Scatter over torn basil leaves and serve with crusty bread.

Ingredients

  • 4 red, orange or yellow peppers
  • 150 g cherry tomatoes (halved)
  • 4 cloves of garlic (finely sliced)
  • 1 tblsp capers
  • 12 black olives (pitted)
  • 2 pieces parma ham, torn
  • small handful fresh basil
  • 1 ball buffalo mozzarella
  • olive oil
  • 1 tblsp red wine vinegar
  • salt and pepper

Method

 

  • Slice the peppers lengthways and scoop out the seeds. Drizzle the hollow pepper with a little olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
  • Mix together the tomatoes, garlic, Parma ham, garlic and capers. Drizzle over the red wine vinegar and a little olive oil oil. Season well.
  • Fill the peppers with this mixture and top with torn pieces of buffalo mozzarella.
  • Cover with foil and bake at 200°C for 20 minutes.
  • Remove the foil and place under the grill to brown slightly.
  • Scatter over torn basil leaves and serve with crusty bread.
  • Top Tips with Peppers
  • Slice the four walls off the pepper and use these instead of a slice of bread. Pile high with tuna or hummous, low fat cream cheese and chives.
  • Finely slice peppers into green salads for extra crunch and sweetness.
  • Use all three colours of pepper strips in stir fries.
  • Finely slice peppers and spring onion into tuna mayo mix for sandwiches and wraps for school or work lunch boxes.
  • Use this same tuna mix on top of a baked potato.
  • Add to homemade fried rice with mushrooms, spring onions, soy sauce, ginger and chicken.
  • Use pepper strips in a Spanish tortilla with eggs and potatoes.
  • Roast red peppers by placing whole on a baking tray in a 230°C oven for 35 minutes. When the skin is charred and blackened, place in a glass bowl and cover with cling film. Allow to steam for 10 minutes, then peel off the skin and remove the seeds with your fingers.
  • Use them in casseroles and stews like traditional Hungarian goulash.
  • For a rice salad take cold cooked rice and add a tin of drained sweetcorn, finely chopped peppers, and red onion. Flavour with lime juice, a little sunflower oil and fresh coriander.
  • Use pieces of peppers on chicken, meat or prawn skewers on the BBQ.
  • Eat pepper strips as a snack with a healthy bean or hummous dip.
  • How to Chop Peppers
  • Lay the pepper on its side and slice off the bottom end (not the stalky side!).
  • Turn the pepper so it stands upright on the stalky side; if the stalk gets in the way, snap it off.
  • Proceed to slice off the four 'walls' of the pepper. You should be left with the seeds house and membranes attached to the stem end which you can just discard.
  • Trim any extra white membrane off the 'walls' of the pepper.
  • Slice into long strips for stir fries and into cubes for salads.
  • Add to homemade fried rice with mushrooms, spring onions, soy sauce, ginger and chicken.