The second Monday in October is, for many Americans, Columbus Day, a holiday to mark the great Italian explorer’s arrival on 12 October 1492. (It’s also a controversial one, and not celebrated nationwide; it goes by various other names, too, from Discoverer’s or Landing Day to Indigenous People’s Day.) Columbus caused all sorts of confusion when he returned home to Europe with a fiery chilli that he called a pepper, believing it to be related to black pepper. He also brought back sweet peppers, or capsic*ms, which he also called peppers, causing further confusion.
The muddle over these names continues to this day. In the US, sweet pepper and hot chilli come under the catch-all term chilli pepper, and are distinguished only in terms of their hotness on the Scoville scale. Sweet “chillies” – aka peppers, capsic*ms, bell peppers and pimiento – register zero, and the difference between green, yellow, orange and red ones is mostly one of ripeness, and therefore sweetness, as they go on their traffic-light journey from tart green to sweet red.
Then there’s paprika, which is made from dried and ground sweet peppers and is also known as sweet paprika (there’s also a smoked variety, sold as smoked paprika or sweet smoked paprika). And hot paprika (and hot smoked paprika), which is, as the name suggests, far more fiery. All clear?
Peppers stuffed with lamb and rice
This also works with smaller, light green peppers, when in season, which have much thinner skins than the year-round bells. If you use the smaller peppers, make 12, and reduce the amount of stock to 300ml. Also, bake them in a casserole rather than in a roasting tray. Simmer on the stove for 15 minutes, then transfer, uncovered, to the oven for 40 minutes. Serves six.
6 green or yellow bell peppers
150g short-grain rice
150g lamb mince
1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 large tomatoes, coarsely grated; discard the skin
50g pine nuts, toasted
40g currants
1¼ tsp ground allspice
1 tbsp dried mint
1 tbsp lemon juice
60ml olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
400ml chicken stock
300g Greek yoghurt
10g fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
Heat the oven to 200C/390F/gas mark 6. Use a small knife to cut a 3cm-wide circle around the stem of each pepper, pull off the stems and lid in one piece and set aside, then remove and discard the seeds and pith inside.
In a medium bowl, mix the next nine ingredients with three tablespoons of oil, a teaspoon and a half of salt and plenty of black pepper. Stuff this inside the peppers and pop on the lids. Arrange the peppers in a high-sided 17cm x 24cm oven tray, then pour over the stock and cover tightly with tin foil. Bake for 40 minutes, remove the foil and bake for 30 minutes more, until the peppers are cooked through and browned on top; spoon some of the liquid over the top of the peppers a few times while they are cooking.
In a small bowl mix the yoghurt, mint, garlic, the remaining oil and an eighth of a teaspoon of salt until smooth, then set aside.
Once the peppers are done, leave them to rest for five minutes, then serve with a spoonful of yoghurt.
Fennel and red pepper bake
This is lovely served with some grilled mackerel or sardines and a crisp, green salad. Serves six.
2 fennel bulbs, trimmed and cut lengthways into 2cm-wide wedges
60ml olive oil
Salt and black pepper
2 red peppers, stalk and seeds removed, cut into 1cm strips
1 red onion, peeled and thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
350ml white wine
5 plum tomatoes, roughly chopped
2 long shaved strips orange skin
60g pitted Kalamata olives, quartered
10g oregano leaves, roughly chopped
For the topping
100g fresh crustless white bread, blitzed to a fine crumb
30g parmesan, finely grated
60g mature cheddar, coarsely grated
1½ tsp fennel seeds, roughly crushed
10g parsley leaves, roughly chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
Heat the oven to 200C/390F/gas mark 6. Put the fennel wedges in a large bowl and mix with two tablespoons of oil, a quarter-teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper. Spread out on an oven tray lined with greaseproof paper and roast for 30 minutes, until cooked through and golden-brown, then remove and set aside to cool.
Mix the peppers with a tablespoon of oil, an eighth of a teaspoon of salt and plenty of pepper, and spread out on a second oven tray lined with greaseproof paper. Bake alongside the fennel for 25 minutes, until cooked through and brown, then remove and set aside to cool.
Turn down the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in a large saute pan on a medium-high flame. Fry the onion and garlic for 10 minutes, until soft and caramelised, then pour in the wine and let it bubble away for 10 minutes, until there is about 100ml of liquid left in the pan. Add the tomatoes, orange skin and a quarter-teaspoon of salt, and cook for 10 minutes, until the tomatoes have disintegrated and the sauce is thick. Stir in the fennel and peppers, as well as the olives, oregano and 120ml water, tip into a 20cm x 25cm gratin dish and set aside.
Mix the topping ingredients in a large bowl, then scatter roughly over the top of the gratin. Bake for 30 minutes, until the crumbs are golden-brown and crunchy, and serve hot.
Sausage, red pepper and basil rolls
A spiced-up alternative to traditional sausage rolls. Makes about 35 bite-sized rolls, to serve eight.
170g cold unsalted butter, diced
150ml double cream
325g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
1 egg yolk, plus 1 egg whisked, to glaze
Salt
3 medium red peppers
2 red chillies
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp tomato paste
½ tsp ground cumin
1 clove garlic, crushed
⅛ tsp caster sugar
300g beef sausages, skin removed and meat crumbled
150g pitted Kalamata olives, roughly chopped
30g basil, shredded
½ tsp nigella seeds
2 tsp sesame seeds
Heat the oven to 240C/465F/gas mark 9. Put the butter, cream, flour, egg yolk and a quarter-teaspoon of salt in a food processor and pulse to the consistency of large breadcrumbs. Tip out on to a clean work surface, then bring together loosely with your hands – don’t overwork it. Press together into a rough rectangle about 10cm x 15cm, then wrap in clingfilm and refrigerate for at least an hour and up to four days.
Put the peppers on medium baking tray and roast for 20 minutes. Add the chillies to the tray and roast for another 10 minutes, until the skins are blackened all over. Transfer to a medium bowl, cover with clingfilm and set aside for 30 minutes. Once cool, peel the peppers and chillies, discarding the skins, seeds and juices. Put half the peppers in the small bowl of a food processor with all the chillies, oil, tomato paste, cumin, garlic, sugar and a quarter-teaspoon of salt. Blitz to combine, then add the remaining peppers. Pulse for a few seconds, to a coarse paste, then set aside.
Turn down the oven to 190C/375F/gas mark 5. Cut the pastry in half and return one half to the fridge. Immediately roll out the remaining half of the pastry on a well-floured work surface to a 2mm-thick, 30cm x 40cm rectangle. Keeping the longest side nearest you, cut this rectangle vertically into three equal strips, each measuring about 13cm x 30cm. Divide half the paste between the three strips and spread it out evenly over each piece of pastry, leaving a 0.5cm border along one of the long sides. Sprinkle the strips evenly with half the sausage meat, olives and basil, then, starting with the long side without the border, roll up each piece of pastry lengthways, so you end up with thin, roughly 4cm-wide roulades. Lay the pastries seam side down, so they stay sealed, then cut each roll into 4cm pieces.
Arrange the mini rolls, again sealed side down, on a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper, brush with the beaten egg, then sprinkle over half the nigella and sesame seeds. Leave to rest in the fridge while you repeat with the other piece of pastry and the remaining paste and other ingredients.
When you put the second batch of rolls in the fridge, take out the first batch and bake in the hot oven for 25-30 minutes, until golden-brown all over and cooked through. Leave to cool while you bake the second batch, then serve warm or at room temperature.
