Bruschetta with yellow pepper pesto
The last peppers from the weekly market, were about to turn wrinkled and tired, so I tried to turn them into yellow pepper pesto and serve them as bruschette, which was a huge success.
Yellow pepper pesto can be tricky, unless you get the taste and texture in balance. Left to their own devices, fried peppers have a tendency to become anonymous and bland, but with a drop of vinegar and a pinch of sugar, the inherent flavours spring to life. Something similar goes for the texture. When blended the peppers release all their juices, the resulting liquid is runny and grainy. Here some sort of starch will save the day, and turn the yellow pepper pesto into a manageable, refreshing and appetising spread to be used on bruschette or as a vegetable sauce for white meat and pasta. Yellow pepper pesto will keep for a couple of months, when stored correctly in clean airtight jars, so it’s a good idea to make a large helping, once you are at it.
Ingredients
2 yellow peppers
1 clove of garlic
Pinch of sugar
3 tbsp white wine vinegar
Salt and olive oil
Thick slice of dry white bread
Fresh basil leaves.
Preparation
Wash the yellow peppers, remove the seeds and cut them in strips.
Peel the garlic.
Fry peppers and garlic in olive oil over low heat and under lid for 10 minutes. Add a little water, if the peppers start to dry out.
Add a pinch of salt and sugar, and stir to make the sugar caramelise.
Pour white wine vinegar over the peppers and let most of it evaporate.
Blend all the ingredients to liquid.
Remove the crust from a slice of bread, cut it in cubes and mix the bread cubes with the pepper liquid.
Blend again when the bread cubes have softened. Add more or less bread to adjust the texture.
Spread yellow pepper pesto on toasted bread or friselle and serve it as a bruschetta antipasto along with a green salad or other kinds of pesto eg. made with broccoli or fennel.
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