Capsicum/paprika/chilie/peperoni/(bell) pepper

The plant and it's fruits are a synonym for Hungaria. And it is been said that Hungarians have paprika in their blood. Capsicums could have a high capsaicin content like in chilies or none as in bell peppers. They are used dried and ground as a spice and cooked in several stews or stuffed with rice and minced meat or eaten raw. Their high vitamin C content makes them very nutricious and they are used for different medical purpose. I wrote it already in another post that the Hungarian and the Italian cuisine have much in common. And they have many similar dishes. So it is no wonder that I love the Italian cuisine, not only after I've been for eight years together with an Italian guy, no the real reason is that my parents are from Hungaria and I grew up with that taste. My grandmother used to cook a lot of Hungarian dishes even if her own ancestors came from Germany. A few days ago I showed you how I've made marinated eggplants and courgettes. Now I'll show you a simple Italian way to marinate bell peppers as they do it in Piedmont.

Antipasto di pepperoni

Initially I wanted to make double the amount to have one jar on hand. I've already prepared twice the amount of the marinate. But first my kids ate 3 bell peppers right away with a sandwich. And the ones I bought the day after were stolen from apes together with 2 strawberries, a kitchen knife, a bread, something out of our rubbish, and half a leftover cheeseburger which was wrapped in paper and in a bag.

The amount is enough for 4 to 6 persons and you can preserve them in a ml 500 ml jar.


Ingredients:

4bell peppers in different colours
1lemon, juice of it
2cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
6 Tbspnative olive oil
salt
freshly ground black peppercorns


Preparation:

Wash the capsicums, cut them in halves and remove the seeds and white parts of it. Lay them on a baking sheet with the cut side downwards and place them under a grill until the skin is dark browned and wizenedly, about 30 minutes.





Place them in a plastic bag and let them cool a bit so you can handle them better and you don't have to peel them burning hot. Skin the peppers and cut them in 3 cm stripes. Season them with salt and pepper.
Combine the lemon juice, garlic, olive oil and the juice from the peppers from the plastic bag.

Marinate the capsicums for at least 1 hour.