Tag: Peppers

Stuffed Peppers – 2

  • Everyone liked my stuffed peppers so much I decided to try out a variation.
  • This time I used rice as one of the fillings instead of buckwheat.
  • I went to Leeds market and found that the red pepper season seemed to be over.
  • There were lots of orange peppers but they were more a medium size.
  • If you can get peppers with a flat bottom rather than a pointed one.
  • Of course, you might not have any choice – you might have to use a knife in the baking try to hold the peppers up.
  • The method is as before – but written up again for ease.

INGREDIENTS

  • 6 orange or red large peppers
  • 250-300g of minced or finely chopped chicken breast
  • 1 large onion – finely chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic – finely chopped
  • 150 – 200g of mushrooms
  • 200g of cooked rice
  • Butter for frying mushrooms and onions
  • 1 teaspoon of dried thyme
  • Salt & Pepper to taste
  • 300ml of vegetable stock – I used marigold powder
  • 1 -2 tablespoons of tomato purée or ketchup
  • 1 teaspoon of dried paprika.
  • *
  • 1 tablespoon of soured cream or yoghurt – optional

METHOD

  • Fry the onions in butter until they are golden.
  • Chop the mushrooms into small pieces and add them to the onions.
  • Fry them both together.
  • Add the garlic and fry the mixture together.
  • Pre- heat the oven to GM3 – 150°C.
  • Cut the tops of the peppers and keep to one side.
  • Scoop out the seeds from the peppers.
  • Put the peppers into a roasting tray.
  • Add some of the vegetable stock to the base.
  • Cook for around 15 minutes to soften the peppers.
  • Leave to cool slightly.
  • Turn up the oven to GM4 – 180°C
  • Mix together the cooked rice with the minced chicken and the mushroom mix, add the marjoram.
  • Season to taste.
  • Fill each pepper with the filling and put on the tops.
  •  
  • *
  • Add the rest of the vegetable stock to the baking tin and the paprika and tomato purée or ketchup and stir.
  • Put the peppers to stand in the stock mixture.
  • You might need a knife laid down to help keep the peppers vertical.
  • Put back into the oven and cook for around 1 hour.
  • You might need longer so the peppers are softish.
  • Keep looking at the progress and pour some of the stock mixture over the peppers to keep them from drying out.
  • *
  • Add the soured cream to the stock mixture to make a sauce.

NOTE – 1

If you think you will have any left – before adding the soured cream put them into an ovenproof pyrex dish with a lid with some tomato stock liquid – you can reheat them the next day in a microwave and them add some soured cream.

NOTE – 2

You can use cooked pearl barley instead of rice – NOT tested.

Leczo – 2

  • Having just recently come across my friend’s recipe for Leczo, I then found  another version marked in a book I bought in Poland around 10 years ago.
  • Smak Węgier (Taste of Hungary) by Robert Makłowicz.
  • This is a vegetarian version of leczo.
  • I thought I should give this a go.
  • I cut down the amounts used in half  – though Robert says he likes this served cold as well as hot.
  • In Poland many would make this for bottling.

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 large onions – chopped
  • Around 2 tablespoons of sunflower oil
  • 500g of yellow or red peppers – 5-6 peppers – chopped
  • 1 hot red chilli pepper – chopped
  • 500g of ripe tomatoes  – home grown are the best or
  • 3 tablespoons of tomato purée in 30ml of vegetable stock
  • 2 cloves of garlic – chopped.
  • Salt to taste

METHOD

  • Gently fry the onions and garlic in the sunflower oil without browning.
  • Add the peppers and chilli, stir and continue cooking.
  • Skin the tomatoes if using and chop these or add the tomato purée and stock.
  • Stir and cook gently for around 20 to 30 minutes, with a lid on the pan.
  • How cooked you want the vegetables is up to you.
  • Add salt to taste if needed.
  • *
  • Serve with boiled rice or
  • Eggs – gently fried or steamed above the sauce in a shallow pan.

The image from Robert’s book is titled – The getaway of the vegetarian.

Note – this tastes good cold and can be served with cold meats.

Jarosz – is an old Polish word for a vegetarian – there was no need to to invent a new word from English.

Jaroszewicz is a common surname – we had many friends with this surname.

Leczo

  • My Polish friend came round and talked about a sauce she had made the night before.
  • I had never heard of it!
  • Maybe it is more popular in different parts of Poland?
  • I did a bit of reseach – it was not in my “Polish Bible”.
  • But I now know it is comes from a sauce that is is popular in Hungary.
  • So of course you can expect red peppers.
  • The following is the recipe from my friend.
  • I will look at some different versions later.

