ANCHOVIES AND PEPPERS
This is a great light dish to serve as a casual lunch or to present on a platter for parties. If you offer it as a canapé, serve it with toast points on the side. The key to this dish is good-quality anchovies and olive oil.
- 3 bell peppers, either red or yellow
- 1 teaspoon canola oil
- 6 salt-packed anchovies or 12 oil-packed anchovy fillets
- 3 tablespoons best-quality extra-virgin olive oil
- Leaves from 2 sprigs fresh mint
- 1 lemon, cut into wedges
Ingredients
Preheat the broiler or prepare a grill. Lightly oil the peppers with the canola oil. If broiling, place the whole peppers on a baking sheet and broil as close to the heat as possible until their skins are blackened and the peppers are tender, turning them every few minutes to cook evenly. If grilling, place the peppers over the hottest part of the fire and blacken in the same way.
Place the blackened peppers in a brown paper bag and fold the top closed. This will trap the heat and steam the peppers, making it easier to remove their skins. Set aside until the peppers are cool enough to handle, then gently flake off the burned skin. It should slip right off, but if necessary you can use a knife to gently scrape the pepper clean. Do not wash it! A little burned skin is better than washing away all the flavor. Remove the stem end and discard all the seeds from each pepper. Tear the peppers into 1-inch strips and place them on a serving plate.
To serve, arrange the anchovy fillets on top of the pepper strips. Drizzle with the olive oil and scatter the mint leaves over the plate. Serve with lemon wedges on the side.
Serves 4 as a light lunch or appetizer