips 1” long and ½” wide. Over medium heat, melt butter with the oil in a heavy skillet. Add onion and sauté stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes, or until they are soft and golden. Add pepper strips, reduce heat to low, cover and cook 10 minutes. Add tomatoes, vinegar, salt and pepper. Cover and simmer 5 minutes. Uncover, raise heat to medium and stir continually while the liquid boils away. Serve hot with sausages, eggs and/or cornbread. Or chill and serve cold as part of an antipasto platter or with cold chicken.

Shakshuka (Lebanese/Palestinian)

Serves 4

 3 tbsp fruity olive oil 

3 lg garlic cloves, minced 

1 lg red onion, diced 

1 med green bell pepper, seeded and chunked  

1 sm yellow bell pepper, seeded and chunked 

1-2 hot chili peppers like Serrano or real jalapeno, seeded and minced 

2 tsp ground cumin 

1 tsp ground coriander 

½ tsp caraway seeds, smashed or ground 

1-2 tsp smoked paprika 

¼ tsp dried mint leaves 

¼ tsp turmeric 

¼ tsp ground cayenne or arbol chili powder
pinch ground cinnamon 

1 tsp wine/balsamic vinegar 

½ tsp honey 

1 tsp tomato paste 

2-3 cups chopped tomatoes in their juice 

 salt 

black pepper to taste 

8 eggs 

1 bunch fresh cilantro, stemmed, washed and chopped for garnish  

optional add ons: feta cheese, pitted black kalamata olives, chopped spinach

In a large heavy-gauge sauté pan that has a lid, heat olive oil. Sauté onions, bell and chili peppers and garlic over medium heat til soft, about 5 minutes. Add the spices—cumin through cinnamon—and heat until fragrant, maybe 60-90 seconds. Stir in vinegar, tomato paste, honey and tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until the sauce thickens, maybe 10-12 minutes depending on how juicy the tomatoes were. Taste for flavor and add seasonings to your taste.

Get the sauce very hot and bubbly over medium heat and have the pan lid handy. Carefully create 8 small pockets in the sauce and crack an egg into each one. Try to nudge a little sauce into the eggwhites. Cover and continue cooking to poach the eggs to your liking. Uncover the pan. Add the optionals you desire. Let them heat up 1 minute. Remove pan from heat. Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve right out of the pan.

 Red Pepper "Pesto"
makes 1 cup

2 tbsp olive oil
3 lg/4 sml red bell peppers, seeded
4 garlic cloves, sliced

1 mildly hot pepper (Poblano, jalapeno)
½ tsp dried oregano
2 tbsp fresh basil OR coriander (your taste)
1 tbsp wine vinegar
1/8 tsp salt

Slice red peppers into thin strips. Dice hot pepper. Chop the herb. Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add bell peppers, garlic and oregano. Sauté 15 minutes on medium low heat. Stir in vinegar, hot pepper and salt. Sauté 10 minutes. Stir in the herb. Simmer 5 minutes. Purée in a blender or processor.

This beats ketchup on hamburgers and sliders, brightens grilled flank steak, makes memorable pasta sauce and makes roasted cauliflower very yummy. It freezes really well, so you can enjoy it in February.


Menemen (Turkish scrambled eggs)

For 2 (you can easily double or triple this)
3 tbsp olive oil
1 sm onion, minced
2-3 shishito, padron, Chinese long green or some medium hot pepper, seeded and dice
½ tsp ground Aleppo pepper or hot paprika or similar (this dish needs a nip to be tasty)
½ tsp dried oregano
3 tomatoes, diced, or ¾ c boxed/canned diced tomatoes, drained
pinch of sugar or drop of honey
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to your taste
4 extra large eggs, lightly beaten
Optional garnishes: chopped chives, minced parsley
Greek yogurt to serve it with (it mellows that nip)

