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Home » Peperonata (Italian Bell Pepper Stew)

Peperonata (Italian Bell Pepper Stew)

October 9, 2020 by Victoria 6 Comments

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Last updated on February 23rd, 2022 at 11:19 am

Peperonata or Italian Bell Pepper Stew is a traditional Italian summer recipe that you can find on almost the entire territory of Italy. Still, it has its origins in the southern part of the country.

You can serve the Peperonata as a side dish, as an appetizer on a slice of homemade bread, or as a pizza & pasta topping. If you decide to serve it as a side dish, you can serve it on the plate near meat, chicken, fish or just on a delicious homemade focaccia Genovese.

In This Post: show
1 So, What is Peperonata?
2 What Ingredients do you need to prepare an Italian Peperonata?
3 How to prepare Italian Peperonata?
4 Recipe Card:
5 Peperonata (Italian Bell Pepper Stew)
6 Answering Your Questions:

So, What is Peperonata?

It’s a simple, traditional, and delicious Italian dish that has as a star of the plate the bell peppers. Besides the bell peppers, you can find onions, garlic, tomatoes, capers, and fresh basil. All these ingredients will give a delicious Mediterranean flavor.

Of course, you will find tons of variations of this recipe on the internet because it varies from the region of Italy, but let me share with you my favorite family recipe.

Let’s get started!

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What Ingredients do you need to prepare an Italian Peperonata?

  • 21 oz (600 g.) of Bell Peppers (Different colors)
  • 17.5 oz (500 g.) Tomatoes (Different Colors)
  • 8.8 oz (250 g.) Onions
  • 5 tablespoons Olive Oil
  • 1 tablespoon garlic
  • 1 teaspoon capers
  • ½ teaspoon Chili Peper Flakes
  • 2 tablespoons Vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon Sugar
  • ½ teaspoon Dried Basil

How to prepare Italian Peperonata?

1. Wash well and clean all vegetables.

Onions, bell pepper, onions, garlic and cappers.

2. Chop the onion julienne.

Sliced onions in a bowl on table.

3. After that, we will need to peel the tomatoes. For that, make an X-shaped cut on top of the tomatoes and pour boiling water over them. Leave them for 3-5 minutes. After that, move the tomatoes in cold water.

Tomatoes into a bowl with hot water.

4. As a result of the thermal shock, it will be very easy for you to peel the tomatoes.

Peel fresh tomatoes.

5. After you have peeled them, cut the tomatoes into cubes and put them in a bowl.

Slices of tomatoes in a white bowl

6. After that, we need to get ready for the bell peppers. Cut them into slices of about 1cm (1/3″).

Slicing bell peppers

7. After you’re done with the peppers, take the garlic cloves and mash them with the wide side of your knife. Thus, you will release the flavors from the garlic, and after cooking it, will be easy to remove the garlic cloves from the pan.

Garlic on white table

8. After we have all the ingredients ready for the pepperoni, we can go to the pan to cook them.

Ingredients for peperonata

9. We start by flavoring the oil with some garlic cloves. To do this, pour about 4-5 tablespoons of olive oil into the pan and put the garlic cloves in the pan.

Garlics in olive oil

10. When you feel a pleasant aroma of the garlic, it’s time to add onions over them. Add a pinch of salt (1/4 tsp). We are adding a little bit of salt to help the onion release the juice from them. Cook the onion with the garlic for a few minutes, until the onion becomes soft and a little transparent.

Sliced onions into a bowl

11. After that, add the chili flakes to taste.

Sliced Onions with red pepper

12. Now is the time for our star of the recipe. Add the bell pepper to the pan and mix all the ingredients. Let it fry for about 7 minutes.

Sliced bell peppers with sliced onions.

13. After that, add the capers. In my case, I used the salted capers, but you can also use the regular ones from the jar.

Adding Cappers into Peperonata.

14. After we added the capers, it’s time to add the vinegar and sugar.

Quicktip: Depending on whether you use vegetables in season or not, it will be necessary to adjust the balance of the sweet and sour taste by using a teaspoon of sugar and vinegar.

Therefore, do not be afraid to taste the product during preparation to adjust it to your taste.

In my case, I used the vegetables in their season, and I added only 1 tablespoon of vinegar. Or, if you like the vegetables to be a little more acidic, you can add 2 tablespoons of vinegar instead of one.

Adding vinegar to peperonata

15. After the vinegar, add a teaspoon of sugar to give a sweet and sour taste to the final product.

Adding sugar to Peperonata

16. Now it’s the turn of the tomatoes. Pour them into the pan and mix the well all the ingredients.

Adding tomatoes to peperonata

17. Let the vegetables cook for about 15-20 minutes on low heat. To understand when the vegetables are cooked enough, orient yourself according to the bell peppers’ level of cooking. They must remain a little crispy.

