Upgrade your fave Pizza Express starter
Marinated pepper, caper, and mozzarella bruschetta.
An all-star cast of ingredients
Travelling around London I look at the posters promoting a new blockbuster film and think: do people actually enjoy joining an all-star cast for the summer adventure of a lifetime?
In reality those posters could be talking about this week’s recipe for marinated pepper, caper, and mozzarella bruschetta.
An all-star cast of Italian ingredients come together to deliver an instant classic ideal for summer eating. It’s basically an upgraded version of your go-to Pizza Express starter.
This week’s album
An Awesome Wave by alt-J
Eat My Words has featured a number of great debut albums and this one is no exception. The sound is eccentric, eclectic, and seriously good - with notable influences from electronica, rock, folk, and jazz. It’s an album that doesn’t submit to the norms and often surprises.
Supercharging a classic Italian starter
Originally part of the south’s ‘cucina povera’, is found everywhere in Italy. Traditionally it was the best way to use up stale bread that was too precious not to be eaten. Now it’s just the best way to eat a delicious starter.
Bruschetta’s most famous topping includes tomatoes, olive oil, salt and garlic but the topping possibilities are endless. In fact, you don’t have to put anything on top… In Tuscany, often just a drizzle of olive oil is added (especially in November when the new-season olive oil has just been pressed).
Instead of just giving you a recipe for grilled bread and olive oil (I think you’ve signed up for a little more than that) we’re gonna go for something a bit pepper-y.
This week you’ll roast some peppers whole - which will soften them and intensify their flavour - then marinate them with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, fresh basil and juicy capers. The flavour combination is undeniably summer-y and very satisfying, similar to that of .
Kids - always apply sunscreen.
A quick word on capers… Often recipes call for salted capers. These are great but not super convenient. You need to rinse them well to remove excess salt and then leave them in a large bowl of water for about 40 mins.
If you’re up for that then start the process when you start the peppers. Otherwise go for capers stored in vinegar. While the salted capers are generally considered ‘better’, this dish benefits from the acidity of vinegar-ed capers.
Re the bread, your final product will really benefit from good quality stuff. I used , partly cos I had some leftover, partly cos it has a lot of olive oil in it which ties in nicely with the flavours.
What you need
The below serves 2-3 people as a starter. It takes 10 mins to prep and 40 mins to cook.
3 red peppers
2 tbsp capers
10 basil leaves
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2-3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp dried oregano
½ dried chilli flakes (optional)
4 slices bread (ciabatta/focaccia/sourdough)
1 garlic clove
1 mozzarella ball (torn into small pieces)
Sea salt & black pepper
Ready, steady, cook
1. Preheat your oven to 200°c/180°c fan. When hot, put the peppers on a roasting tray. Drizzle and rub with a small amount of olive oil. Place into the oven for 35-40 mins.
2. When done - they’re ready once they’ve softened and the skin has charred in places - carefully transfer the peppers to a bowl. Cover well with cling film and leave to cool for about 20 mins (or until cool enough to handle). The cling film allows them to steam a little which makes peeling the skins easier.
3. Remove the peppers from the bowl - keep the bowl, and any liquid in the bottom, to hand - and place on a chopping board. Use a small knife to cut down one side so the pepper opens out and can lie flat. Scrape away the seeds, flip the pepper over, then peel off the skin. It should come off quite easily.
4. When you’ve deseeded and peeled all the peppers, slice them into strips about 1cm wide. Transfer everything back to the bowl.
5. Add in the capers (drain them well), basil leaves, balsamic vinegar, 2 tbsps of extra virgin olive oil, dried oregano, dried chilli (if using), a good pinch of sea salt, and freshly ground black pepper. Mix everything well and leave to marinate for at least 20 mins (the longer the better really). Check the seasoning for salt and vinegar levels.
6. When you’re ready to serve, place a frying pan on a medium high heat. Drizzle your slices of bread with olive oil and place into the pan to grill. Leave them for a couple of mins on each side until they’re crispy and slightly charred.
7. As the slices of bread come out of the pan and are still hot, rub them with the clove of garlic.
8. Transfer your bread to a plate, and pile on the pepper and caper mixture. Make sure to spoon over some of the juices as the grilled bread will soak them up perfectly. Top with some torn mozzarella pieces and, finally, drizzle with a little more olive oil.
Final thought
The peppers will keep in the fridge for a few days so it’s worth making a decent amount. They make for a delicious snack or even brekkie.
Same time next week,
Fraser
Last week’s results
Painting a pretty picture?
Tag your dishes with #eatmywordslondon, or hit reply to this email with a photo.