Neapolitan stuffed pepper recipe - peperoni imbottiti

1. Prepare the peppers by cutting around the stems, shaking out the seeds, washing them, and patting them dry. Next, broil them, turning them every few minutes, to blister the skins, and gently rub the skin off with a towel, taking care not to pierce the peppers. If you would rather leave the skins on you can, increasing the baking time given below to an hour.

2. Peel and dice the eggplant, fry the pieces in abundant hot oil, and drain them well on absorbent paper.

3. Next, heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a skillet with the whole clove of garlic. When the garlic has browned, remove and discard it, and brown the bread crumbs. When the crumbs have browned, stir in the olives, tomatoes, capers, parsley, oregano, minced garlic and ground black pepper to taste. Cook over an extremely low flame for a few minutes, stirring gently, then stir in the minced anchovies and the eggplant. Taste the mixture and add salt if need be.

4. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees (180 C).

5. Divide the mixture into 12 parts and fill the peppers. Put the peppers in a well-oiled ovenproof dish, sprinkle them with oil to taste (I'd go with a quarter cup or so) and roast them for 1/2 to 3/4 of an hour. They're wonderful served cold, and even better the next day. They'll go very well as a one-course meal with a chilled fruity white wine, for example Vernaccia, Fiano or Vermentino, and a salad. Or you can serve them as a second course, again with white wine.