Sweet-and-Sour Peppers with Oil-Cured Olives

By Kath Dedon

I have made Sweet-and-Sour Peppers with Oil-Cured Olives twice in the last three days. It is that good, and it is very easy to make.

The recipe is adapted from one in Domenica Marchetti’s The Glorious Vegetables of Italy, which is an inspiring cookbook with a lot of gorgeous photos. I didn’t change much, but I did lower the salt a bit and substituted 1 tablespoon of honey for the 1 tablespoon of sugar that Domenica uses.

We loved this simple preparation as a side dish, but it also makes a great antipasto offering. Domenica suggests using it in a frittata, on a pizza, or tossed with pasta.

Sweet-and-Sour Peppers with Oil-Cured Olives is perfect for summer entertaining since it can be made ahead of time. It’s fantastic served hot, warm, or at room temperature. If you make it in advance and refrigerate it, let it come to room temperature before serving.

a

a

Sweet-and-Sour Peppers with Oil-Cured Olives

(Adapted from Domenica Marchetti’s recipe in The Glorious Vegetables of Italy)

(print the recipe)

Serves 4 – 6

I made the recipe to take to a dinner party, so I chose to double it to serve 10 – 12. It was easy to do, but I used 2 large skillets because it would have been difficult to prepare the 8 peppers in one pan.

Ingredients for 4 – 6 servings (for one pan)

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 large red peppers, cut lengthwise into ¾-inch strips

2 large yellow peppers, cut lengthwise into ¾-inch strips

1 cup thinly sliced red onion (about ½ large)

¾ teaspoon fine sea salt

1 tablespoon honey

3 tablespoons white wine vinegar

¼ cup (about 45g) oil-cured olives (about 15 olives)

1. Prepare all of the ingredients so they are ready to go. (This technique is known as “mise en place” and it really does make the cooking process easier.)

2. I like to cut the ribs out of the peppers for a better presentation.

3. Cut the pits from the oil-cured olives, and cut them in half.

4. Measure the white wine vinegar.

5. Add the honey to the vinegar.

a

Two sets of “mise en place” ingredients for 2 skillets when I doubled the recipe.

Salt, olives, honey and vinegar

a

6. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When it is shimmering, add the peppers and the onions. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes, or until the peppers are starting to soften.

I used 2 skillets when I doubled the recipe.a

a

7. Sprinkle the salt over the peppers. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for an additional 15 minutes. The peppers and onions should be soft and just starting to brown a bit.

8. Stir the honey and the vinegar together to make sure the honey is well-blended in the vinegar. Pour the mixture over the peppers. Raise the heat to medium-high and cook, stirring, for about 2 minutes or until most of the vinegar has evaporated.

9. Stir in the olives and cook, stirring, for another 2 minutes.

a

a

10. Put the peppers in a serving bowl and serve hot, warm, or at room temperature.

a

And, yes, I did wear my onion goggles to slice the onion! 🙂

a

a