Sweet & Sour Peppers, or Agrodolce if You're Like That
Second of Three Posts, this one about a great condiment
Last week we built out the pantry with an arugula pistou. That said, I’d love to call it ‘arugula paste’ — imagine being in a $13/small plate restaurant and they described something as ‘finished with a blob of arugula paste.’
I suppose the French/Italian/Japanese culinary-industrial complex wins the day for dinner’s hearts and wallets, so pistou it is.
Same goes for this week’s pantry item: agrodolce peppers.
Like pesto, peperonata agrodolce is traditionally made with the wildly expensive pine nut. As is tradition here at On The Table, we won’t be using anything as expensive as pine nuts in our recipe. I do not dislike pine nuts. They are delicious. But I also remember going to buy pine nuts when I was living in NYC to make caponata and being absolutely shocked by how much they cost. I don’t want you to think I’ll make these peppers only to be put off by the cost of entry.
[aside] I am not quite sure what the point of very expensive food is anymore. Outside of the peacock-like preening of being able to let people you can afford such food(s). To change up the angle, I am more impressed if you can take a beet and bring out multiple ways to enjoy it than I am with throwing a spoonful of caviar on an omelette — tho if anyone wants to take me out to present a counter-argument I can arrange the time ;)
The barrier that exists for a lot of the items that I make here is your pantry. By which I mean things that you made before and are ready to use. I understand that, and as best I can I try and offer alternatives that you are more likely to have on hand.
Now that the preamble has had time and space to sufficiently amble, let’s get into it.
Sweet & Sour Peppers (v/gf)
2 bell peppers, cut into strips
1 onion (see below)
2 2” pieces of pickled rhubarb, 1 sliced, 1 diced
~1/2c of pickled rhubarb brine
2 tbsp of maple syrup
Gochugaru
Salt
Wash and cut your bell peppers into strips. Use any red, orange, or yellow peppers for this. The green bell pepper, which is undergoing a little bit of the early 2000s iceberg lettuce treatment, is a wonderful pepper but has too much pyrazine in it. Pyrazine is the compound that gives off those green flavors like grass. If you do have a bunch of green bell peppers, try this Greek dish which looks fantastic.
It is too early in the season to use local bell peppers, so this isn’t a 100% local dish yet. First off, oh well. Secondly, everything else in the recipe as I wrote it is and since the rhubarb is pickled this could easily become a 100% local dish in a few months.
There are a few fresh spring onions starting to come out of the ground already and I was fortunate enough to have some on hand, so that is what i used for this dish. As the diameter is small, I cut them into whole moons, almost like slicing a shallot. If you have a red or Spanish onion around, half-moons would be the way I’d prepare them.
Get your two pieces of pickled rhubarb. One we are going to slice the other we will dice. The sliced rhubarb is for texture whereas the diced rhubarb is to add to the flavor and be another note in the song.
Rhubarb replaces the capers traditionally used, so please use capers as needed. Or experiment with another pickled vegetable. It’s cooking. It’s okay if it doesn’t turn out right. If I needed to replace the rhubarb I’d personally use a mix of capers and a handful of raising soaked in red wine vinegar.
Now let’s cook everything. It’s wonderfully simple.
Fry peppers in olive oil, covered, over medium high heat for five minutes. If you are using a red or Spanish onion, I would also fry them at this time.
After five minutes have passed, remove the cover and add your fresh spring onions, rhubarb, and a pinch of gochugaru. The gochugaru replaces the crushed red pepper flakes traditionally used. Toss the pan a few times and then add the rhubarb brine and maple syrup. Bring to a nice bubbling simmer and let everything cook for another five minutes. Give it a taste and if are happy with the flavor and texture you are done — i like my peppers pliable, but still with integrity.
You can eat these peppers hot, cold, or room temperature. If they are served as a side, a little bit of fresh mint on top is a nice addition.
The night I made these I added them to a salad. They’re also great on a grilled cheese, pizza, pastas.
Next week we will be using the pistou of last week and this week’s peppers to make a dish.
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This week’s musical selection is by Danny Go! Danny Go! dominates the after school around here. Especially if it is raining outside so the physical activity options are limited. This joint, “Dance Like a Dinosaur” happens to be my favorite and didn’t immediately show up when I Googled him, so I clearly like the more esoteric b-sides.
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