Peppers belong to the Solanaceae family and are native to Latin America. In warmer countries their cultivation is continuous, in Italy on the other hand, their cycle ends with the arrival of cold weather. Perhaps it’s also for this reason that whatever color they are, peppers thrive in recipes to indulge in summertime cooking. They are comprised largely of water (92%) and for this reason, they are a filling-food rich in mineral salts such as phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, iron, and calcium.
In addition, the pepper contains four times more vitamin C than citrus fruits, strengthens muscles and promotes the absorption of iron. Red peppers, in particular, have high vitamin content, while, regardless of their color, each pepper is also rich in B, E, J, and K vitamins. Its potassium contributes with carotene to ensure diuretic properties, while the fiber makes it one of the foods useful in weight control. Is this enough of a reason to try one of these quick and easy summer recipes?
Sweet and sour
To prepare them in sweet and sour, delicious both hot and cold, you must, first of all, equip yourself with four peppers, four tablespoons of vinegar and extra virgin olive oil, one of sugar, desalted capers, raisins, and pine nuts, one hundred grams of pitted green olives, salt, breadcrumbs, pepper, sage and a few sprigs of thyme. After washing the peppers, they need to be roasted, peeled, and cleaned of its core and internal seeds. Then cut them into strips about a couple of centimeters wide and put everything in a pan to brown with oil. Add the vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper and cook everything over low heat until the vinegar completely evaporates and the peppers are soft. At this point, add the olives, capers, pine nuts, and raisins, previously soaked in water. Let it flavor for a few minutes then turn off the heat and enjoy it whenever you fancy, but not before sprinkling it all with little toasted breadcrumbs, a few sage leaves, and a few sprigs of thyme.
Ideas with pasta
A great summer idea is to combine peppers with pasta and enjoy it as a cold dish made with olives and basil. After draining the pasta, let it cool for a while, adding a drizzle of oil first, and in the meantime clean the peppers and cut them into strips. Then put the peppers in a bowl and season with extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, oregano, salt, pepper, and black olives. Mix all the ingredients together and leave to marinate for a quarter of an hour, then use the pasta dressing, as some basil leaves and you’re done.
Imaginative rice dish
Using basmati rice, you can create delicious stuffed peppers in a short amount of time. First empty them, blanch them in boiling salted water and then pass them under cold water to stop them cooking. In the same water in which the peppers are cooked, boil the rice and once drained season with cherry tomatoes, capers, olives, extra virgin olive oil, and pepper. Mix the ingredients together, fill the peppers, and serve. A good variation is the addition of diced mortadella in the filling.
Stuffed peppers
A great summer classic is tuna-filled peppers. Blend 300 grams of drained tuna in a blender together with an egg and two or three slices of bread in a box deprived of the crust. Then cut a mozzarella into cubes and after drying it add it to the tuna mixture, adding a spoonful of pine nuts and a few chopped basil leaves. After having washed and stripped the seeds from a dozen or so peppers, stuff them with the prepared mixture and put everything in an oven tray greased with oil. Before baking for about three-quarters of an hour at 200 degrees, sprinkle the surface of the peppers with another spoonful of pine nuts and breadcrumbs.
Peppers with chicken
With a kilo of chopped chicken, two peppers, six tablespoons of tomato pulp, one onion, oil, salt, and half a glass of white wine you can prepare another pretty amazing summer dish. Just wash and remove the seeds from the peppers, cut them into strips, and cook in a pan with salt and oil for the time necessary to brown everything. Once browned, add the wine and let it evaporate. Finally add the tomato pulp, a few slices of onion, any additional pepper strips, add a little water, cover with a lid, and cook for about an hour.
Marinated peppers
To enjoy a nice plate of marinated peppers, just grill them or bake them in the oven at 200 degrees for half an hour, place them still hot on a sheet of transparent cling film for twenty minutes and peel them. After removing the skin, seeds, and white filaments, cut the peppers into strips and place them in an oven dish, season with extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, garlic, and chopped parsley. Mix all the ingredients together and let the peppers marinate in the fridge for at least an hour before serving.
Peppers bruschetta
A fresh and very quick appetizer could also be the bruschetta with diced peppers and tomato on crispy bread. Before topping the bread, mix both ingredients with extra virgin olive oil, chopped basil, and salt.
Pepper carpaccio
For a tasty carpaccio with peppers, mozzarella and eggplant to be enjoyed over a summer lunch for four people try this: a yellow pepper, pepper, garlic, 300 grams of mozzarella (maybe buffalo mozzarella), three salad tomatoes, salt, an eggplant, an onion, vinegar, basil and olive oil. Start by cutting the eggplant into thin slices, to be grilled separately from the onion, cut in the same way. Then cook the pepper in the oven at 180 degrees for a quarter of an hour. Afterward, wrap it in aluminum foil and let it cool for a while. Then chop the pepper coarsely and put it in a pan with the grilled onion, four tablespoons of oil, two of vinegar, half a clove of chopped garlic, salt, pepper and some basil leaves. Now clean the tomatoes and cut them into slices, as well as the mozzarella. Finally, arrange it all into layers: pepper, mozzarella, tomato, and eggplant. To enjoy a dish like this though be sure to let it rest for half an hour beforehand.
Pepper rolls
Super fast and decidedly summery are red pepper rolls with mozzarella and anchovies. Wash the peppers, open them in half, remove the stem, seeds, and white filaments and then cut them into wide strips almost five centimeters wide. Blanch them for a few minutes in boiling salted water and then drain them. Place a thin slice of mozzarella and a desalted anchovy fillet on each stratum. Roll them all up and secure them with a toothpick. At this point pour the extra virgin olive oil into an oven dish, dust the bottom of the dish with a spoonful of breadcrumbs and place the skewers next to each other. After dousing the rolls with another drizzle of oil, bake in the oven at 200 degrees for twenty minutes.
Puff pastry peppers
Finally, another tasty idea is puff pastry with peppers, buffalo mozzarella, and green olives. The filling is prepared with four peppers and 400 grams of mozzarella, all in thin slices. The peppers should then be toasted in the oven and then peeled and seasoned with chopped rosemary leaves, two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, salt, and a clove of garlic sliced. In the meantime, after having pitted the olives and cut them in half, season the pie and close everything before baking at 200 degrees for 15 minutes. A quarter of an hour later you’ll need to wait just a little longer for the dish to cool down knowing that this decidedly irresistibly tasty reward will be well worth the wait!