In her previous cookbooks Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone and the classic Greens Cookbook, among others, Deborah Madison scored with savory yet sophisticated fare--the kind of food even meat lovers relish. Local Flavors: Cooking and Eating from America's Farmers' Markets finds Madison shopping those havens of quality, taste, and diversity, and devising recipes based on their seasonally available bounty.
With its silky texture and summery fragrance, this is one of the most pleasurable dishes to make. The short baking melds everything together, transforms the flavors, and yields juices so delicious they invite dunking, This is served cold as a little salad, but it also makes a great filling for a sandwich or frittata.
Serves 4-6
4 big bell peppers, red, orange, and yellow
1 large beefsteak-type tomato or 1 1/4 pounds other ripe tomatoes
2 smaller yellow tomatoes
6 flat-leaf parsley sprigs
1 tablespoon marjoram or 12 large basil leaves
1 plump garlic clove
2 tablespoons capers, rinsed
12 Nicoise olives, pitted
3 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for the dish
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
Roast the peppers until charred (instructions follow). Drop them into a bowl, cover, and set them aside while you prepare everything else. Then wipe off the blackened skin, pull out the seeds, and core and cut into wide strips. Trim off any ragged ends and set them another use.
Score the ends of the tomatoes, then drop them into boiling water for 10 seconds. Remove the skins, halve them crosswise and gently squeeze out the seeds. Cut the walls into wide pieces. Reserve the cores for a soup or sauce.
Pluck the leaves off the parsley stems. You should have about 1/2 cup. Chop them finely with the marjoram and garlic, then put in a bowl with the capers, olives, and the olive oil. Season with 3/4 teaspoon salt and some pepper.
Preheat the oven to 400F. Lightly oil a small gratin dish. Add the tomatoes, peppers, and sauce and gently toss with your hands. Season with pepper.
Cover and bake for 20 minutes. Let cool before serving.
Choose peppers with thick walls if you want to char the skins. Thin-walled peppers need to be watched very carefully and roasted only long enough to loosen the skins, not char them, or the flesh wll be consumed along with the skin.
On the burner: Place whole peppers directly on a gas burner or gas or charcoal grill. Those with electric burners can use and asador (or its equivalent), a small-mesh grill that site right over the element. Roast the peppers until the skin becomes wrinkled and loose, turning them frequently with tongs. For peppers that will end up soft and slightly smoky, roast them until the skins are completely charred. Put the peppers in a bowl, put a place on top, and set aside to steam for at least 15 minutes to loosen the skins.
In the oven: If you want to peel the peppers without cooking them too much, the oven is a better way to go. Cut off the tops of the peppers, then slice them in half lengthwise, remove the seeds and veins, and press down on each half to flatten. Brush the skins with oil, then set them skin side up on a sheet pan. Bake at 400 degrees F or broil 5 or 6 inches under the heating element until the skins are wrinkled but not charred, 10 to 20 minutes. Remove and stack the peppers on top of each other to steam for 15 minutes. (Use any of the delicious juice that collects from the steaming peppers in the finished dish or use it in vinaigrette.)
Next, slip off the skins with your hand or a paper towel. Don't worry about getting every little fleck of skin. Now they're ready to use.
