A simple classic dish which is a breeze to make, this chunky peperonata makes a lovely summer side dish which goes so well with grilled and roast poultry or fish.

Seasonal
Fresh and Tasty
Easy to Prepare
Prepare ahead
versitile
serve hot or cold
Low Calorie
Low Carb

The flavours in chunky peperonata are very similar to the ones in my summer provencal chicken dish I posted a short while ago, so I was wondering if it was too soon to share this dish. In the end I decided it wasnt, as this is very much the type of food that I am eating at the moment. It's fresh, simple and quick to prepare. Lighter than the dishes I serve in the winter it is also a very versatile dish. When I last made it to shoot for this post I served it as a side dish with some guinea fowl which I had roasted on the barbecue. It is delicious as a side dish to poultry and other grilled meats. I also like it with pork chops or with simple grilled fish.

But there is more to this recipe than just a side dish. You could also serve it as anti pasti or add it to pasta for a simple and fresh sauce. I have also served it as a light main dish in itself served with some crusty bread for mopping up the juices. I generally like to cook it so that the peppers are still slightly firm to the bite.

Traditionally it would be cooked until the peppers are meltingly soft and when I serve it as an anti-pasti that is how I would cook it. Just double the cooking time. If you want you can add some olives to it too. It is delicious served hot or at room temperature making it an ideal cook ahead dish when you want to be well prepared. In fact you could argue that the flavour is even better when it has been left in the fridge overnight and given time for the flavours to soften and blend together.

Chunky Peperonata

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A classic Italian dish which makes a delicous light side or can be served as a light main, anitipasti or even as a pasta sauce

Course light main, Side Dish

Cuisine Italian

Keyword casserole, summer, vegetarian

Skill Level very easy

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 25

Total Time 40

Servings

Calories 109

Author Jacqueline Bellefontaine

Ingredients

2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 onion cut into wedges
2 cloves garlic sliced
1 red pepper seeded and sliced
1 green pepper seeded and sliced
1 yellow pepper seeded and sliced
2 tomatoes seeded and sliced
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme or ½ teaspoon dried thyme
150 ml vegetable stock or water
1 teaspoon tomato purée (tomato paste)
salt and freshly ground black pepper
basil leaves to garnish

metric - US cups

Instructions

Heat the oil in a large frying pan and fry the onions for about 5 minutes until softened and begining to colour. Then stir in the sliced garlic.
Add the peppers and cook for another 5 minutes or so. Add the tomatoes, thyme, vegetable stock and tomato purée. Bring to the boil.
Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring frequently until the peppers are just tender. (see notes)
Serve immediately or at room temperature.

Notes

I scoop out and discard the seeds from the tomatoes before slicing for this dish but you can leave them in if you want.

The peperonata can also be allowed to cool and kept in the refrigerator for up to 48 hours. Reheat or bring to room temperature to serve.

If you want to cook your peperonata so that they are softer and more like a classic peperonata increase the cooking time in step 3 to 30 minutes.

I like to add a mixture of peppers as it makes for a lovely colourful dish but you could use all red peppers if you preferred. Yellow peppers would also work but steer clear of using only green peppers as they just do not have the right degree of sweetness for this dish.

Nutrition information is approximate and is meant as a guideline only. (It does not include seasoning with salt and pepper.)

Nutrition

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More Summer Dishes Made Easy

I'm linking this post to #CookBlogShare hosted this week at Easy Peasy Foodie

Comments

5 from 4 votes

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Mandy says

July 06, 2018 at 8:46 am

I really love peperonata - it's such a perfect dish for summer and makes the most of those wonderful and enormous peppers that they have in Italy!
- Jacqueline A Bellefontaine says
  
  July 09, 2018 at 11:20 am
  
  Oh how i wish we could get those fabulous big peppers here too
Eb Gargano | Easy Peasy Foodie says

July 05, 2018 at 3:11 pm

What a lovely dish! I love the simple yet delicious flovours of Italian food. I think this would be gorgeous as a pasta sauce! Thanks for sharing with #CookBlogShare 😀 Eb x
- Jacqueline A Bellefontaine says
  
  July 09, 2018 at 11:21 am
  
  There are so many fabulous Italian recipes that are simple but oh so tasty as my next recipe also shows.
Cat | Curly's Cooking says

July 05, 2018 at 1:15 pm

This looks like such a fresh and tasty dish. I love peppers so will have to give this a go.
- Jacqueline A Bellefontaine says
  
  July 05, 2018 at 2:50 pm
  
  It is just that if you love peppers you are sure to like this.
Corina Blum says

July 03, 2018 at 10:11 am

This is such a good side dish for summer! I can imagine it was delicious with the guinea fowl.
- Jacqueline Bellefontaine says
  
  July 03, 2018 at 11:57 am
  
  Thank you Corina, yes it went very well I love getting the barbecue out at this time of year then serving simple sides with grilled dishes.
Priya Joshi says

July 03, 2018 at 8:53 am

oh yum! I love a pepperonata and I always have peppers to use up at the end of the week. This looks great!
- Jacqueline Bellefontaine says
  
  July 03, 2018 at 11:57 am
  
  I always have peppers in the fridge too this is a great way to use them. J x