A day late & a peperoni short 🫑

a recipe for a ferrogosto classic that's better served the day after, like most things in life

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Buon ferri!

Buon ferragosto a tutti! It’s that time of year again. The time of year when every business, person, restaurant, shop, gelateria, pasticceria, and trattoria in Italy closes for summer break. Sometimes just for the week, sometimes the entire month. Either way, if you’re traveling in Italy, you’ll find that the slower pace, in most of the major cities, is welcomed. The beaches, instead, become crowded and jam packed with both tourists and Italians looking for the last moments of seaside bliss. Salty med waters, a panino or even better, a pasta by the sea with a cold glass of white wine.

But if there’s one thing I’ve learned after dating an Italian for nearly 6 years is that some dishes and traditions just don’t make sense. They just are what they are and we must accept the facts. The fact being that sometimes Italians don’t have a clear answer for them either. This one, I believe, is clearly Roman, but it’s one of those dishes you put a question mark on for such a day as August the 15th. A day spent at the beach baking in the hot Italian sunshine. It’s called pollo con i peperoni - chicken with peppers. A dish that many Italians, if questioned, would say is “heavy”. Peppers, in Italian culture, are apparently considered a “heavy” food to digest amongst the other players in the heavyweight food group like melon for instance (don’t get me started).

Which is why I have questions surrounding the toting of this particular dish to the beach for a day in the hot sun. It will remain a mystery to me, but with that said I made this dish for my Italian (as per request) in London. It felt much better suited for British summer than Italian summer. I say this now, but as I dig my fork into the leftover dish the following morning (yes, morning), it seems to have settled even better than when it came straight off the stove. Isn’t that true for most dishes though? Almost always better the day after. So, with that said, I approve of bringing “day after pollo con i peperoni” to the beach - but only the day after, that’s my rule.

As I settle back into our cozy London flat - growing accustomed to the temperature, the noises, and the lack of sun - I’m reminded of a fast approaching reality. While I was away for work, my landlord decided she wanted to sell our flat. It all happened so quick and without any inkling or possibility of selling anytime soon. The flat we’ve made a home for the past 2 years. 2 years - time has really flown by. Although I’ve been manifesting our home in Italy, our time spent at our home here in London doesn’t feel quite finished.

In some ways, we do feel that we’ve outgrown the space - as though we’re bloating - gathering more belongings and trinkets as the years and months pass us by. Another reason why I love a season change and flat clean out just as much as the next - out with the old, in with the new. And that’s just it - or at least what I’m telling myself. There’s been lots of changes and disappointments in the past few months but I think it’s safe to say that most of them have made us stronger and have offered us more opportunities - opening new doors, all with their own perspective and story. With every change, there’s a settling period. The dust kicks up and a major storm blows through, shifting the pieces and moving the furniture you expertly placed. It doesn’t taste good in the moment, as much as they tell you it should taste good. Maybe some part of the dish is seasoned properly, enticing even; however, it lacks the delivery. It’s that sulking moment. The marinating period. Allowing the dust to settle - to see where the couch now sits and where the painting now hangs. It begins to taste better, more palatable. Flavors and elements that once seemed bitter and thoughtless, become married and in harmony. And in the end, the dish offers more than what you originally set out for it to be.

Such as this deeply profound (my apologies) metaphor for life is, it kind of feels the same for pollo con i peperoni. Which is why I’ll only be eating this dish the day after - no if’s and’s or but’s about it - unless a metaphorical dust storm blows out of nowhere and tosses your couch around…then call me, we’ll talk.

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Day after pollo con i peperoni

Serves 4-6

• 1kg chicken thighs - I left skin on, boneless (about 6 chicken thighs)

• 1kg large red peppers - can be a mix of red and yellow (about 4-5 peppers)

• 250g cherry tomatoes if in season (about 15 cherry tomatoes)

• About 1 Tbsp of tomato paste

• 1 shallot, diced

• 1 glove of garlic (whole)

• 1/4 cup of dry white wine

• 1 cup of hot water

• 4 Tbsps EVOO

• Salt and Pepper to taste

• Basil to garnish

Prepare your peppers by either peeling some of the skin (if very thick) with a peeler. Or roasting in the oven at 175ºC/350ºF for 15-20 minutes, then transferring to a heatproof bowl with a lid and allowing to sit for 10 minutes or until cool to the touch in order to peel the skin off. I chose to blacked the skin of the peppers directly on the stove top flames, transfer to a bowl to sit and then peeled as much skin off as I could. This is not a necessary step but giving the peppers an extra cook before entering into the pot with the other ingredients, helps to build the flavors. Either way, de-stem and de-seed your peppers and cut into 2cm wide strips.

In a heavy bottomed pot, heat 2 Tbsp of EVOO. Season your chicken thighs and gently brown - you are not looking to cook all the way through, just a browning. Set your browned chicken aside. In the same pot, add your diced shallots. You should have some chicken fat and oil in the bottom of the pan, sauté your shallots and the whole clove of garlic in this oil - if you need additional oil, drizzle some olive oil to help coat the shallots. Sweat the shallots for about 3-5 minutes - do not brown them. Add the 1/4 cup of wine to deglaze and pick up the brown bits (flavor) remaining in the pan. Allow the wine to burn off. Add your cherry tomatoes and tomato paste and stir, allowing the tomatoes to blister and soften. Pluck out your clove of garlic. Add your prepared peppers and 1 cup of hot water. Cook for about 5 minutes before adding your chicken back into the pot. Tuck your chicken into the pepper and tomato mix, cover with a lid and cook gently for 30 minutes or so. Crack the lid and continue cooking for another 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and keep the cover on. Take a walk, 10 minutes or so and come back to your pollo con i peperoni. Better yet, enjoy the following day.

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Until next time at a standing reservation…

With love & snacks,

Paige

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