Friarelli are medium sized, slender, thin-walled, mild south Italian peppers that are perfect for frying. In their absence use something similarly shaped; bell peppers would be too meaty and also too large. As I said, friarelli are mild; if you want you could use something hotter, but if you do it will mask the flavors of the filling. Ingredients to serve 6-8 as an antipasto:
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
- 12 Friarelli or similar peppers
- 6 canned anchovy filets, drained and diced
- A small bunch parsley, minced
- 1 tablespoon salted capers, rinsed and minced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) breadcrumbs
- The zest of half of an organically grown lemon
- Oil for frying
- Salt
Preparation:
Mince the parsley, garlic, and lemon zest together. Mix in the capers, breadcrumbs, and anchovy filets.
Wash the peppers, dry them with a cloth, and make a slit down each, from which to extract the seeds and ribs. Fill them with the stuffing and press the lips of the cut back into place.
Heat enough oil to almost cover the peppers in a non-stick pot, and when it's hot fry them, with the cut side facing up, for about 5 minutes. Drain them well on absorbent paper, salt them lightly, and serve hot.
The rest of the meal? That's up to you, though I might follow my peppers with spaghetti with clams as a first course, and fish al cartoccio (baked in a packet) as a second, with a tossed salad and a white wine along the lines of Greco di Tufo.
Yield: 6-8 servings stuffed fried peppers.
[blockquote shade=grur]Richmetcalf writes:
"Sounds like a lovely recipe, except that I'm not sure where you would be able to find friarelli peppers. Friarelli are a kind of spinachy sprouting often served with sausages in Naples and the Campania region, and according to wikipedia they are called rapini in English. They are certainly not stuffable and I have never heard of friarelli ripieni in all the time I've spent in and around Naples. Nevertheless, this is a good recipe for stuffed thin peppers."
He raises a good point about Friarelli -- the word is one of the distressingly many Italian culinery terms with more than one meaning, as the word friarelli (or frigitelli) is also applied to skinny mild peppers. To to be honest, since I'm not Neapolitan I wasn't sure which usage -- skinny peppers or cime di rapa -- is more prevalent. But I have had both peppers and broccoli raab presented to me as friarelli.
Kyle Phillips, Your Guide to Italian Cooking
Wash the peppers, dry them with a cloth, and make a slit down each, from which to extract the seeds and ribs. Fill them with the stuffing and press the lips of the cut back into place.
Heat enough oil to almost cover the peppers in a non-stick pot, and when it's hot fry them, with the cut side facing up, for about 5 minutes. Drain them well on absorbent paper, salt them lightly, and serve hot.
The rest of the meal? That's up to you, though I might follow my peppers with spaghetti with clams as a first course, and fish al cartoccio (baked in a packet) as a second, with a tossed salad and a white wine along the lines of Greco di Tufo.
Yield: 6-8 servings stuffed fried peppers.
[blockquote shade=grur]Richmetcalf writes:
"Sounds like a lovely recipe, except that I'm not sure where you would be able to find friarelli peppers. Friarelli are a kind of spinachy sprouting often served with sausages in Naples and the Campania region, and according to wikipedia they are called rapini in English. They are certainly not stuffable and I have never heard of friarelli ripieni in all the time I've spent in and around Naples. Nevertheless, this is a good recipe for stuffed thin peppers."
He raises a good point about Friarelli -- the word is one of the distressingly many Italian culinery terms with more than one meaning, as the word friarelli (or frigitelli) is also applied to skinny mild peppers. To to be honest, since I'm not Neapolitan I wasn't sure which usage -- skinny peppers or cime di rapa -- is more prevalent. But I have had both peppers and broccoli raab presented to me as friarelli.
Kyle Phillips, Your Guide to Italian Cooking
