PAN FRIED SWEET MINI PEPPERS with basil leaves and balsamic vinegar

A couple of days ago dining with my wife Caterina, we were talking about Italian fried peppers, a delicious traditional dish served cold, and dressed with oil and vinegar, as in the south of Italy its's used to prepare. Yesterday morning wandering around the aisles of my preferred grocery, I saw a box of Sweet mini peppers in plain sight, and I thought about the previous day chat with Caterina. I bought them right away and I quickly reach my kitchen to give vent to my cravings! I prepared the sweet mini peppers with basil, garlic and balsamic vinegar, then I let them rest covered overnight in the fridge. The pan fried sweet mini peppers are perfect to be tasted with bread crostini, but next to roasted sausages or with a delicious slice of aged Pecorino cheese and cured meats as well.

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• 1 lb (450 gr) sweet mini peppers
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 10 oz extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 10 leaves basil leaves
• to taste black pepper
• 1 tsp table salt

Olive oil, garlic and basil leaves

Wash the basil leaves and dry dabbing them with a cloth. Peel the garlic and crash the cloves. Pour the olive oil in a large Sauce pan, the oil should be ½ inch deep. Dive basil leaves and garlic cloves into the oil and heat it on low heat until the garlic is soft.

Sweet mini peppers

Whereas the oil is flavoring with garlic and basil, wash the mini sweet peppers and drain them carefully. Cut the peppers in half and eliminate the seeds.  Brush with a cloth the inside of the peppers to absorb any moisture.

Pan fried peppers

When the garlic is soft, drain it together with basil leaves and let everything rest on a paper towel. Raise the oil temperature and pour inside a single piece of pepper. When the pepper begin to fry briskly, add more peppers, as many as they can cook without overlapping. Close the sauce pan with a lid. At this point, proceed with an intense cooking. Be sure that the oil do not overflow from the pan! Cook the peppers  5-7 minutes, raising the lid every 2-3 minutes and turning the peppers. When the oil sizzle will be lowered, the peppers are cooked. When the peppers are ready, pick them out of the oil with a pair of tongs, and strain them on paper towels to dry the oil in excess. Repeat the operation until all peppers are cooked.

Finishing

Mince finely the garlic and the basil leaves used to flavor the cooking oil. Then, pour the mixture into a bowl, along with the balsamic vinegar, a tbsp of olive oil, table salt and a sprinkling of black pepper. When the sweet mini peppers will reach room temperature, season them with the mixture of vinegar, oil, garlic and basil. Toss the peppers gently to avoid breaking them. Finally, rest the peppers into the fridge for at least 6 hours. Then serve and enjoy!

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