Peperonata?
Traditionally it's a delicious, rustic Italian side dish of sweet peppers, garlic and onions - maybe some potatoes or tomatoes as well (maybe)
I really wanted to make this since I had just purchased some beautiful produce from the mornings visit to my local Farmers Market - but I needed it to be the main course, not a side dish (thus the addition of potatoes and meatball things)
It is also still a 'little' warm here in the Sacramento Valley so I am taking a big gamble that the family is going to want stew for dinner.
But of course, here I go, gambling!
YOU WILL NEED:
A trip to your local Farmers Market! Not really....unless you can....then I strongly urge you go and make it a habit. It's totally worth it for all the fresh produce and the support of your local growers.
anyway...
YOU WILL NEED:
2 large red peppers (or 3 if they are small)
1/2 green pepper (or a whole one if it's small)
1 medium sized red onion
5 garlic cloves
4 or 5 red potatoes
4 cups beef broth ( I used 4 cups because I added potatoes and the meat - if you are not using either then only do 2 cups of broth - unless you like a lot of sauce)
2 pinches red pepper flakes
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon thyme
olive oil
salt pepper
and a plate of what I call "meatball dumplings"
(recipe at end)
fresh basil for garnish
some really yummy bread to serve alongside
TO DO:
Farmers Market trip photo - only about a 1/4 of the spoils
Chop all this up - except the little red pepper - I didn't use that but Tate thought it was "SO cute" and that it needed to be in the photo.
note about chopping vegetables for any type of soup or stew: try to keep all the pieces pretty close to the same size. This will really help with the overall texture of your dish (i.e...some bites taste mushy but some bites are crispy) And the smaller the pieces the faster they cook so if my times here seem too long try cutting everything smaller and see if that get's your dinner done faster - I did a pretty big chop on all the vegetables here.
Fry all the meatball dumplings - probably in batches.Only flipping each dumpling 1 time.
Remove and let rest on paper towels.
If there is a lot of grease you will need to strain some of that out - otherwise cook whatever residue is in the pot on medium high heat for another 2 minutes or so.
Add onions - cook about 5 minutes.
Add potatoes - cook 5 minutes - stir constantly to help the 'no stick' process and to make sure each potato is coated.
Stir then add all the herbs and a little salt and pepper.
Cook for about 10 minutes or so then add the beef broth.
Bring to a boil then turn the heat down to medium - cover ALMOST all the way and let cook for about a half hour - or until the potatoes are almost done.
Stir occasionally.
Add the meatball dumplings
Cover ALMOST all the way again and cook for another 10 minutes.
Garnish with some fresh basil and serve
Meatball Dumplings:
Almost 1 pound of ground beef (cause that's what I had)
2 eggs
1/3 cup of milk
salt
pepper
teaspoon oregano
half teaspoon thyme
teaspoon basil
Mix well.
It is going to seem rather soupy and odd looking.
Make sure to mix all the ingredients in really well then use a spoon to drop each dumpling in the pot. Only flip one time otherwise they might fall apart on you.
Not a very pretty picture but I hope this gives you an idea of what they look like before adding to the stew.
Very honestly - I left the house the other day intent on making a somewhat traditional cassoulet (only 'somewhat' traditional because I knew there was going to be a lack of anything described as 'confit') I have a friend who made it a while back and it looked delicious so I thought I would give it a go - check out his stuff - it's excellent http://vuduec.blogspot.com/ - a MUST read.
Anyway, here I go. I am looking for duck legs, a fantastic homemade sausage of some sort, and flageolet beans - or I was prepared to substitute dried cannellini beans and do the quick soak method (directions to follow)
After two stops, two receipts for things I 'might' need for some recipe soon, and my favorite Hostess snowballs (yes - these are the greatest food ever made) I came home with chicken drumsticks, a sausage that said it was made with basil and garlic, and two bags of Great Northern White beans (???) By the way - while IN my local grocery, I had to use the phone to google 'substitutions for cannellini beans' - yes, I did - and was told to purchase Great Northern White beans - which, I did.
