Packs of Peppers: part 2

As promised, more worldly ways to feast on all those vivid, dazzling peppers at farmers' markets right now: from Hungary, Japan, Mexico, Great Britain, Italy, Macedonia, and New England. Soups, side dishes, snacks, relish, main meals...you name it: peppers will come through for you. And most of what you make of them can be frozen to enjoy when they aren't around in the flesh.

Macedonian Bean and Pepper Soup

Serves 6
1 lb dried white beans (Great Northern, Kidney, navy, cannellini)
2 med/lg carrots, peeled and diced
2 stalks celery with leaves, diced
1 lg onion, peeled and diced
1/4 tsp freshly ground or cracked black pepper
1 tsp dried sage
3½ cups vegetable broth

3 red bell peppers, roasted and peeled
2 yellow or orange bell peppers, roasted and peeled
2 tbsp red wine vinegar (Balsamic is too strong)
5-6 tbsp olive oil
18-20 pitted Kalamata olives, slivered
Salt to your taste
1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice


Pick over the beans. Soak in enough water to cover and refrigerate overnight.

Roast the peppers. Remove stems, skin membrane and seeds. Chop into small ¼” cubes. Combine peppers, vinegar and 1 tbsp olive oil in a glass or ceramic small bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Drain the beans. Put in a large pan, cover well with cold water and bring to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes. Drain well. In a large, heavy gauge pot, heat enough olive oil 4-5 tbsp to cover the bottom. Add carrots, celery, onion, black pepper and sage. Sauté on low heat for 2 minutes or until vegetables are soft. Stir in the beans. Add broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 1½ hours until beans are tender.

Drain peppers. Add peppers and olives to the warm soup. Add salt to your taste and finally the lemon juice. Serve immediately. Great with an arugula salad, crusty bread and soft cheese.
Hungarian Lecso
This always starts out as a simple stew celebrating the harvest of peppers, tomatoes and onions. Some cooks add sausages to the mix--smoked or hot or garlicky or all of them, some toss in rice and sausages (which is how I learned it) to make a complete meal, and some scramble eggs in the stew, essentially making what Turks call menemen.  Good ideas get around.

 Here's the basic recipe from Hungary for 4:

2 1/4 lbs bell peppers (all green or all colors)

Generous I lb tomatoes 
1 large onion 
4 tbsp oil 
1 heaped tbsp ground paprika
Salt

Remove stalks and  seeds from the peppers, and cut into finger-width strips or rings. Remove the stem end from the tomatoes, and  slice them thinly. Finely chop the onion and fry in the hot oil, stirring continuously, until translucent. Stir in the paprika. Add the peppers and salt, and cover with a lid. Simmer gently for about 10 minutes, then add the tomatoes and cook until soft. 

Lecso with bacon drippings

Prepare the lecsó in accordance with the basic recipe, using bacon drippings instead of the fat. Dice about 5 oz/150 g smoked bacon and heat until the fat runs, then remove the cracklings.


Lecso with sausage
Add 1 lb of your favorite sausage cut into bite sized chunks just before it is ready, and cook for a few minutes til the sausage browns. The sausage can also be left whole; use one pair for each person.

Lecso with rice and sausages
This is how I learned to make it and what is pictured here.

Fry 1 cup short grain rice in a little oil. Prepare the lecsó according to the basic recipe. Then add the cut sausages and rice plus 2 cups vegetable broth and a tsp of salt. Bring to a boil, lower heat, cover pot and cook 12-15 minutes until the rice is done.

P.S. I did not use tomatoes this time.

Lecso with egg

Beat the eggs (1-2 per person) until smooth, and add a little salt. Pour over the cooked lecsó, and heat the mixture, stirring continuously, until the egg begins to set. Both the basic recipe for lecsó and the versions using bacon drippings and sausage can be used here.

Blistered Shisito Peppers 

These skinny Japanese peppers get addictive once you blister them in hot oil and pour on the Fleur de sel.
There's no need for a detailed recipe. All you need is a farmers' market green "carton" of shisito peppers, 1 tbsp olive or for a real taste changer sesame oil and seriously good salt.

Heat the oil over medium high heat in a shallow frying pan, throw in the peppers, shake the pan so they get into the oil and let them blister in it. That takes less than 5 minute so don't walk away. Shake the pan to flip them once they blister on the down side so they blister on the other. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon, put on your serving plate and add lots of good big flake salt. Enjoy!
Roasted Red Peppers with herbs, capers and goat cheese 
for 6

5-6 lg red bell peppers although orange ones work too (it's the vivid color you want)
1/4 c tbsp olive oil
Sea or kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 sm log goat cheese
1 tbsp capers, drained
1/4 c finely chopped fresh herbs like flat leaf parsley, mint, cilantro, basil--whichever flavor your prefer. you can also mix parsley and mint

Preheat the oven to 450º. Cut the peppers in half lengthwise and clean the interiors of seeds and membranes. Rinse and dry thoroughly. LIne a cookie sheet with tin foil and place the peppers interior side up in a single layer. LIghtly salt them. Distribute 3 tbsp of olive oil over all the peppers evenly as you can. If you need more use it. no problem. Roast the peppers 20 minutes or until they are soft and starting to char. Remove and cool.

