Saturday Beefcake: Sweet Peppers and Rice


[Peppers] Different colours denote different flavours. so across the colour spectrum bell peppers have little in common with one another besides their shape. Yellow Peppers are mild and sweet. Orange peppers are sweet with a pungent finish, and red are the reverse. Green bell peppers are so strong that you should use them only when you really want their distinctive flavour, because they will dominate the dish.

The best peppers of any colour are firm, with a natural sheen (ask whether they've been waxed) Check for soft spots around the stem, where decay often begins.

Peak season for peppers is summer, although good peppers (mostly imported) are available throughout the year.

To store peppers, refrigerate them in a paper bag in the crisper section for up to ten days.

(from Diana Shaw in Almost Vegetarian)




Peppers are very rich in Vitamin C and low in both calories and carbohydrates.

Peperoni Ripieni alla Piemontese

(Margaret and G. Franco Romagnoli)

This is a recipe for baked peppers stuffed with rice.

Sweet Peppers, six large
Arborio Rice, one and a half cups
Sea Salt, one and a half teaspoons
Parsley, half cup chopped
Garlic cloves, three
Extra Virgin Olive Oil, half cup
Anchovy fillets, three
Capers, one tablespoon
Olives, three
Unsalted butter, one tablespoon
Oven, preheated 325F

1. Cut the peppers in half lengthwise, remove the seeds and stems
2. Blanch the shells in boiling salted water for 5 minutes
3. Cook the rice in salted boiling water for ten minutes and drain
4. Chop the parsley and garlic together until nearly a paste. Add it with 5 tablespoons of olive oil to the still hot rice and stir well
5. Mash the anchovies into the butter and cook the mixture with the remaining olive oil until the butter has melted and the anchovies have disintegrated
6. Chop the capers and olives finely into a paste and add them to the mixture while the anchovies cook. If you eliminate the anchovies cook the capers and olives until the butter melts.
7. Fill the pepper halves with the rice mixture and place them snugly in a casserole
8. Spoon a bit of the olive oil/butter mixture onto each pepper
9. Put about a quarter cup of water in the bottom of the pan to keep them from sticking
10 Bake for a half hour.
11. Serve hot or cold as an antipasto or as a side dish



Speaking of side dish, the accompaniment for this week's Beefcake comes from the last issue of Blue(+66) with two young men who seem to be bringing home their own distinctive flavour -- it is hoped that they're from New York where condoms can be acquired for free.

The other one helps emphasize the season when peppers reach their peek not to mention their firmness and natural sheen. Not in the least a bad side dish at all.

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