Piperade

Pronounced ‘peep-er-rahd’, this is a French dish of sweet peppers seasoned with spicy pepper; a bit like a spicy overcooked ratatouille. The beauty of this dish is that you can customize it to your taste preferences making it with green or red peppers and making it as spicy as you would like.

Photo credit: practicewithdanielle.com

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

• 4-6 medium tomatoes

• 2 large red peppers, cored

• 2 tbsp. olive oil

• 3 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed

• 1 large onion, thinly sliced

• salt

• a pinch of dried thyme

• 1 fresh mild chili, de-seeded and chopped plus ½ tsp mild chili powder

• sugar to taste

Instructions:

1. Peel the tomatoes: score a cross in the base of each and plunge them into a pan of boiling water. Let them simmer for 30 seconds, drain and rinse with cold water. The skin should now peel easily. Or you can microwave for 2 minutes and allow to cool.

2. Chop them roughly. Set aside.

3. Slice the peppers thinly lengthwise into strips.

4. In a large skillet heat 1 tbsp. olive oil over medium heat and add the smashed garlic. Fry it for a couple of minutes until scorched on both sides. Remove from the pan.

5. Turn up the heat and add the pepper slices. Cook them on high heat, stirring, for 2 minutes. Remove the peppers onto a plate.

6. Add the chopped tomatoes, scorched garlic, thyme and chilli pepper/powder. Stir, cover and cook for 30 minutes over low heat. When the sauce is thick and the tomatoes have all broken down, add sugar to taste.

7. Return the peppers to the pan, stir and cover. Cook for 15 minutes until the peppers have wilted but retain shape and some bite.

8. Serve warm rather than hot; on fresh or toasted bread or as a side dish.

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