To serve: place the peppers on a serving platter and sprinkle lightly with freshly ground black pepper and salt. Distribute the capers among the peppers. Slice a thin disk off the goat cheese log for each pepper and place it in the center of each pepper, on top of the capers. Sprinkle the herb or herbs all over and serve warm or at room temperature.  You can make bruschetta out of these by putting each roasted pepper on top of a piece of toast.


New England Corn Chowder with Colorful Peppers

 serves 6

2 tbsp butter or ghee
1 lg onion, peeled and diced
1 poblano pepper, roasted, skinned and diced
1 Serrano or other hot green chili, seeded and diced
1 tbsp dried sage
1 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp ground coriander
½ tsp ground chipotle pepper
1 tsp cracked or freshly ground black pepper
3 cups corn kernels (can be 4-5 fresh ears, frozen or canned corn)
3 celery stalks, cleaned and diced
2 cups water
3 medium potatoes (any color), peeled and cubed
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp. diced pimento (roasted red pepper)
2 cups vegetable broth
2 tomatillos, peeled and coarsely chopped
12 oz. evaporated milk (not sweetened
4 oz heavy cream
For garnish: chopped fresh chives, chopped fresh cilantro, shredded jack or cheddar cheese, toasted pumpkin seeds

If you are using fresh corn on the cob, cut the corn off the cobs and put the cobs into a pot with 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil and simmer while you make the chowder.

Melt butter in a medium soup pot or casserole. Add onions, pasilla and chili peppers, sage and oregano. Sauté over medium heat until onions are golden brown, about 6-8 minutes. Stir in coriander, chipotle, black pepper and celery. Continue to sauté 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Puree one cup of corn with 1 tbsp vegetable broth and add to the pot, stirring to blend. Add potatoes, salt and the rest of the vegetable broth. Blend ingredients, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Add 2 cups corn kernels, pimentos and tomatillos. If you have boiled corncobs in water, remove the cobs and pour the corn-flavored water into the soup. If you didn’t do this, simply add two cups of water. Continue to simmer covered on medium low heat for 5-8 minutes. (You don’t have to be exact.) Taste for salt and adjust to preference. Stir in evaporated milk and heavy cream. Cook over medium low heat uncovered until the soup is warmed thoroughly. Do not bring to a boil once the milk and cream have been included. Stir once to blend all flavors.
Ladle into large soup bowls and garnish with any or all of the ingredients listed above. 

Chili Rellenos

For 6


6 fresh Anaheim or Poblano or New Mexican Hatch peppers
1 (8 ounce) package queso asadero (white Mexican cheese), cut into 3/4-inch thick strips
2 eggs, separated
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup corn oil for frying

Preheat the oven's broiler and set a rack about 6 inches from the heat source. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place peppers onto the prepared baking sheet, and broil until the skin of the peppers has blackened and blistered, about 10 minutes. Turn the peppers often to blacken all sides. Place the blackened peppers in a bowl, and tightly seal with plastic wrap. Allow the peppers to steam as they cool, about 15 minutes. This should help peel off the skins easily. If not run under cold water first but in any event remove the membrane from the peppers. Cut a slit along the long side of each pepper to remove the seeds and core.

Stuff the peppers with strips of the cheese.

Whisk the egg yolks in a bowl with the baking powder. In a second metal bowl, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until the whites form stiff peaks. Gently fold beaten egg whites into the yolk mixture. Place flour into a shallow bowl.

Heat the vegetable shortening in a skillet over medium heat. Roll each stuffed pepper in flour, tap off excess flour, and dip the peppers into the egg mixture to coat both sides. Gently lay the coated peppers into the hot shortening. Fry peppers until lightly golden brown and the cheese has melted, about 5 minutes per side.

You can serve this plain or with a tomato salsa or tomatillo salsa under or over it. Red Pepper Pickles

fi
FIlls 3 pint jars
This is a vintage recipe from a 1975 Midwestern canning book.

12 lg red bell peppers (about 3 1/2 lbs)
2 1/2 c cider vinegar
1 1/4 c sugar
1 lg cinnamon stick
12 whole cloves (tied in cheesecloth of convenience(

Wash the peppers, quarter them lengthwise and remove seeds and membranes. Cut the clean quarters into 3" wide strips. Put these in a bowl and pour boiling water over them. Cover and set aside 3 minutes. Drain and immediately cover the peppers with ice cold water to cool them down. Set aside 10 minutes.

Combine vinegar, sugar, cinnamon stick and cloves in a heavy gauge saucepan. Bring to a boil while stirring to dissolve the sugar. Boil 2-3 minutes.

Drain the peppers in a colander set into a large bowl so you can retain the liquid. Pack them into clean, sterilized hot pint jars. Fill the jars with the hot vinegar mixture up to 1/2" from the top. Remove air bubbles and add some of that reserved pepper liquid if you need to get to the filing line of 1/2" below the top. Seal the jars and put in a water bath for 20 minutes.

Here's a Christmas present you can give if you don't eat them all first.