These whole Calabrian peppers cooked in a pan are almost an exotic dish for me. 😊 For me, who has never been to Calabria, these peppers of true Calabrian origin are really special!
They were given to me by my new neighbor Lina, a sunny person, the kind of person that as soon as you meet them you feel like you’ve known them forever.
Sometimes she rings my doorbell to give me some of her specialties, like eggplant meatballs and rice croquettes she just made, and a few days ago she brought me a bag of true delights, all from her garden in Cosenza and just arrived here after an eight-hour journey: these beautiful peppers, and also tomatoes, an eggplant, and a proudly red onion. All genuine products (and I mean genuine in every sense of the word!).
These peppers are delicious, with a delicate and intense flavor together. They’re ready in a jiffy, I practically did nothing, just a quick rinse then put them in a pan like that, whole, along with three tomatoes, a clove of garlic, three olives, and three basil leaves. That’s it.
Oh, how wonderful it is to cook… authentic products!
👇 More ideas with peppers? Here they are! 👇
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Cheap
- Preparation time: 3 Minutes
- Portions: 3
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian Regional
- Seasonality: Summer
Ingredients
- 1 lbs peppers (local Calabrian)
- 3 tomatoes (ripe (about 14 oz))
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 3 black olives (pitted)
- 3 leaves basil
- 1 clove garlic
Tools
- Pan
Preparation
Quickly wash the peppers.
Place them in a pan with the minced garlic clove, oil, and chopped tomatoes, all raw.
Cook them on high heat for a few minutes, turning them a couple of times, add the basil and halved olives.
Cover with a lid and finish cooking on low heat.
Total cooking time: 15 minutes.
During cooking, check that they do not stick to the pan, if necessary turn them and add a little oil (the tomatoes I used were very juicy and the moisture was enough to prevent them from drying out or sticking).
Serve immediately, or let them cool, but I assure you they are also excellent cold. We ate them as a warm side dish.
Then, the next day, I used the leftover peppers for a fusion recipe, that is… for a regional fusion recipe: they were the perfect filling for two nice Romagna piadinas!, with grilled sausage, stracchino, and, indeed, the Calabrian peppers cooked in a pan 😉😋😃
(Sorry, no photos of the piadinas, but trust me and try it!! 😀).
Salt-Free Tips
No salt in these Calabrian peppers cooked in a pan of mine. 😊 Oops! but my new neighbor still doesn’t know that I cook without salt, I must hurry to inform her!! First thing, I’ll tell her to read the following tips, the first step to learning how to reduce salt gradually. 😉 You’ve already read them, right? 😊
If you are interested in reducing or eliminating salt, always remember to:
▪ Decrease salt gradually, the palate must get used to it slowly and should not notice the gradual reduction.
▪ Use spices. Chili pepper, pepper, curry, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, cumin…
▪ Use aromatic herbs. Basil, parsley, oregano, thyme, sage, marjoram, rosemary, mint…
▪ Use seeds. Sesame, pine nuts, almonds, walnuts…
▪ Use spicy vegetables or fruits. Garlic, onion, lemon, orange…
▪ Use my salt-free vegetable granules
▪ Prefer fresh foods.
▪ Avoid cooking in water, prefer cooking methods that do not disperse flavors (griddle, foil, steam, microwave)
▪ Avoid bringing the salt shaker to the table!
▪ Sometimes allow yourself a break from the rule. It’s good for your mood and helps you persevere.
If you do not want, or cannot, give up salt:
▪ You can still try my recipes by salting according to your habits.
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