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 red peppers – chopped (yellow or orange – depending on availability).
  • 2 onions – chopped
  • 2 courgettes – chopped
  • 250g Polish sausage eg Silesian – chopped
  • 2 large tomatoes – chopped or 2 tablespoons of tomato purée
  • Sunflower oil for frying
  • A little vegetable stock.
  • Salt & pepper to taste (might not be needed)
  • *
  • 2 cloves garlic – chopped fine
  • 1 teaspoon hot paprika or chilli flakes

METHOD

  • Chop all the ingredients into cubes.
  • Use a large saucepan and add a little oil.
  • Lightly fry the onions.
  • Add the peppers, mix together and carry on frying on a low heat.
  • Add the courgettes and repeat.
  • You might need to add a little stock – do not let it boil dry.
  • Add the sausage, mix and add a little stock.
  • Add the tomatoes or the tomato purée and more stock.
  • With a lid on, simmer gently for around 20 minutes adding stock when needed.
  • Checking and stirring during this time.
  • Season to taste.
  • * 
  • Add the chopped garlic, hot paprika or chilli flakes before serving.

Usually served with pasta or rice or with Polish potato pancakes (This reminds me of gulasz with potato pancakes.)

I would think of this as a more winter dish in some ways but all the vegetables are around in the late summer.

Some people bottle the vegetable part of this recipe and add the sausage at the end.

“Pepper Pie”

  • I got this recipe from my sister who lives in Manchester.
  • Her daughter, who visits her, often usually makes this for lunch as it is so easy.
  • It is a tinned tuna & pepper tart, rather like a quiche but without any cheese.
  • They have named it “pepper pie”.

INGREDIENTS

  • Shortcrust pastry
  • 1 tin of tuna drained – forked apart
  • ½ a red pepper chopped
  • 150 ml of Greek style yogurt (like 1 small carton)
  • 1 egg
  • Salt and pepper to taste

METHOD

  • Per-heat the oven to GM 5 GM 190°C.
  • Grease a loose bottom tart tin – 18/19cm in diameter.
  • Roll out the pastry thinly and line the tin.
  • Put the pepper on the base of the tart tin.
  • Add the tinned tuna.
  • Mix the yoghurt and the egg.
  • Pour this over the tuna and pepper.
  • Season to taste.
  • Bake in the oven for around 30 minutes.
  • *
  • Lovely hot or cold.

Option – blanche and dry the pepper first.

White Fish & Pepper Soup

Ingredients

  • 1 onions
  • 2 red peppers
  • Around 250g of white fish – cod, plaice, basa etc
  • 1 litre vegetable stock
  • ½ teaspoon hot paprika
  • A little sunflower oil
  • Salt & pepper to taste
  • *
  • Optional – chopped parsley or chives to garnish 

Method

  • Cut the onion in half and then slice it thinly.
  • De-seed the peppers and then cut into long thin slices.
  • Lightly fry the onion and peppers in a little sunflower oil till soft.
  • Add the paprika and the vegetable stock.
  • Bring to the boil and then simmer gently for around 10 minutes.
  • Add the pieces of fish and simmer for around 15 minutes.
  • Take out the fish, remove any skin and cut into chunks.
  • Put the fish back into the soup.
  • Stir.
  • Season if necessary.
  • *
  • Garnish with green herbs if you have them.
  • *
  •  Great with crusty French style bread.

Served in a Royal Doulton Burgundy rimmed soup plate.

Salmon Poached with Peppers

  • After making the Salmon & Pepper soup I thought this would make a lovely light main meal with just a little alteration.
  • The peppers and onion can be cooked on the stove top and then the salmon added and poached in the steam from the stock.
  • Or the dish placed in the oven with a lid once the salmon is added.

Ingredients

    • 2 onions
    • 2 red peppers
    • 1 clove of garlic crushed.
    • 2 portions of fresh salmon
    • ½ litre vegetable stock
    • ½ teaspoon hot paprika
    • A little sunflower oil
    • Salt & pepper to taste

Method

  • Cut the onion in half and then slice it thinly.
  • De-seed the peppers and then cut into long thin slices.
  • Lightly fry the onion and peppers in a little sunflower oil till soft.
  • Add the paprika, garlic and the vegetable stock.
  • Bring to the boil and then simmer gently for around 15 minutes.
  • Pre-heat the oven to GM4 – 180°C
  • Season if necessary.
  •  
  • Put the mixture at the bottom of an ovenproof dish – that has a lid.
  • Place the salmon on top of the mixture.
  • Cover the dish with the lid.
  • Place in the oven for  around 15 minutes.
  • *
  •  Great with crusty French style bread or boiled new potatoes.
  • Royal Doulton Burgundy Plate.
  • OPTION – not tested
  • Add 125ml of dry white wine to the peppers when adding the salmon.

