The other day we finally got our vegetable garden planted in Todi. Among the many things that made it into the ground were four pepper plants called “Cornuto.” The salesgirl at the nursery was a little surprised I wanted so many, since, she said “sono per l’insalata.’ In other words, they were only good for chopping up and eating in salad, not cooking or preserving.
But I knew better. A week ago, in Rome, Domenico came back from the bio market in Testaccio with a half kilo of these beauties. Although the thin skins do indeed make them perfect for eating in salads (and they show up all over Greece that way) I knew they would make the perfect vehicle for the tasty stuffing I had in mind. Their thinness was actually a bonus, since it meant a higher stuffing to veggie ratio, which is always a plus in my book. (I mean really, aren’t stuffed vegetables usually just an excuse to eat the stuffing??)
So, here follows my recipe. The truly important ingredient here is home made bread crumbs. You’ve heard me say it before, and I’ll say it again, there is no substitute. Just save your left over bread, slice it, and whiz it in the food processor. Stuff it into a zip lock and it will be ready in your freezer whenever you need it. Although the better the bread, the better the crumbs, this is an excellent way to use up that loaf of bread that wasn’t so great. Home made crumbs from a so-so loaf is way better than packaged crumbs any day.
Feel free to play around with the seasonings. Also, if you can’t find these types of peppers, any will do. If I have huge squarish shaped ones, I usually cut them in four long pieces.
Stuffed Cornuto Peppers
1 pound peppers (about 4)
3 cups bread crumbs
2 tablespoons capers
1/3 cup pitted black olives
1 cup parsley
1/2 cup basil
4 anchovies
3 cloves garlic, chopped
4 sun dried tomatoes
4 tablespoons olive oil (plus more for drizzling)
salt and hot pepper to taste
Pre heat oven to 200 c. (400 f)
Slice the peppers lengthwise and carefully trim out the core, leaving the stem.
Place peppers in one layer on a oven tray, covered in parchment paper.
Lightly salt the peppers.
Place bread crumbs in food processor, and add the rest of the ingredients. Process, on and off, so that the other ingredients get chopped up and mixed in, with the oil and crumbs. Taste the crumbs for seasonings. The mixture should be pretty strong tasting.
Divide the bread crumb mixture between the peppers. Drizzle with oil, and place in oven for about 20 – 30 minutes, untill peppers are well cooked and stuffing starts to brown.
Serve room temperatures. These make and excellent side dish for grilled meats. (yes, Jodi, that means you)
Growing your own:
Although my peppers were called Cornuto, and this is what they call them in Rome, I think that they are also called Corno di Toro, and you can find them at Johnny’s Seeds.
As soon as my peppers come up I’ll try these.
These look amazing, and since I’m not a green pepper fan, I think I’ll substitute red bell pepper, or the long pointy ones here in the UK which are actually called, on the label, “Red Pointy Peppers” which always makes me laugh.
I have on my desk a recipe from Gennaro Contaldo, Jamie Oliver’s Italian mentor, for stuffed little peppers and he includes provolone and parmesan cheeses, plus chopped chives. But I love the olive idea in yours.
Homemade pizza tonight here.
These stuffed peppers sound amazing. I agree with you about bread crumbs. The store bought stuff just isn’t the same, especially in a recipe like this one. Thanks for sharing and congrats on getting your vegetable garden planted.
Kirsten: I often add cheese, sometimes feta,when I want to make it into more of a main course.
Wow, Elizabeth, these look amazing. That salesgirl was so wrong, though. I love these peppers roasted with some olive oil and celtic sea salt. I am going to try this sans anchovies. Sometimes in place of that I would use a bean miso. I bet these would be great with crumbs made from pane di Lariano or pane di Genzano. If you ever want some fresh Genzano bread, just let me know.