Italian Peperonata Recipe

18. In the end, add the dried or fresh basil.

Adding aromatic herbs over bell peppers

19. Mix well again all the ingredients and our delicious peperonata is ready to be served.

Peperonata with aromatic herbs

As I said, Peperonata is delicious both hot and cold. This time, I decided to serve it in the simplest way: next to a toast. Also, you can serve it near a couscous. We already have a super simple and delicious recipe for how to cook a quick couscous.

📌 Pintastic? Save it to your board: 📌Delicious Peperonata on wood table with roasted bread

Recipe Card:

Peperonata (Italian Bell Pepper Stew)


★★★★★

5 from 3 reviews

  • Author: Victoria
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 25 minutes
  • Total Time: 40 minutes
  • Yield: 4 Servings 1x
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Ingredients

  • 21 oz (600 g.) Bell Peppers
  • 17.5 oz (500 g.) Tomatoes
  • 8.8 oz (250 g.) Onions
  • 5 tbsp Olive Oil
  • 1 tbsp garlic
  • 1 tsp capers
  • ½ tsp Chili Peper Flakes
  • 2 tbsp Vinegar
  • 1 tsp Sugar
  • ½ tsp Dried Basil

Instructions

  1. Wash well and clean all vegetables.
  2. Chop the onion julienne.
  3. Peel the tomatoes
  4. Cut the tomatoes into cubes and put them in a bowl.
  5. Cut the bell peppers into slices of about 1cm (1/3″).
  6. Mash the garlic cloves.
  7. Flavor the oil with some garlic cloves. To do this, pour about 4-5 tablespoons of olive oil into the pan and put the garlic cloves in the pan.
  8. When you feel a pleasant aroma of the garlic, it’s time to add onions over them. Add a pinch of salt (1/4 tsp).
  9. Add the chili flakes to taste.
  10. Add the bell pepper to the pan and mix all the ingredients. Let it fry for about 7 minutes.
  11. Add the capers. In my case, I used the salted capers, but you can also use the regular ones from the jar.
  12. Add the vinegar and sugar.
  13. Add a teaspoon of sugar to give a sweet and sour taste to the final product.
  14. Add the tomatoes and mix well all the ingredients.
  15. Let the vegetables cook for about 15-20 minutes on low heat.
  16. Add the dried or fresh basil.
  17. Mix well again all the ingredients and our delicious Peperonata is ready to be served.

  • Category: Side Dish
  • Cuisine: Italian

Keywords: italian recipes, peperonata, vegetable stew

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Answering Your Questions:

Where does Peperonata come from?

As you might have guessed from the name, this is Italian food that is widespread throughout Italy, but which has its origins in the south of the country.

What does Peperonata mean in Italian?

In Italian, “Pepperoni” means peppers, so it means food made from peppers.

How to eat Peperonata?

Peperonata is a vegetable stew that is as tasty as both: cold and hot. It is perfect to eat as just an appetizer served on a slice of toast or as a main course at lunch next to a side dish such as rice or couscous, and of course next to Italian polenta.

How long does peperonata keep?

If you plan to eat it in the next 3-4 days, it is enough to keep it in the refrigerator in a tightly closed container.

Can you freeze peperonata?

It is better not to freeze it, but to keep it in well-sterilized jars.

How to preserve peperonata?

If you want to keep the peperonata for a longer period, and if we consider the fact that it already contains vinegar, which is already a preservative, we can preserve it as is.
When the peperonata is hot, all we need to do is distribute it into small jars (which have previously been well washed and sterilized). In this case, after the peperonata cools down, you can keep it in the fridge for even a few weeks more.

Caponata vs Peperonata

Caponata and Peperonata are both two traditional Italian recipes, prepared from vegetables. The difference between them is that Peperonata has bell peppers as the plate’s star ingredient, and caponata has eggplant as the main ingredient.

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Filed Under: Dinner, Lunch, Midweek Meals

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Matthew

    October 22, 2020 at 2:25 PM

    I had never head of Peperonata until now, and it looks so good 🙂 Your photos make it look simply amazing! Not too many ingredients either.. I think I have everything in to make this tomorrow night! Thank you for sharing 🙂

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  2. Jeannie

    October 22, 2020 at 5:26 PM

    love italian food I will give this a try never heard of this but this looks so easy and bell peppers are so healthy.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  3. Alyssa

    October 22, 2020 at 8:02 PM

    This sounds like a deliciously easy recipe! I love bell peppers and usually have them on hand. I’ll have to try this out 🙂

    Reply
  4. Aliceee Traveler

    October 22, 2020 at 8:53 PM

    Looks so delicious 🤤 yummy yummy
    I’m in love with Italian cuisine so I’m always looking for new recipes. So happy I found this one, I’m doing my shopping list right away and I’ll try it out tomorrow 👍

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  5. Mihaela

    October 22, 2020 at 9:04 PM

    I never had this dish while I lived or travelled to Italy. It seems I have to give it a go. Will have to persuade the carnivorous in the family to join, though:))

    Reply

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Hey, I'm Victoria, the blogger behind the Go Cook Yummy. I'm running this blog with my husband, Alex, where we share our family recipes that actually work. Read more about us...

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