Sweet Peppers

Sweet Peppers Recipes

 

Availability: September

Storage tips: Sweet peppers are best used when very fresh. Refrigerate or store at cool room temperature.  If your pepper has started to turn red, you can leave it at room temp for a day or two and it will ripen to red.  

How to eat: Chopped peppers are great snack foods or additions to kids’ lunches. Peppers can be roasted and stuffed. We also enjoy peppers simply sliced raw with a dip (i.e. the cilantro sauce recipe under 'Cilantro'), or stir-fried with sliced onion until both are soft and served either as a side dish or over sausage or kielbasa. They are also good in a main course stir fry with ground beef and other vegetables, or added to a chicken or vegetable soup.

How to preserve:  BEST: Frozen!  Simply chop or slice peppers and throw into a freezer bag.  Simple as that!  Pull them out to use in soups or stir-fries later, as the texture will not be as crisp as when fresh.

Or try the fermented pepper relish below!

Crustless Red Pepper Quiche

½ cup julienned pepper
1 cup chopped tomato
2 tbls butter or oil
2 tbls minced basil
1 cup grated cheese
1 cup cream (or plain yogurt)
4 eggs, beaten

Heat butter in a skillet on medium and sauté pepper and tomato for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk together cheese, cream and eggs. Add basil and stir. Grease well a medium cast iron skillet or pie dish with butter. Spread sautéed vegetables onto the bottom of the baking dish (without the juices). Then, pour the egg mixture over the vegetables. Place in a 350 degree oven for about 45 minutes or until set.

Fermented Pepper Onion Relish

This makes about a quart. 

  • 2 cups thinly sliced sweet peppers (red, yellow, orange, green, or a combo)
  • 1 cup thinly sliced onion (any color)
  • 1 clove minced garlic
  • 1-2 hot peppers minced (to taste, optional)
  • 2 TSP salt

Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl. Stir occasionally over the next 30 minutes to let the juices release. Put into quart jar with lid. Let sit on counter at room temperature to ferment for approximately 2-5 days. Taste to see how you like it! Store in the refrigerator and enjoy! 

Green Pepper and Apple Salad

Great seasonal salad that I made with some local apples from the Common Ground Fair for lunch yesterday and was a hit!

1 large green pepper, thinly sliced
2 medium apples, peeled and thinly sliced
handful of raisins or dried currants

Combine all ingredients and pour over the following dressing:

½ cup plain yogurt
2-3 teaspoons maple syrup
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Salt to taste

Italian Broccoli and Peppers

1 large or 2 medium heads broccoli, cut into florets
cooking oil
2 sweet peppers, green or red, julienned
1 clove garlic, minced or to taste
salt and pepper to taste
1-2 TBLS fresh oregano, minced or 1 tsp dried
1 cup chopped tomatoes
Parmesan cheese, grated to taste

Blanch broccoli for 3 minutes.  Drain, cool, set aside.  Heat oil in skillet on medium-high.  Add peppers.  Sauté 3-5 min.  Add broccoli, garlic, s&p, oregano, and tomato.  Sauté 3-5 min.  Serve hot and top with parmesan cheese.  Great over pasta or as a side dish!

Mexican-inspired Green Pepper Stir-fry

Cooking oil
1 small onion, chopped or sliced
2 green peppers, cored, seeded and sliced
1 medium zucchini/summer squash, sliced thinly
1-2 TBLS fresh oregano, minced
fresh hot pepper, minced to taste
1 clove garlic, minced or to taste
½-1 tsp ground cumin, to taste
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in skillet on medium-high.  Add onions, peppers, and zukes.  Stir-fry 5-10 min, until desired tenderness.  Add spices to taste. Stir 1-2 more min.

North African Shakshuka

This recipe is a delicious one skillet meal for a lazy morning.  It is really, really good.  We topped ours with a dollop of sour cream and had it with tortillas.  Try it!

½ tsp cumin seeds
¼+/- cup cooking oil
1 medium-large onion, sliced
3 sweet peppers, green or ripe, sliced
1 teaspoon+ honey/other sweetener
1 bay leaf
½ tsp dried thyme
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
2+ cups chopped tomatoes
Salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper to taste
6-8 eggs

In large skillet dry-roast cumin over high heat for 2 min. Add oil & onions.  Sauté 5 min. Add peppers, honey, bay, thyme & ½ of cilantro.  Sauté 5-10 min. Add tomatoes & seasonings.  Cook 10-15 min, stirring. Remove bay leaf.  Make gaps in veggies.  Crack eggs into gaps. Sprinkle salt on eggs, cover, & cook on medium-low heat about 10 min until eggs are set. Garnish with cilantro.

