The bell pepper is no longer the sexiest veggie in town.
Most people would say they are bored with them. Some find them difficult to digest, and others are simply tired of eating them.
I too suffer from the same culinary boredom when it comes to bell peppers. I routinely toss them in my grocery basket with dreams of creating an exciting dish. But once I get home, I never quite know what to do with them.
Having said that – I still love bell peppers.
They remind me of my childhood summer Sundays when I helped my grandfather grill lamb brochettes. He grilled them on rosemary skewers with roasted bell peppers a la provencal. I was in charge of turning the skewers so they wouldn’t burn. My grandfather kept a close eye on me.
A symbol of summer holidays and BBQs, the bell pepper has more than one trick up its sleeve to tickle our taste buds.
Nutritionally speaking, it is still the “bell” of the ball. The bell pepper has a myriad of antioxidants from vitamin C, A to B6 and magnesium.
Still, the bell pepper is not always liked. For example, the green one, with its thick fleshy texture and bitter flavor, is often dismissed as unripe.
The poor bell pepper seems to be stuck in a rut. It has become the vegetable chefs and cooks love to hate.
So how do we make bell peppers less boring?
The following recipe is my effort to spice things up and make the bell pepper “sexy” again.
- 2 yellow bell peppers
- 2 red bell peppers
- 2 tbs butter
- 2 tbs olive oil
- 2 red onions
- ½ cup red wine
- ¼ cup fig balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbs herbs of provence
- ½ cup chopped olive nicoise
- Store bought frozen puff pastry
- 2 cups grated gruyere cheese
- Defrost puff pastry according to package instructions and keep in the refrigerator. Remove from the fridge 15 minutes before use.
- Peel and slice the onions into thin slices. In a pan, heat the herbs on low to release their fragrant oils. Take care not to burn them. Add butter and olive oil. Continuing on low heat, let butter and oil infuse with herbs - about one minute. Add onion, wine and vinegar. Cook over medium heat stirring occasionally until all liquid evaporates - about 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile wash and cut the peppers into quarters lengthwise. Place them skin side up on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and bake in a preheated oven at 350 for about 15 minutes. Wrap the cooked peppers in foil and let steam for twenty minutes. Once cooled, peel the peppers and set aside.
- Roll the puff pastry into a sheet large enough to cover a 9 inch non stick baking pan. Lightly oil the pan and arrange the pepper slices in a radial pattern. Sprinkle the peppers with a thin layer of grated gruyere cheese. Add the cooked onion and spread over the gruyere evenly. Sprinkle the chopped olives over the onion layer and top with another layer of gruyere taking care to cover the entire surface. Cover with puff pastry pressing the edges inside the pan. Bake in a preheated oven at 375 degrees until golden brown - about 35 minutes.
- Pull the tart from the oven and let rest for 15 minutes. Invert a plate over pan and using pot holders to hold the plate and baking pan together, invert the tart onto the platter. Garnish with halved olives and few sprigs of fresh thyme. Serve warm..
Use any type of fruity balsamic vinegar you like. I used Sonoma Harvest fig balsamic vinegar.
Perfect for lunches and brunches, this tart can be served as a main course with a salad or as a side dish.
