Peperonata with potatoes is one of summer's great delights in the Italian American Kitchen. The fresh picked peppers are the prize of today's excursion. The drive takes us to York County, just south of Lancaster: Amish and Mennonite country. Here a horse and buggy are an everyday reality. Even farm equipment, drawn by four mules along the road and slowing the gas vehicles behind them is to be expected. Here children scoot along on the bicycles, propelled not by pedal and chain, but by their foot that paddles them along. But there is another inhabitant in this world. In some respects, these inhabitants also have ideas from the past. These are the farmers who have retained or restored food as it once was: pastured animals, humanely raised and slaughtered on sustainable farms. Hand painted signs offer "Pastured Eggs," "Grass Fed Beef," "Icelandic Sheep," "Peaches," "Peppers," "Field Potatoes," and of course, "Corn." Corn. The fields are ripe with acre after acre. All along the roadside, panels with what seem to be corporate names and under the name a number. Are these genetically manipulated corn plants? With such an extent, are they intended for animal consumption? The thought that this corn, if it is indeed genetically modified, somewhat disturbs the otherwise richly bucolic trance that has been the lullaby to my casual drive through these hills and valleys.
But leave the dark side to itself for a moment. Let's get to summer recipes. We drive along. The dogs, snouts against the windows are transfixed by the passing landscape. (What do they see and think?) There is a sign ahead that offers fresh produce. The arrow points to the left. I make the turn. I drive a winding road for what seems to be some time. No sign of a farm or of a farm stand. Nonetheless, I persist. Another few minutes pass and other hills and valleys. Then, another sign appears with the same lettering . It point to the right. Again, I make the turn. The road gets smaller. The hills become steeper. The drive is even longer. From the top of each rise I can see for miles around me. Then, another sign, the same lettering: "tomatoes, peppers, today's corn." This time the sign points left. I obey. Down we ride through a deep valley where the road is now bordered by thick trees. Then the road starts to climb. It becomes narrower still. Two vehicles would not be able to share the road. Suddenly, the road peaks at the top of a hill. There again is the sign in the same hand. An arrow directs towards a gravel drive that descends toward a red barn, some outbuildings, a white house and several silos, silver, white and blue. There is a clothes line hung with the familiar Mennonite pennant colors of white, gray, blue and black. The Pathfinder rumbles down the drive over holes and bumps and gravel. At the end of the drive, just before you reach the barn, is a little shack. Underneath the shack's overhang are counters filled with all the fruits of a Pennsylvania August: corn, melons, eggplants, tomatoes, onions( red and yellow), peppers ( green and red), potatoes (several varieties) and of course, zucchini in every size and shape (Is there a more varied and prolific vegetable than zucchini?) |
The visual array and the sweet scent of summer vegetables collected under that little overhang took me back to the pantry of our summer home and my father's weekly collection of farm produce from local farms. I was back in our pantry, stocked with his fresh supply of summer vegetables.The recollection of taste and smell directed my mind and nose and stomach to how my mother transformed those pecks of summer's bounty into any number of recipes of sweet delights. Of course, the first thing that comes to mind is eggplant with squash and potatoes. See that recipe on another page of this site. But, when those fat bell peppers, mostly red with a shadow of green, caught my eye, my mouth and nose, longed for something else: peperonata.Now, peperonata is a very close cousin to the eggplant, squash and potatoes, recipe. But, this time, the base is peppers and onions.
The traditional pepper for this recipe is the thin, long, sweet, green Italian pepper. But they are not always easy to find. When I was a child, our neighbors grew them and the hot red version by the dozens and strung them from the clothes line to dry. I doubt you would see that much these days. Since the traditional Italian pepper may not be available, for this peperonata recipe I used only red bell peppers. For me, green bell peppers are problematic. Many people like them. For others they are just too strong. The type of peppers you use is based on personal taste. If you can find them the very best peppers would be the long sweet Italian variety. While these are green to greenish yellow, they don't have the strong backlash of green bell peppers. Hot peppers are also ok, but that's going in a different direction from summer vegetables. To me, it's the sweetness that makes this version of a peperonata a true summer dish. Once you have made the basic recipe of this summer vegetable perperonata with potatoes you can use it as the base of other recipes. One of the great uses for this basic peperonata with potatoes recipe is "Peppers and eggs." When I was a student pepper and egg sandwiches were on every street corner in Italy. In the past twenty five years I've never seen a one. Even in this country, even in Philadelphia, you would be hard pressed to find one. Yet, when I was a child, peppers and eggs in an Italian roll was a weekly regular. Before summer began and after it was over, we went to our Jersey shore house every Friday right after school to spend the weekend. In those days, before the expressway, it was a longer drive. So, we had dinner in the car. Our dinner, on a Friday with no meat, was peppers and eggs on an Italian roll. (An Amoroso Bakery roll.) The peperonata was heated in a fry pan. The potatoes were crushed down. A whipped egg went on top and the ensembles was fried together and stuffed into the roll. What a delight! Another use of peperonata is to make your favorite pasta and garnish it with the peperonata. Then, too, if you don't mind doubling your carbs, simply add a good cup of your beans of choice. As an additional note, "peperonata" means "peppered," not peppered as in black pepper but as in the garden vegetable pepper. Curious to say, the word "peperonata" has nothing to do with the Italian American word "pepperoni." "Pepperoni" in Italian means garden peppers, not the spicy sausage that we put on pizza. "Peperonata with potatoes" is an easy, delightful and delicious recipe: a joy of summer vegetables. |
What you need
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Equipment
Sharp knife or Asian cleaver. Cast iron pot with lid or similar pot. Tongs |
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Getting it together: the mise-en-place, have all your elements in place before you begin to cook.
Tomato skins
When using fresh tomatoes you need to peel them.
Blanch them for a minute or so in boiling water. |
Ice bath
Plunge them immediately into a bath of ice water.
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Peel the tomatoes
You should be able to easily peel the skin from the plum tomatoes.
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Quarter the tomatoes
Quarter the tomatoes and set them aside.
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Potatoes
Quarter the potatoes.
Set them aside. This recipe uses Yokon gold. You do not need to peel them. If using baking potatoes you need to peel. |
Peppers
Open the peppers. Remove the whitish ribs and seeds.
Slice the peppers in strips. Set them aside. |
Onions
Slice the onions in strips.
Do not dice or cube them. |
Garlic
Chop about three or four cloves of garlic.
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The cooking
Sauter the onions
In a heavy iron kettle or other heavy oven pot, sauter the onions in olive oil just until the slightly brown.
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Peppers
Add the pepper and continue to sauter until they become slightly soft.
Add the garlic. |
Potatoes
Add the potatoes.
Salt. Spices. Stir well to coat everything. |
Oven
Cover the pot and set in a 350 oven for about an hour.
Half way through you may want to check and stir. At the end of an hour, check the potatoes for doneness. Certain varieties may need more time. Check for salt and seasonings. |
Serve with a good bread - garnish with basil