Roasted Broccoli and Red Peppers
  • Broccoli, cut into florets
  • Red sweet peppers, cut into long strips
  • Olive oil
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • Garlic, minced to taste

Put broccoli and peppers into a bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Toss to combine well. Lay on a cookie sheet and roast at 400 degrees, turning halfway through, until almost tender, approx 15-25 min. Add garlic, toss, and roast another 5-10 min. Serve hot or cold as a salad.
 

Roasted Pepper and Tomato Soup

This is a variation on a roasted tomato soup that our employee Sara makes where I added roasted peppers.  Delicious and only possible at the peak of pepper season on the farm!  Get ready to fire up your roaster (aka your oven) :)

  • ripe sweet peppers, cored and seeded
  • ripe tomatoes, cored and halved
  • cooking oil
  • onions, chopped
  • garlic, peeled, to taste
  • chicken broth
  • cream to taste
  • salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Lay prepared peppers and tomatoes on baking sheet and roast until the skins on the peppers are bulging and browning.  Remove from oven.  Let cool until you're able to handle them.  Slip off the skins of the peppers and tomatoes.  Roughly chop.  Meanwhile, heat oil on medium in pot on the stove.  Add onions and gently saute until translucent, not browning, 5-10 minutes.  Add garlic, tomatoes, and peppers.  Add enough broth to barely cover.  Gently simmer until everything is very tender, approximately 20-30 minutes.  Puree using handheld blender.  Add cream to taste and check salt and pepper.  This soup can take quite a bit of salt so make sure you've put enough.  Serve hot!

Roasted Red Peppers and Tomatoes

This is so easy and delicious!  I serve it with haddock and it goes so well.  Beware, the juices are worthy of licking the plate!  ;)

  • 2-3 cups sweet red (or any ripe color will work) peppers, seeded and sliced into large peices
  • 4-5 cups tomatoes, cut into chunks
  • 1/4 cup+ olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced (or to taste)
  • 1/2 tsp dried thyme (or 2 tsp minced fresh thyme)
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • feta cheese to taste

Add peppers and tomatoes to a casserole dish.  Mix the olive oil, garlic, thyme, salt, and pepper together and drizzle around on top.  Roast at 400 degrees until soft and fragrant.  Remove from oven and top with crumbled feta cheese.  Serve hot!

Shakshuka with a lot of Feta
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 cup onion, thinly sliced
  • 2-3 cups red or other ripe colored bell/sweet pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
  • 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • ground cayenne, to taste
  • 1 (28-ounce) can whole plum tomatoes with their juices, coarsely chopped OR use fresh tomatoes, chopped
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • 5-8 ounces feta, crumbled
  • 6-8 large eggs
  • cilantro, optional

Saute onion and pepper in skillet untiil very soft, about 20 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 to 2 minutes.  Add spices, stir and cook 1 minute. Add tomatoes and salt and pepper.  Simmer until tomatoes have thickened, about 10 minutes.  Gently fold in crumbled feta.

Gently crack eggs into skillet over tomatoes.  Transfer skillet to a 375 degree oven and bake until eggs are just set, 7 to 10 minutes. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve.

Tomato Pepper Salsa

1.5 lbs. tomatoes, coarsely chopped
½ cup red onion, minced
1 hot pepper, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ bunch cilantro, chopped
½ cup sweet pepper, diced
1-2 tsp salt (to taste)

Mix all ingredients together. Serve or refrigerate.

Unstuffed Any Color Pepper Casserole

You can make this casserole with any kind of pepper, from sweet red or green bell to sweet Italian frying, to poblanos, or any combination depending on preference and taste.  I like this recipe because it is so easy to make a full meal!

  • 2-3 cups cooked rice
  • 2 cups sweet (any color) or Poblano peppers, chopped
  • 1 cup onion, chopped
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • 1 pound ground meat (I used beef)
  • 24 oz tomato sauce
  • 1+ cup more of thinly sliced peppers
  • 1-2 cups grated cheese of choice (I have used cheddar + parmesan or mozzarella)

Brown meat with peppers, onion, salt, and pepper. Add tomato sauce and rice. Mix well. Line casserole with sliced peppers. Pour in meat mixture. Put cheese on top. Bake at 350 until heated through and cheese is browning a little. Serve hot.