Okay, so obviously, I did not search as high and low as I probably could have. But I needed to start cooking so some slight adjustments were going to have to be made.
Have you ever googled "cassoulet"? This is a traditional French dish and one of the ultimate French comfort foods. I really wanted to try this. So I made what I could, with what I had. It took about 2 hours total prep time since I needed to wait for the beans to cook. Then almost 2 hours in the oven. But it was delicious - adjustments and all. Although I cannot call this a cassoulet, I will call it comfort food - hearty, warm and great with your favorite red wine.
YOU WILL NEED:
2 bags of Great Northern White beans (or 2 bags dried Cannellini beans - good luck)
there will be quite a bit leftover - I will hopefully have something to show for what I did with these - soon
8 chicken drumsticks
6-8 pieces italian sausage (hot or mild - whichever you prefer)
1/2 package bacon
3 carrots - chopped rather chunky
3 stalks of celery - also chopped rather chunky
1 sweet onion - chopped
5 garlic cloves - chopped fine
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 cans chopped canned tomatoes
a lot of chopped parsley (half now - half later)
2 teaspoons dried thyme
2 bay leaves
1 tablespon paprika (more if you like)
1 tablespoon cayenne papper (also more if you like)
3 tablespoons butter in the beginning
5 tablespoons melted butter for the end
(i gues you need 1 stick of butter - divided)
salt
pepper
olive oil
TO DO:
FIRST the beans: The quick method thing - beans go into a large pot - fill with water about 2 or 3 inches above the top of the beans - cover - bring to a boil - let boil about 6/7 minutes - then turn off the heat but leave it covered for an hour. I left mine covered until I was ready to add them to my meat mixture (this is necessary if you did not let them soak overnight - which is the recommended method - but I obviously did not think this through that far in advance)
Oven to 400 degrees
In a large pot or a Dutch oven (preferably the Dutch Oven) heat the olive oil and 3 tablespoons of butter then brown the chicken legs - remove - brown the sausage - remove - then brown the bacon - NOT necessarily to the point of really crispy - you mostly want a lot of the fat rendered to flavor everything else that is going in the pot. When you think the bacon is about right toss in the carrots, celery, onions and garlic. 
(there is really no point for this photo other than I thought it was pretty)
Cook all the vegetables with the bacon about 10 minutes. Then add the tomato paste - give everything a good stir to coat - then add the canned tomatoes - stir - add about a cup of chopped parsley, the thyme and the bay leaves - stir. Now start adding beans. I'm sorry I didnt get a photo of this part. On my stove I had the beans in one pot - and the 'cassoulet' going on in another pot - and just ladled beans from one pot to another. Start with 4 cups of the cooked beans. Add the chicken legs and sausages back in 
- then add another two cups of beans. Salt and pepper then give everything a good stir (no - this will not be easy) Turn the heat to high and bring this to a boil. Add water until the liquid is about an inch from the top of your pot
- let come to a boil. FINALLY - cover and put in the oven for an hour and a half (yes - 1 1/2 hours) Check the pot halfway through to make sure there is still some liquid visible - if needed add another cup or two of water, stir, then leave it alone.
When out of the oven add the paprika and cayenne and taste to see if you need salt and pepper.
At this point I did do the bread crumb topping I read about in several recipes. It is 2 cups of bread crumbs mixed with 2 cloves of garlic and 1/4 cup chopped parsley. Cover the top of the soup/stew mix with the bread crumb mixture - drizzle with the remaining melted butter and put back it back in the oven until browned - about 12 minutes
I think I will leave this part out next time. It seemed to soak up all the liquid - and we like a bit of au jus.
When it is done, let it cool for several minutes while you are slicing a fantastic loaf of bread from Bella Bru Cafe http://bellabrucafe.com/ (on this occasion we had the potato rosemary loaf)
Serve and dig in