Salmon & Pepper Soup

  • This soup is delicious and I think it will be the basis of at least two other recipes.
  • It is based on one found in one of my recent book purchases in Wrocław.
  • Łosoś is salmon in Polish
  • Did you know that Poland is a big importer of salmon, much of which comes from Sweden?

Ingredients

  • 2 onions
  • 3 peppers – different colours
  • 200-300g fresh salmon -(1-2 whole pieces best)
  • 1½ litres vegetable stock
  • ½ teaspoon hot paprika
  • A little sunflower oil
  • Salt & pepper to taste
  • *
  • Optional – chopped flat leaved parsley or chives to garnish 

Method

  • Cut the onions in half and then slice then thinly.
  • De-seed the peppers and then cut into long thin slices.
  • Lightly fry the onion and peppers in a little sunflower oil till soft.
  • Add the paprika and the vegetable stock.
  • Bring to the boil and then simmer gently for around 10 minutes.
  • Add the pieces of salmon and simmer for around 15 minutes.
  • Take out the salmon, remove the skin and cut into chunks.
  • Put the salmon back into the soup.
  • Season if necessary.
  • *
  • Garnish with green herbs if you have them.
  • *
  •  Great with crusty French style bread.

Served in a Royal Doulton – Carnation Soup Plate.

Tomato & Pepper Soup

  • The idea for this soup came about from a salad with vinaigrette that was left over.
  • The vinegar gives the soup a tangy taste and the chilli flakes a little ‘heat’ 

INGREDIENTS

  • 500g tomatoes
  • 3-4 Peppers – red, orange or yellow – not green
  • 1 -2 tablespoons wine or cider vinegar
  • 1 litre of vegetable stock 
  • ½ – 1 teaspoon chilli flakes
  • 1 tablespoon of sunflower oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste

METHOD

  • Skin the tomatoes in boiling water.
  • Chop the tomatoes into quarters and fry gently in the sunflower oil.
  • Cut the peppers into medium sized chunks and add to the tomatoes and stir.
  • Add the vegetable stock and the vinegar.
  • Add the chilli flakes and simmer gently until the peppers are soft.
  • Take the pan off  the heat  and purée the contents with a stick blender.
  • Season to taste.
  • Reheat before serving if necessary.

Meakin – Spanish Garden Soup Dish

Bean & Pepper Soup

This soup was inspired by the vegetables in my Tuna & New World Salad 

Ingredients

  • 1 tin of Beans – Cannellini, Pinto or Mixed – drained
  • 4 tomatoes – skinned & chopped
  • 1 small tin of sweetcorn – drained (or cooked frozen sweetcorn)
  • Yellow or Orange Pepper – chopped
  • 2 red chillies – chopped fine
  • 1 bunch of spring onions – white and green parts chopped
  • 1 litre of vegetable stock
  • 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • Salt & pepper to taste

Method

  • Fry the onions, tomatoes and peppers in the olive oil.
  • Add the sweetcorn and chillies.
  • Add the vegetable stock.
  • Bring to the boil and then simmer for around 20 minutes.
  • Add the beans and simmer for another 15 – 20 minutes.
  • Add the lemon juice.
  • Season to taste.
Meakin – Midwinter China – Spanish Garden

Tuna Salad – Mostly New World

  • This salad is based mostly on vegetables that came from the New World.
  • It is very colourful.
  • The proportions are not so important – I have given what I used.
  • It is best to use a different colour for the pepper to the chilli so you can tell the difference.

Ingredients

  • 1 tin of Tuna – drained
  • 1 avocado – peeled and sliced or chopped
  • *
  • 1 tin of Beans – Cannellini, Pinto or Mixed – drained
  • 4 tomatoes – chopped
  • 1 small tin of sweetcorn – drained (or cooked frozen sweetcorn)
  • Yellow or Orange Pepper – chopped
  • 2 red chillies – chopped fine
  • 1 bunch of spring onions – white and green parts chopped
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 1-2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
  • Salt & pepper to taste.

Method

  • In a large bowl mix all the vegetables except the avocado.
  • Pour over the lemon juice and olive oil and season.
  • Put the ingredients into a large serving dish.
  • Put the avocado and tuna on top and mix in slightly.

Dish is Cadiz by Meakin – 1964 – 1970