Peperonata (Sweet Bell Peppers With Olive Oil, Onion, and Tomatoes) Recipe

Name: Peperonata (Sweet Bell Peppers With Olive Oil, Onion, and Tomatoes)
Cook time: 95 min
Total time: 95 min
Yield: 8
Ingredients: 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided; 6 medium cloves garlic, thinly sliced; 2 medium yellow onions, sliced 1/4 inch thick; 4 pounds red, yellow, and/or orange bell peppers (about 6 large bell peppers), stemmed, seeded, and sliced lengthwise 1/2 inch thick; 1 cup pureed tomatoes (see note); 2 sprigs basil or oregano; Kosher salt; 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar or red wine vinegar

Why It Works

Slow cooking over very low heat breaks down the vegetables and concentrates their flavors.

Quick: How many dishes can you name with bell peppers as the one and only star ingredient?

Southern Italian peperonata in an enamel cast iron Dutch oven. — Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

I asked myself this question recently and got stuck on crudités. And even that's not a good answer, because a raw vegetable platter gives equal billing to all the other options, from celery sticks to carrots.

Stuffed peppers? I'd argue that the stuffing is just as important.

Roasted pepper pasta? Nah, it can't exist without the pasta.

See what I mean? As much as we use peppers in all sorts of dishes, they almost never get the spotlight all to themselves. Except for in peperonata. If you haven't heard of it, peperonata is a side dish from southern Italy that features sweet summer bell peppers cooked down in plenty of olive oil until they're meltingly soft. It's so simple, it belongs in our collection of easy Summer Recipes.

Sure, there are a few other ingredients. There's some tomato in there, and certainly some onion and garlic. You can hit it with a splash of wine vinegar for a little sweet-sour effect, or add an herb like basil or oregano for some extra layers of aromatics. But peperonata is ultimately all about those peppers.

Red bell pepper, yellow bell pepper, garlic, and onion resting on a wooden surface. — Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

So let's start there: This dish is most worth making in the summer, when bell peppers are intensely sweet and flavorful. That sweetness is important, since it forms the base of the gentle sweet-sour character that makes peperonata so good. Out-of-season peppers can be used, but you may need to sprinkle on a tiny bit of sugar to get the flavor balance right. Green bell peppers, which are just red or yellow ones before they turn ripe, have no place in this dish for the very same reason—they bring very little natural sugar to the table.

To make it, I start by slicing bell peppers into strips. Be sure to trim away any of the white ribs inside the peppers.

The center of a red bell pepper is being cut out with a chef's knife. — Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

I gently cook sliced garlic in a generous amount of olive oil until it shows the first hints of turning golden.

Cut garlic being cooked in olive oil and stirred with a wooden spoon. — Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

Next, I add sliced onions and get them started on their way to softness.

Sliced onions being cooked with garlic and olive oil and stirred with a wooden spoon. — Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

I don't let the onions go too long before adding the peppers, though. Peppers need quite a bit of time to fully soften, so it's better to get them into the pot sooner than later.

I let the peppers cook for a bit, until they start to compress. You'll notice that at first they nearly fill this pot. That's because they're so rigid that they stack up with lots of space between them.

Sliced red and yellow bell peppers are cooking with garlic and onions in a skillet. — Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

Once they've started to collapse, I add some tomato puree, which I make by simply blending canned whole tomatoes with their juices.

I also throw in some herbs. In this case, I've used sprigs of fresh basil, which I love in this dish, but oregano and marjoram are excellent choices, too.

A few leaves of basil thrown in and cooking with the pepper and onion mixture. — Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

I let the whole thing simmer over moderate heat until the peppers are totally softened and bathed in a rich sauce of their own reduced juices mixed with the olive oil; that can take up to an hour or so, so be patient. A touch of wine vinegar right at the end helps brighten the whole thing up.

An overhead of a cooked pepper and onion mixture. — Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

This is another one of those dishes that's good hot, but even better served at room temperature after spending a night in the fridge. It's great alongside roasted meats or as a side dish that's part of a larger spread, as well as spooned onto good, crusty rustic bread.

One bite is enough to make me believe that bell peppers are capable of a lot more starring roles than they're given. But even if they're destined to be a one-hit wonder, this is a heck of a hit.

August 2015

Peperonata (Sweet Bell Peppers With Olive Oil, Onion, and Tomatoes)

Cook 95 mins

Active 90 mins

Total 95 mins

Serves 4 to 8 servings

3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
6 medium cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2 medium yellow onions, sliced 1/4 inch thick
4 pounds red, yellow, and/or orange bell peppers (about 6 large bell peppers), stemmed, seeded, and sliced lengthwise 1/2 inch thick
1 cup pureed tomatoes (see notes)
2 sprigs basil or oregano
Kosher salt
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar or red wine vinegar

In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat 1/2 cup olive oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add garlic and cook, stirring, until just starting to turn golden, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in onions, increase heat to medium-high, and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in peppers and cook, stirring occasionally, until starting to soften, about 20 minutes.

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik
Add tomato and basil or oregano sprigs and stir to combine. Bring to a gentle simmer, then lower heat to maintain simmer. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until peppers are very soft, about 1 hour. Stir in remaining 1/4 cup olive oil and season with salt. Stir in vinegar (see notes). Discard herb sprigs. Serve right away, or chill, then serve reheated, slightly chilled, or at room temperature.

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

Notes

For the pureed tomatoes, you can use a puree of fresh peeled and seeded tomatoes that have been briefly cooked to concentrate their flavor, or canned whole tomatoes that you've blended with their juices. (Canned tomatoes are often the better choice, since they are usually top-quality.) If you make this with beautiful, ripe summer bell peppers, they should provide enough sweetness to balance the small amount of vinegar. If your peppers are less sweet and the peperonata tastes a little too tart, add a tiny bit of sugar, a pinch at a time, until the flavor is balanced.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
269	Calories
21g	Fat
21g	Carbs
3g	Protein

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4 to 8
Amount per serving
Calories	269
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 21g	27%
Saturated Fat 3g	14%
Cholesterol 0mg	0%
Sodium 54mg	2%
Total Carbohydrate 21g	8%
Dietary Fiber 4g	13%
Total Sugars 13g
Protein 3g
Vitamin C 393mg	1,966%
Calcium 37mg	3%
Iron 2mg	10%
Potassium 564mg	12%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.