In a medium skillet, heat olive oil until just warm. Add onion, peppers, oregano, Aleppo pepper and ground black pepper too. Stirring often, cook over low heat until soft, 6-8 minutes. Add tomatoes, sugar/honey and salt to your taste. Stirring frequently, continue cooking on low heat until the sauce color darkens slightly. There shouldn’t be any juice in the pan by now. Stir in the beaten eggs, add salt and black pepper to your taste, and stirring constantly, scramble just until the eggs start to set. Remove from heat. The eggs will keep cooking in the pan.
Garnish with chives or parsley and serve with room temperature Greek yogurt or better yet tsatsiki or raita (same cucumber/garlic/yogurt combine, different language). Serve the eggs right away while they’re hot. This is also good on top of toasted flatbread or pita.

Ema Dhatse (Bhutan/Sikkim)
This is the national dish of Bhutan: the name literally means peppers with cheese-- chili peppers and lots of them!
Serves 6
6 fresh chilies (jalapeño will provide less heat than serrano or arbol)
1 tsp salt
1 med onion
4 lg. garlic cloves, peeled
½ lb. blue cheese (it can be whole or crumbled)
1 tbsp. ghee or butter, OR 2 tbsp. oil (corn, safflower, canola—not olive!)

Wash the chilies and split them. If you want to diminish their heat, remove the seeds. Put split chilies in a small saucepan with a lid and amply cover with water (at least one knuckle of your forefinger over the top of the chilies). Add a large pinch of salt. (Senge says salt helps to put out the fire in chilies.) Cover the pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to simmer and continue to boil 10 minutes or until chilies are soft. The steam from these chilies can cause you to choke so it’s best to keep the lid on and a fan on.)

Meanwhile, dice the onion and mince the garlic. In a medium frying or sauté pan, melt ghee/ghiu or heat the oil over medium heat. Fry onions and garlic until soft. Drain chilies and add still wet to the onions, stirring to blend. Add a pinch of salt and cheese. Lower heat and stir rapidly as cheese melts. If it threatens to burn, add 1 tbsp water. Continue stirring until cheese is thoroughly melted and everything is blended. Serve hot or warm. Store in a jar in the refrigerator up to three days.


Stuffed Peppers (Greece)
  First of all, if you have kids, consider stuffing peppers with mac and cheese.You can serve them alone or beside burgers. You boil the peppers in salted water for 20 minutes or until they are soft. Cool them and then slice off the top and remove the seeds. Fill them with mac and cheese. Top with breadcrumbs mixed with grated Parmesan. Stand them up in a baking dish, sprinkle olive oil on them and bake at 350º for 20 minutes.  You can serve them whole or cut them in half lengthwise.

Now for the Greek version (which you can freeze)
serves 4
4 lg unblemished green or red bell peppers.
1 cup cooked short or medium grain rice
1/2 c olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced 
2 tbsp minced fresh dill
1 tbsp minced fresh flat leaf parsley 
1 bunch scallions, finely chopped
1/2 c currants
1/2 c pine nuts
1/4 c dry white wine
1/3 c tomato paste
1/2 tsp dried oregano
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to your taste
extra for the baking dish: 2 tbsp olive oil, 2 tbsp white wine, 2 tbsp water, juice of one lemon

Blanch the peppers. When removed from water, make sure each can stand up straight. slice a bit off the bottom if necessary but try not to open up the bottom.
Preheat oven to 325º. 
In a sauté pan, combine olive oil, garlic, dill and parsley. Slowly bring up the heat. When hot, add scallions, pine nuts and currants. Sauté 5 minutes. Add wine and tomato paste, stirring to blend. Cook 2-3 minutes until everything is hot. Stir in the rice. Season with salt and pepper.  Pack the peppers with the rice mixture and top each with a sprinkle of oregano. Fill the baking dish with the liquids listed above. Stand up the peppers in it. Cover the dish with toil and bake at 325º 20-25 minutes. Cool slightly to serve. Can also be refrigerated and served cold or carried off to a picnic. Can be halved to serve 8.


I'm going to follow up next time with blistering Japanese shisito peppers, Mexican chile rellenos and Hungarian leszco.