rabbit and peppers

Rabbit can be difficult but this method is very good…

I cut the rabbit into small pieces and sautè them briefly in butter and olive oil. I then add a ladleful of stock (boiling water and a scant teaspoon of vegetable stock granules), cover and simmer for 20 minutes. I cut a green and a red pepper into thin strips. In another pan I infuse a clove of garlic in butter and oil  with 2 anchovies. I add the peppers and sautè briskly for 3 minutes, adding a good splash of white wine vinegar. When the rabbit has simmered its 20 minutes, I add the peppers with some salt and pepper, cover and simmer for 10 more minutes. Then I uncover the pan and reduce the sauce to a thick consistency.

This is nice with grilled polenta or fried bread.

pizza calabrese

 A pizza without mozzarella!

I make the pizza dough in the bread machine with 350gm of flour. I cut 2 peppers into strips, de-seed and slice 4 to 5 tomatoes, prepare  a handful of stoned black olives and a tablespoon of capers. I chop two chilli peppers. Then, I sautè the peppers in olive oil for 4 minutes and add the other ingredients  with salt and pepper and continue to sautè for a minute. (The vegetables don’t need to cook through at this stage.) When I’m ready to cook, I spread the dough out onto an oiled baking sheet and distribute the pepper mixture on top. I snip a few basil leaves  into the vegetables and grate over a generous amount of pecorino cheese. It cooks at 200°C for 30 minutes.

Mmmm.

roast peppers

Today’s my birthday, but we had the celebration last night. The menu was mozzarella and tomato, focaccia, roast peppers, parma ham, chocolate cakes and icecream.

Roast peppers are nice, especially for those people who find them otherwise indigestible. They go into a hot oven (220°C) for 45 to 50 minutes. They need turning once. When they’re roasted, I seal them in a plastic bag and leave them for 15 minutes. At this point they should be fairly easy to peel.  I put the peeled and de-seeded peppers on kitchen towel to drain well. Then I cut them into strips and dress them with salt, anchovies, capers and extra-virgin olive oil.

A classic Italian antipasto.

peppers on the mandolin

In the UK a “heavy” meal means you eat a lot; in Italy “pesante” means it’s indigestible. And for many Italians peppers are “pesante”. If this is not a problem for you, the following recipe is very useful when you want a quick side dish (or supper dish to eat with bread and cheese ).

Slice 2 peppers and half a large onion as finely as possible – the mandolin is ideal, but watch out for the fingers! Stir fry the vegetables in a non-stick pan in a little olive oil, adding  salt, pepper and a tablespoon of fennel seeds right from the start. When they start to colour, they’re ready. It only takes a few minutes and the dish is equally good hot or cold. If you need to make a large quantity, do two or more batches.