sicilian food Archives - Page 3 of 4

Sicilian Stuffed Peppers

I make a batch of these for the freezer for a quick evening meal. This recipe is adapted from one shown on the website of the owners of DiGregorio Italian Grocery on The Hill in St. Louis.

Cuisine beef

Ingredients

4 large green peppers or mix of green, yellow and red
1 Tbs. olive oil
1/2 lb. mild Italian salsiccia
1/2 lb. ground beef
1 14- oz can diced San Marzano Tomatoes
1 Tbs. garlic chopped
1 cup seasoned breadcrumbs such as Panko
3/4 lb. Italian Fontina cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan freshly grated
Parsley finely chopped (garnish)

Instructions

Remove tops and core green peppers. Remove stem, dice the tops and set aside. Parboil peppers 3-5 minutes depending on the thickness of the shell.
In a large skillet, heat olive oil.
Add salsiccia sausage, ground beef, and diced green peppers. When meats are cooked through, add tomatoes and garlic.
Once the tomatoes have been reduced, remove from heat. Add breadcrumbs and fontina cheese. Mix thoroughly.
Spoon mixture evenly into the pepper shells and top with Parmesan and parsley. Bake for 30 minutes. Serves 4.
Note I add about 1/3 of chopped onions to the meat/pepper skillet and 1/4 tsp. of red pepper flakes. Sometimes I cook the stuffed pepper in a puddle of Marinara Sauce (or store-bought spaghetti sauce) and top the uncooked stuffed pepper with a spoonful before adding the Parmesan.

Sicilian Caponata—fun to make, fun to eat, and fun to photograph.

The first time I tasted a Sicilian Caponata it sent my taste buds into shock. Not that it was packing heat; I was stunned by an explosion of flavors I’d never experienced.

Eggplant plays the starring role in the ancient and awesome medley that delivers such a flavor wallop. The eggplant is sautéed in a sweet-sour sauce, that includes olive oil, pine nuts, capers, olives, tomatoes, raisins, vinegar, sugar and seasonings.

The Spanish brought the dish to Sicily centuries ago, but it was also influenced by the Arabs, Greeks and North Africans coming to the island. Sicily is blessed with the climate to grow all the ingredients for Caponata.

Bittman: “I once lived on Caponata for two days.

New York Times writer Mark Bittman gives a quick and delightful Caponata recipe using lavender eggplants. The Sicilian relish features a combo of cooked vegetables sweetened with raisins and pine nuts. The dish is more Mediterranean than ratatouille, it’s French counterpart.

Bittman says that once while traveling across country, he lived on Caponata for two days. He recalled how he made the dish: “Over fairly high heat, I soften sliced onions and green bell pepper in of olive oil. As they cooked, I chopped and added the eggplant, along with crushed dried red peppers, capers, pine nuts, chopped green olives, raisins and a bit of sugar. After that had all cooked down, I stirred in tomato paste and vinegar.”

Smitten Kitchen gives a similar, but much more exacting recipe here.

Caponata is a culinary cousin of ratatouille served in Provence, France.

Before starting the recipe, I usually “sweat” the eggplant chunks for a half hour or so, layering the chunks in a colander with a bit of salt to remove any bitter taste. Despite the unusual directions and exotic ingredients, the recipe comes together easily.

Caponata is best served the second day and at room temperature. Spread it on crostini or bruschetta; combine it with a short pasta like rigatoni, zita, or penne; or serve it beside roast chicken or fish. The finished texture will be thick and creamy, much like chutney. I’ve got to stop and go make some. Recipe is here.