Tomatoes, Peppers and Garlic! Oh My!

This is one of my favorite recipes.  I am not sure if I mentioned this in previous posts, I may have, my father was born and raised in Alicante, Spain.  For me, being raised by someone who was raised in Spain gave way to some wonderful recipes and cooking methods that would be taught to me as I grew.  My father made sure I knew my cultural heritage through the food he would make and eventually pass on to my brother and I.  This is one of the first dishes he taught me, and it is simplistically elegant in its method and flavor.    Sometimes I find it is easier to accentuate the flavors you have rather than try to add flavor that you think may be missing.  This dish is just such an example of taking a few bold flavors and letting them do what they do best and that is… taste delicious!

You will need…

1 large serving platter

4-6 of your favorite tomatoes

4-6 sweet peppers or bell peppers (yellow, orange, red)

6 – 10 cloves of garlic

1-2 cups of olive oil

To prepare this dish, slice the tomatoes into 1/4″ thick slices, finely mince the garlic, and set aside.  Roast the peppers, which you can do on the grill, or in your oven, or even over an open flame.  Cut the peppers length wise and remove the seeds and ribs then cut the peppers into quarters, you may also want to remove the charred skin, but that is up to you.  I find removing the charred skin helps with the texture and flavor of the peppers down the road.

Layer the sliced tomatoes, garlic and peppers in the serving platter.  I will usually sprinkle some garlic onto the platter first, then a layer of the tomatoes, sprinkled with more garlic then the pepper pieces.  Pour the olive oil over the layers until they are almost submerged completely.

Let the tomatoes soak for about 2 hours, then turn the tomatoes and peppers over and let it stand for another hour or two.  Cut some good Italian bread into slices, any rustic bread will do, place the tomato, pepper and a little oil on the bread and enjoy those wonderfully fresh and delicate flavors.

Angry Potatoes

I was exposed to tapas at a very young age, my dad being from Spain.  Alicante, Spain to be more specific.  As I grew older I found one of the most common tapas was patatas bravas, which translates to angry potatoes.  I can tell you the potatoes I made last night using my friends “moruga madness” blend of dried peppers, were not just angry, they were down right pissed off.  This special blend of peppers contained  dried crushed Moruga Scorpions, 7-Pot Douglahs, Atomic Starfish, Hawaiian peppers, and Szechwan peppers.  I also used the pepper infused oil I made a few weeks ago.  If you want to take this little dish to a whole new level of heat try dipping these potatoes into the spicy aioli whose recipe is also located on this blog. 

You can feel free to use any peppers you like, you can also feel free to use regular olive oil in stead of the pepper infused oil I use here. As long as the ingredients are to your taste you will love this dish.

You will need…

2 tbs olive oil

2 russet potatoes or 3 Yukon gold potatoes.

1 tsp of your favorite dried peppers. (red pepper flakes will do if you are not a fan of too much heat)

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 375.

Peal and cut the potatoes to approximately 1 inch cubes.

Place the cut potatoes into a bowl and add the oil, salt and pepper.  Toss to coat.

Place on a foil lined baking sheet and make sure the potatoes are spaced evenly to allow for browning.

Place potatoes into the oven for approximately 30 minutes or until lightly browned.

Remove from the oven and sprinkle your dried peppers over the potatoes, toss and serve hot.

Pepper Infused Olive Oil

This is one of the best ways to get all that pepper goodness into your cooking.  Pepper infused olive oil is simple and I use it all the time.

You will need:

Ye olde timey jar (optional, any jar will do)

A few of your favorite peppers

Good olive oil (now is not the time to cheap out on the olive oil)

Did I mention pepper infused olive oil is incredibly easy to make.  Just follow the steps blow.

1  Cut up your peppers into nice big rustic chunks (make sure you can fit them into the opening of the bottle you are using.)

2  Place the cut peppers into your jar.

3  Add olive oil to fill up your jar.

4  Put it in a cool dark place for about a week.

Now that you have your olive oil infused with your favorite pepper you can use it for dipping or cooking.  I hope you give this one a try because it truly does add a whole other layer to your cooking.

Spicy Tomato and Mushroom Sauce

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This is one of my favorite dishes.  It is a very simple dish without a lot of ingredients.  In my opinion simpler is often better.  A simple dish allows the flavors of the main ingredients to shine and in this case it is tomatoes, mushrooms, chili peppers, and garlic.  This rustic meal is one of the most flavorful I have ever cooked.  I hope you will give this recipe a try, and if you do please give me some feedback.  If you change anything up I would love to know that too.  I am all for improving any of my recipes.

8 – 10 Vine Tomatoes

16oz of your favorite mushrooms (feel free to use several different types of mushrooms)

4 – 6 Cloves of garlic

2tbs olive oil

2 cups of your favorite pasta (I would recommend linguini or spaghetti)

1 – 2 Cups of unsalted pasta water

2 Chili peppers

Basil

Parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

Roughly chop the tomatoes and mushrooms.  Slice the garlic as thinly as you can.  Mince the 2 chili peppers.  Be sure to have the pasta water coming to a boil while you are chopping, slicing and mincing.  Once you have everything chopped put the olive oil in a pan over medium heat.  When the oil is shimmering place in your garlic and chilies and sweat them for a couple of minutes.  Just long enough to infuse the oil with the garlic and chili flavors.  Place all of the tomatoes into the pan at this point.

Place the pasta in the water as soon as it comes to a boil.  After a few minutes remove about 2 cups of the pasta water and reserve it for later use.  Salt the pasta water after you take your two cups out.

Once the tomatoes begin to break down place the mushrooms in the pan and stir occasionally until the tomatoes completely break down.  Place enough pasta water in the tomato sauce until it is the consistency you like.  Add the basil and simmer for a few more minutes.

Place your al dente pasta in a serving bowl, cover with sauce, top with parmesan cheese if you like and let the flavors explode in your mouth.