Peperonata

From “Six Seasons” by Joshua McFadden

Peperonata, is an Italian vegetable stew typically composed of tomatoes, garlic, and bell peppers.

It can be used in so many ways. We have been known to use this as the base for shakshuka (delicious egg dish), grilling brats and slicing them in, adding it to a frittata, on top of polenta, or just eating it with a good loaf of crusty bread.  It scales up easily and freezes beautifully.

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Ingredients

• 4 lbs of peppers, mostly sweet, but a few hot are nice, too. (use a mix of colors and varieties if possible)

• Extra virgin olive oil

• 5 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled

• 3 bunches of scallions, trimmed (including 1/2 inch off the green tops), cut into 1-inch lengths

• 1/2 tsp dried chili flakes (or more, to taste)

• Kosher salt and fresh black pepper

• 2 lbs tomatoes (about half regular tomatoes, cut into chunks, and half cherry tomatoes, preferably sungold)

• 1 tbsp balsamic or red wine vinegar

• 6 bit sprigs of fresh thyme or oregano, or a mix

Directions

1. Core and seed all of the peppers. Cut them into slices, some thick and some thin, for the best texture. Set aside.

2. Heat 1/2 cup of olive oil in a large pot, such as a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook slowly to toast so it is very soft, fragrant, and nicely golden brown, but not burnt-about 5 minutes.

3. Dump in all the peppers, half the scallions, and the chili flakes and season generously with salt and pepper. Cook over medium high heat, stirring frequently, until the peppers start to relax a bit, about 5–10 minutes. Add half the tomatoes (use the cut-up larger tomatoes here).

4. Cook and stir until the pepper and tomatoes get very soft, about 30 minutes, but it may be longer if you've increased the size of the batch. The tomato pulp should become a nice thick sauce, and you should see the juices start to stick to the bottom and sides of the pan. Be sure to frequently scrape this up and down so that nothing burns and these delicious reduced juices get incorporated into the mix.

5. After about 30 minutes, add the cherry tomatoes, the rest of the scallions, the vinegar, and the herbs. Keep cooking until the tomatoes burst and their juices thicken also, and the whole mess is thick and savory.

6. Taste and adjust the salt, black pepper, vinegar, and chili flakes. Add a bit more olive oil. Serve warm or at room temperature.