I was at dinner last night and one of krow’s delightful and valued clients was asking for ideas for an Italian dinner party … This morning I remembered this dish, which rather amazingly hasn’t yet made it to my blog. So here it is.
This recipe is absolutely brilliant. Do not be fooled by its simplicity. It is one of those magic culinary combinations that its hard to believe can taste quite so good. For me it sums up what I love about Italian cookery.
Allegedly it was first discovered by Elizabeth David and published in her book Italian Food. Then the Italian chef Franco Taruschio at the Walnut Tree Inn, near Abergavenny, cooked it there.
I got it from Simon Hopkinson’s ‘Roast Chicken and other recipes’ apparently he ate it at the Walnut Tree, put it on his menu at Bibendum, and then in his book and now to you.
This can be prepared in advance (leave the basil leaves till the last minute though)… and even tastes good the next day.
You could serve this on its own or alongside some other Italian antipasti like cooked meats or salads
This one’s for you Cat.
Serves 4 as a starter
Ingredients
4 large red peppers (green are not suitable)
8 cherry vine tomatoes
8 tinned anchovy fillets, drained
2 cloves garlic
8 dessertspoons Italian extra virgin olive oil
Freshly milled black pepper
To serve:
Small bunch fresh basil leaves
Method
Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 4, 350°F (180°C).
For this it is essential to use a good, solid, shallow roasting tray, 16 x 12 inches (40 x 30 cm). If the sides are too deep, the roasted vegetables won't get nice brown edges.
Begin by cutting the peppers in half and removing the seeds but leaving the stalks intact (they're not edible but they look quite good and they help the pepper halves to keep their shape). Lay the pepper halves in the lightly oiled roasting tray. Now put the tomatoes in a bowl and pour boiling water over them. Leave them for 1 minute, then drain them and slip the skins off. Then cut the tomatoes into quarters and place two quarters in each pepper half.
After that, cut one anchovy fillet per pepper half into rough pieces and add to the tomatoes. Peel the garlic cloves, slice them thinly and divide the slices equally among the tomatoes and anchovies. Now spoon 1 dessertspoon of olive oil into each pepper, season with freshly milled pepper (but no salt because of the anchovies) and place the tray on a high shelf in the oven for the peppers to roast for 50 minutes to 1 hour.
Then transfer the cooked peppers to a serving dish, with all the precious juices poured over, and garnish with a few scattered basil leaves. These do need good bread to go with them for soaking up the unctuous juices.
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