We are cooking dinner at the last minute tonight, and hard up for inspiration. It's wet and drippy outside and the election coverage is more interesting than the stove right now. So - something fast yet cheering is in order! We have been rather craving piperade, the Basque scramble of red peppers, garlic, onions, and tomatoes. Julia Child talks about a piperade omelet in the book we're reading and we were considering one until we saw this recipe - click for full menu...
We went browsing quickly through Epicurious and found a couple ideas to wake up our taste buds.
• Roasted Fingerlings With Red And Yellow Piperade - from last November's Bon Appétit. Little potatoes roasted with peppers and onions - quick and fairly hands-off. There is no tomato in this piperade, which is good because it's winter and there aren't any.
• Fish Fillets With Olives And Oregano - from Gourmet May 2006. Fish is fast and easy, and the olives and herbs complement the Spanish flavor of the piperade. Check out our guide to seafood for quick tips on choosing healthy and ocean-friendly seafood. We have links to wallet guide cards here.
• Lemon Pudding Cakes - a recipe from our own Sara Kate, published in Food & Wine last fall. They're adapted from Sara Kate's Greyston Bakery Cookbook and if we are inspired enough for dessert tonight this is what we'll make. Bright lemon, packed full of Vitamin C, is a godsend in the dreary winter, and these luscious little cakes show it off to cheering effect.
There's our quick, bright menu for tonight! What are you cooking?
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Yum! This looks delish, but I never know how to handle a meal that has two components cooked in the oven. Cook one, take it out, cook the other, and then reheat the first?
Man, red and yellow bell peppers are $2-4 each around here. I've bookmarked the recipe for summer, though, when the farmer's market is in full swing and the peppers are local and cheap. Plus I can get good fingerlings from my "potato dude" which are better than the grocery store ones anyway.
I roasted beets, sliced them, dressed them with a little vinaigrette and layered them with thin slices of cow's milk feta. My husband grilled sausage and we had that over israeli couscous that I undercooked a bit, then sauteed for a few minutes in a little olive oil and garlic. I have to upload pictures for my blog--it's ages since I blogged a real dinner that I cooked!
katef - that sounds so good!
And erin, I totally gulped and bought a pepper for $2. Needed the color so badly.
Reporting back. I'll drop the we and just say that I just boiled red potatoes and smashed them with a little browned butter. Then I made a piperade-esque dish of peppers and onions (will share the recipe next week) and pan-fried some fish with my favorite quick fish recipe.
So the above was more an inspiration than strict guide - although I did make the lemon pudding cakes, finally, and they were heavenly.
I've been buying bags of frozen bell peppers at Whole Foods and Trader Joe's since fresh ones are so expensive out of season (especially since they're not even organic).