Piperade For One Or Two Food

PIPERADE BASQUAISE

Steps:

• Prepare the piperade by first heating the 4 tablespoons of fat of your choice in a heavy 8-inch frying pan or, better still, in a small oval copper or enamel pan that you can bring to the table. Add the chopped onions and garlic and cook them for about 5 minutes over moderate heat, stirring them frequently until they are soft but not brown. Stir in the pepper strips, turning them in the fat now and then, letting them cook for about 10 minutes, at which point they should be tender but still crisp. Drain the chopped tomatoes thoroughly and add them to the pan, sprinkling in at the same time the dried or fresh basil and the pepper flakes or hot pepper sauce. Raise the heat and cook the tomatoes briskly for a few minutes and stir constantly with a wooden spoon until all their moisture has evaporated. Be careful that the piperade doesn't burn. Put it aside until you are ready to reheat and serve it.
• At that point, combine 1 tablespoon each of olive oil and butter in an 8-inch heavy frying pan, and over moderate heat, cook the julienned ham for a few minutes until the strips are thoroughly heated through. Remove them at once with a slotted spoon and spread them out on paper toweling to drain.
• Meanwhile let the fat in the frying pan cool to lukewarm before pouring it into the eggs, lightly beaten with salt and pepper. Over low heat, stir the eggs with a rubber spatula until they begin to form soft, creamy curds. Remove them from the heat when they are not quite set and gently spread them over the reheated piperade. Let some of the colorful vegetables show through. Lightly scatter the ham on top, sprinkle with the chopped parsley and/or chopped chives, and serve at once.

PIPERADE

Steps:

• Cut a small X into bottom of each tomato. Bring a pot of water to a boil, add tomatoes and cook until skin begins to wrinkle and peel at the edges of the cuts, about 30 seconds. Drain, rinse with cool water and peel off skin with your fingers. Roughly chop tomatoes and set aside.
• In a 12-inch skillet over medium high heat, heat oil until hot but not smoking. Add onions, peppers and salt and sauté, stirring frequently, until onions are translucent and peppers have started to lighten in spots, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and continue to sauté for 1 more minute.
• Stir in tomatoes, sugar and piment d'Espelette, reduce heat to medium, cover and cook until tomatoes are starting to fall apart and peppers are soft but still hold their shape, about 15 minutes. Remove cover and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until mixture thickens like a slightly runny relish, about 5 minutes more. Adjust salt.

PORK PIPERADE

Steps:

• In a shallow bowl, combine flour and half of seasoning mix. Add pork, a few pieces at a time, and toss to coat; shake off excess., In a large skillet, heat canola oil over medium-high heat. Add pork; stir-fry until browned, 3-4 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon; cover and keep warm., In same skillet, heat olive oil. Stir-fry onion and peppers until crisp-tender. Chop tomatoes; add to skillet. In a small bowl, combine remaining taco seasoning and reserved tomato juices. Add to skillet. Bring to a boil; cook and stir until thickened. Reduce heat to medium-low. Return pork to skillet; heat through.

PIPERADE ON CRUSTY BREAD

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large pan and slowly cook the onion for 6-8 mins to soften.
• Meanwhile, peel the tomatoes: using a sharp knife, make a cross on the top and bottom of the tomatoes. Pour boiling water into a bowl, and carefully lower the tomatoes into the water. Prepare another bowl of very cold water. After about 30 secs, drain the tomatoes, then plunge them into the cold water. The skins should now slip off easily. Cut into quarters, deseed and roughly chop.
• Throw the peppers and garlic into the onion pan, give everything a good stir and cook, covered, over a low heat for 20 mins or so until the vegetables are really soft and sweet. Stir regularly so that they don't catch on the bottom of the pan. Add the tomatoes, a pinch of sugar and cook, uncovered, for 5 mins more. Season and stir in the vinegar and the basil. Allow to cool to room temperature, stir through the basil and taste to check the flavours again. You may want to add a dash more vinegar, or a pinch more sugar, depending on how sweet your vegetables are. Spoon onto the baguette slices and serve.

PANCETTA & PEPPER PIPERADE

Steps:

• Put the pancetta and onion in a large, deep frying pan. Cook for 7 mins until the onion is beginning to soften.
• Add the peppers, tomatoes and tomato purée to the pan and mix well. Season, cover and cook for 10-15 mins.
• Make 4 small wells in the mixture. Crack an egg into each well and cook for a further 5-6 mins or until the eggs have set. Scatter with basil and serve straight away, with crusty bread, if you like.

PIPERADE

Steps:

• Preheat broiler with the rack in the upper position. Cut off tops and bottoms of peppers; discard. Slice side of each pepper to open, and spread to flatten. Remove and discard ribs and seeds. Brush 1 tablespoon oil on a baking sheet. Rub peppers with oil, and flatten as much as possible. Place on sheet, skin side up. Broil until skins have blackened, about 8 minutes. Let cool. Hold peppers under running water to remove charred skins, and cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick strips (about 2 cups). Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.
• Prepare an ice-water bath. Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Add tomatoes, and cook until skins loosen, about 1 1/2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to ice-water bath until cool enough to handle, about 1 minute. Peel tomatoes, and cut into quarters. Run a knife along flesh to remove seeds; discard seeds. Cut tomatoes lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick strips.
• Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in small ovenproof pot over medium-high heat. Add garlic and onion, and cook for 2 minutes; cover, and transfer pot to oven. Bake for 10 minutes. Brush down sides of pot with a wet pastry brush to prevent caramelized bits from burning. Add roasted pepper strips, cover, and bake for 20 minutes more. Brush down sides of pot again. Add thyme and tomato strips, and continue baking, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Brush down sides of pot again. Season with salt and pepper. Vegetables should be soft but not browned. Serve warm or at room temperature.

HAM AND VEGETABLE FRITTATA

Steps:

• Heat 1 tbsp canola oil in large cast-iron or ovenproof skillet, making sure to get oil on sides.
• Saute onion, peppers and garlic until tender; remove from pan.
• Add remaining oil to pan and cook potatoes over medium heat until lightly browned; add add remaining vegetables and ham and cook 4-5 minutes more.
• Meanwhile, in a bowl, beat together eggs and egg whites, and pepper.
• Pour egg mixture over vegetables; cover and cook 8-10 minutes or until eggs almost set, then place under broiler (6" from heat) and cook 2 minutes or until eggs are completely set.
• Cut into wedges and serve.

PIPERADE FOR ONE OR TWO

Steps:

• In a 9-in skillet, heat 2 tsp of the oil over moderate heat.
• Add the onion, green pepper, and 1/8 tsp of the salt and pepper. Saute for 3 minutes until softened.
• Add garlic and tomatoes and saute 4-5 minutes longer or until the mixture is dry. Transfer to a medium-size bowl and set aside.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, egg whites, water, and remaining 1/8 tsp salt and pepper.
• In the same skillet, heat the remaining 2 tsp oil over moderate heat.
• Add the eggs, reduce heat, cook, covered, for a minute.
• Spoon the vegetable mixture on top, cover and cook 2 minutes more or until the vegetables are heated through and the eggs are set.
• Serve immediately, sprinkled with the freshly minced basil.