Рецепт Calabrese-Style Fried Potatoes with Peppers
I was living in Stockbridge, Massachusetts the first time I ate a searing hot pepper. It was one of those long, pointy, skinny peppers popular in Asian dishes that arrived on my plate at a neighborhood Thai restaurant. I figured if it was on the plate, I was supposed to eat it. Who knew? Seconds after chewing it up and swallowing part of it, a volcano erupted in my stomach. Water was absolutely useless in quenching the fire. A friend sitting across from me had an untouched Piña Colada in front of him. Boom! I downed the whole thing in about 3 gulps. The waitress found some milk tucked away in the kitchen to help the cause. It was my last Thai restaurant for a very long time, and I learned a very valuable lesson in treating peppers with respect.
I use peppers in LOTS of dishes, and I’m far from alone. After all, they show up in food all around the world from Asia, Spain, Italy, South America, Central America, and North Africa, to the Middle East.
If you’re a pepper-lover like I am, there’s a new cookbook out there for you – The Chile Pepper Bible by Judith Finlayson (a link is provided further down the post for ordering the book!). This book celebrates all kinds of peppers in dishes, but opens with a bucketful of information on chilis – their history, diversity, and health benefits, along with an explanation of the Scoville scale – a measurement for the spicy heat individual peppers pack. Oh, and there’s also an useful section on the types of chiles. (More than you can imagine.)
But my favorite part of the book is the diversity of the recipes. Judith shares 250 recipes from Mexico, Puerto Rico, Indonesia, and from the Caribbean and many other areas of the world. How do I know? Because the intro to each recipe provides a brief exploration of its roots.
If you’re a vegetarian, I should mention this is not a vegetarian cookbook. There are a large number of vegetarian recipes in the cookbook for desserts, appetizers, condiments, sides and a few main dishes. Many of them are vegan friendly too. But most of the main dishes incorporate either fish or meat. Obviously you can have some fun with substitutions, but I didn’t want you to be surprised.
To give you a taste of the type of recipes in this wonderful book, I’m sharing this one with you (with permission from the publisher). But first a couple of tips in working with the recipes.
Some of the peppers may be unfamiliar to you. I recommend checking the section of the book that talks about the different types of chiles, and if they’re not mentioned there, research them on the internet to get a sense for the amount of heat they pack. The book’s recipes cover a wide range of heat.
If you can’t find the peppers called for in any recipe, research their level of spicy heat as measured on the Scoville scale, and substitute one that’s similar. If substitutes are suggested in the recipe, they might not be equivalent in spiciness, so it’s good to do a little research. If you do, I think you’ll enjoy the recipes as much as I have.
Cook’s Notes:
I used Idaho® russet potatoes, 2 red sweet bell peppers, 2 Anaheim peppers, and 1 Korean (spicy) pepper, and for me it had a perfect level of medium spice.
I used a small hand-held mandolin for evenly slicing the potatoes. It’s also quick. I have 3 different mandolins, and this one from OXO is my favorite (affiliate link).
I used a frittata pan to make this dish, which made it very easy to flip the potatoes. But you can obviously use a regular sauté pan, which is explained in the recipe directions. Here’s a link to the pan I used if you’re interested (affiliate link) – just click on the photo. You’ll be surprised how many ways you can use a frittata pan. They’re great for eggs (duh), hash brown potatoes, and this dish :-).
Here’s what it looked like in the frittata pan: Calabrese-Style Fried Potatoes with Peppers Print Calabrese-Style Fried Potatoes with Peppers (Patate Fritte con Peperoni) Recipe Type : Side Dish Cuisine: Italian Author: Susan Pridmore Serves: 4 - 6 If you are looking for the perfect partner to serve with plain-Jane grilled or roasted meat or fish, this Italian version of fried potatoes with peppers is deliciously different. You can use any combination of sweet or even mildly hot peppers (throw in a hot banana pepper for more spice), but I recommend varying the colors for a pretty presentation. Author: Susan Pridmore Ingredients 4 to 5 bell, Shepherd or Cubanelle pepper (see Tips, below) 1 red or green finger chile (see Tips, below) ½ cup extra virgin olive oil 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced Salt and freshly ground black pepper 2 lbs floury potatoes (about 4 medium), very thinly sliced (see Tips, below) Hot pepper flakes, preferably peperoncino (optional) Finely chopped fresh parsley (optional) Instructions Peel (see Tips, left), seed and cut bell peppers into thin strips. Thinly slice finger chile. In a skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add bell peppers, finger chile and garlic and cook, stirring, until peppers are softened, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a plate. Season to taste with salt and black pepper and set aside. Add potatoes to pan, in batches. Spread first batch evenly across the bottom and cook for 1 minute. Move to 1 side of the pan and repeat with remaining batches of potatoes. Continue to cook potatoes, turning often, until evenly browned on all sides, about 10 minutes. Return peppers to pan. Stir well to combine. Season to taste with hot pepper flakes (if using). Using a slotted spoon, transfer potato mixture to a warm serving platter. Season to taste with additional salt and black pepper. Garnish to taste with parsley (if using). Serve immediately. Notes I like to use a combination of red, green, orange and yellow bell peppers. You can also use any combination of bell, Shepherd and/or Cubanelle peppers; if you like heat, make 1 a hot banana pepper.
If you don’t have a finger chile, you can substitute hot pepper flakes; I would use 1 tsp (5 mL), but you can add more if you are a heat seeker.
To ensure the potatoes cook properly, they need to be sliced very thinly. I use a mandoline for this job. You can peel the potatoes or leave the skins on to suit your taste.
The peppers will cook better in the oil if you peel them, but this isn’t strictly necessary. It is quite easy: a vegetable peeler does a good job. 3.5.3226 Now go get the book (affiliate link) !!
You can find Judith on Pinterest, Facebook & Instagram!
This recipe has been reprinted courtesy of The Chile Pepper Bible: From Sweet & Mild to Fiery & Everything in Between by Judith Finlayson © 2016 www.robertrose.ca Reprinted with publisher permission. Available where books are sold. I received one copy compliments of the publisher. No other compensation was received. Links to the book are affiliate links. Related