Tuesday 27 October 2015

Egg-Citing Stuff!

Peperone al Forno, Ripieno di Uovo, Pangrattato, Pancetta & Feta
Baked Pepper, Stuffed with Egg, Bread Crumbs, Bacon & Feta

 

When I was at the market hall today, I saw these BIG, beautiful peppers... Which just happened to come from Sicily. Red, yellow and green in color and beautiful to look at, I knew they would have to be super-delicious to eat too... Because there was absolutely no way these babies were anything but organic! This definitely was not a "normal" supermarket size! And it was totally irresistible to me of course!

But then, come supper time, once I had brought it home and was just raring to go and get cooking... I didn't really know what I should do with it to make the most of it...


 

So, I thought to myself, the best way to make the most of this great ingredient, would be to not alter its flavor too much, but to add flavors that would only enhance but not overpower it and to add something mild to go with it.

Tah-Dah! What could be simpler, prettier or more delicious than this? With bacon and feta cheese to add a savory touch to the peppers natural sweetness, this was a perfect combination!


 

Obviously, you can use regular bell peppers to make this... You may simply need a couple of them to fill you up! Or a little something in the side! Haha! But for me, all I needed was my 1 large pepper, 1 egg, 1/2 block of feta cheese, 2 tablespoons of finely chopped bacon, 1 spring onion, 1-2 tablespoons of bread crumbs, some fresh parsley, salt, pepper and olive oil.

 

If you are lucky enough to get these nice large peppers, they really are big enough to make for a light but satisfying meal. They will take you about 1 hour to make, which is quite a long time, I know... and you may have doubts... I did whilst I was waiting for mine to bake... But when you try the finished result, you will definitely agree that they are well worth waiting for!

 

Begin by cutting away the top third of the pepper and chopping it into a fine dice. Lay your pepper on a flat surface before cutting, so that you find the best position for it to sit firmly... You don't want it toppling over in the oven and soiling out all of the filling and the egg!

Finely chop the spring onion too and you are ready to go!

Grab yourself a frying pan, but at this point, you can also turn on your oven to get it hot and ready too.


 

Pop the diced pepper into a frying pan with just enough water to cover the base and cook for 1-2 minutes until the water evaporates away... This will speed up the cooking considerably. Then add the bacon and onion and stir fry for a further 2-3 minutes until everything is about half done.

 

Transfer everything to a bowl and whilst it is still not, add enough breadcrumbs to coat everything nicely when stirred and add a good pinch of finely chopped parsley.

 

Allow to cool for a few minutes whilst you cut the feta cheese into relatively fine cubes and then add these and stir together with the rest of the ingredients.

 

Sprinkle the pepper lightly with salt, add a little pepper and a few drops of olive oil and then spoon in the filling nice and evenly. Make an indentation in the center, large enough for your egg, drizzle everything again with just a little olive oil and then carefully add the egg.

 

Fold the sides of the foil upwards, all around and add a drizzle of water around the outside of the pepper. Now lay a second sheet of foil on top and carefully roll the edges shut all the way around, leaving plenty of room for air... And steam!

Bake in a very hot oven, at 220 C for 30-40 minutes. This will give the pepper and the filling time to cook through, but surprisingly the egg will remain soft... Which is fine! If it cooked too early, it would end up turning to rubber in the time that the pepper requires to become tender!

Remove the top sheet of foil after 40 minutes and return to the oven to finish... This should take around 10 minutes, and in that time the topping will also crisp over slightly... Very, very yummy!


 

By the time the egg whites are no longer transparent , the yolk itself may seem to have become a little too firm on top... But fear not! As you can see, it's is gloriously rich and smooth and deliciously soft on the inside!

 

And those flavors, all combined together... Let me tell you this... As simple as this is- they just taste divine!

 

You will live this... Plain and simple! And you wil make it again and again! And be happy each time! Word!

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