Peperonata Istrian style Recipe

August 10, 2022 by tina oblak in Adriatic Recipe, brunch, child friendly dish, child friendly meal, dinner, Easy recipe, entrée course, family friendly dish, family friendly meal, Healthy, healthy mael, Istrian cuisine, Istrian dish, Istrian food, Istrian gastronomy, light meal, main course, main dish, main vegetarian dish, main vegetarian meal, Nutritious, Nutritious dish, one pot meal, Rustic dish, Side Dishes, simple recipe, Slovenian cuisine, Slovenian food, Slovenian gastronomy, Starters, stew, summer dish, summer recipe, supper, Vegan, Vegetable side dish, Vegetables, Vegetarian, vegetarian summer stew, Venetian dish

This quintessentially summer dish gets devoured and seems to be a real hit every single time, it is a very “practical” dish, as it usually prepared in advance, and takes central stage on the tables of the locals back home on the Slovenian coast, where during the summer months the heat can be terrible but it is also during this time of the year that the ingredients for this dish are most abundant and taste their best.

Peperonata is cooked by the locals during the fresh, cooler, hours of the day, usually early in the morning or in the evening when it cools down a bit (there is a different rhythm of life, a different way of doing things, when you live in a climate that can regularly be very hot).

Moreover, better cooking follows this different, summer, rhythm of daily activities, since the following day the dish tastes even better as all the ingredients have a chance to mingle together!

Peperonata is so delicious you can just eat it on its own with some fresh crunchy or toasted bread, it is great paired with grilled meats and fish, cheeses, cold meats, cooked rice, makes a great base for a risotto or a pasta dish and incredibly tasty spread on bruschetta.

I am sharing here my mother's recipe for Istrian style peperonata, which is different from the Venetian variety where a little white wine is added to the dish.

When I cook this dish, I get immediately transported back home, to the sound of cicadas, to the fragrance of salty air, and to the childhood memories of long summers that never seemed to end...

Ingredients

Serves 4

1 clove of garlic, peeled and crushed
5 Tbsp olive olive
onions (about 300g) peeled and finely sliced
400g aubergines, diced
500g yellow or green bell peppers, washed, deseeded and sliced into strips or cut into chunks)
300g tomatoes (juicy, ripe and sweet) roughly chopped
sea salt
few fresh basil leaves, optional
fresh flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped for garnish, optional

Method

Place the oil in a fairly large pan, add sliced onions, crushed garlic, a generous pinch of sea salt and cook the onions on a gentle heat (for about 10 minutes) or until soft and translucent stirring now and again (do not rush this process as the slowly caramelized onions will add a final taste of the dish).

Add cubed aubergines and cook gently for about 10-15 minutes or until cooked down and soft, stirring occasionally, making sure they do not catch to the bottom of the pan.

Transfer sliced bell peppers to the pan and cook together with the onions and aubergines for about 10-15 minutes or until softened a bit and cooked down, stirring now and again (if onion, aubergine and pepper mixture starts to catch at the bottom of the pan add a splash of water).

Add chopped tomatoes, a few fresh basil leaves, a splash of water and cover with the lid.

Simmer on a very gentle heat for about 40minutes, checking and stirring now and again making sure it does not stick to the bottom.

Taste and adjust the seasoning with sea salt.

Let it cool, sprinkle with some roughly chopped fresh flat leaf parsley and some basil leaves (optional) and serve tepid, at room temperature or cold.

Just a thought

Peperonata will keep very well in a fridge in an airtight container for a few days and is suitable for freezing especially if you make a large quantity, and want to eat it again in the near future; or, indeed, you want to bring back summer memories in the middle of winter.

The traditional way of preparing this dish does not call for chill, however, if you wish to add a bit of a kick to this dish it is perfectly fine to do so during the cooking process.

You can also add courgettes, some olives and capers to taste as a variation of this dish.

Wine suggestion

Calabria Rosato IGT "Terre Lontane" 2021 - Librandi

Egg frittata with wild herbs Istrian Recipe

Beans and Sardines

June 16, 2022 by tina oblak in Adriatic Recipe, All year round recipe, Appetizers, baked dish, bite-sized nibbles, breakfast, brunch, Canapés, dinner, Easy recipe, entrée course, family friendly dish, family friendly meal, Finger food, first course, first course dish, first course meal, foraging, Healthy, healthy mael, Istrian cuisine, Istrian dish, Istrian food, Istrian gastronomy, light meal, main course, main dish, Nutritious, Nutritious dish, Rustic dish, simple recipe, Slovenian cuisine, Slovenian food, Slovenian gastronomy, Small bites, Snacks, Spring dish, Spring recipe, Starters, supper, Vegetarian, Fresh herbs

Egg frittata with wild herbs is a very simple and rustic dish, quick to make and a perfect recipe choice for an easy and uncomplicated midweek or weekend lunch, dinner, brunch or breakfast.

It is delicious when eaten hot, but equally very tasty at room temperature or cold, it can be made ahead, providing a great picnic solution, and frittata cut into small bite size pieces will make a brilliant finger food feeding larger groups served together with some drinks.

This humble frittata is a very traditional dish in the Slovenian Istra where I grew up, it is similar to an omelette, it is Italian in origin (Italian word frittata roughly translates to “fried”) and to me, is more than just a quick meal solution.

This type of frittata together with other two most common variations (frittata with dry sausage and frittata with wild asparagus and pancetta) represent a real speciality in Slovenian Istra which, due to close geographical proximity to Italy, made this dish very popular and is referred by locals as Fritaia de erbe, Fritaja, Fritata or Frtalja, Fritaia, and all of these words derive from the Venetian word fritaia, given Venice's domination of the region.

Both my paternal and maternal grandfathers loved all variations of frittata and would have them for merenda (a dialect word, from Italian meaning snack) indicating in the past a quite substantial late morning breakfast (a slightly less sophisticated version of a “modern” brunch) for pheasants, farmers, fishermen and workers. They all started work at dawn, so by mid morning, when they finished working, and before returning home for lunch, they were all quite hungry, and more than ready to have some food to replenish the energy. Nowadays, merenda indicates a light mid morning or mid afternoon snack, that can be savoury or sweet, and of course, children always push for a sweet option...

Both my grandfathers would pick up wild herbs (spring providing the widest range) when returning home from spending a morning working in their vegetable gardens, orchards or olive groves, in which case egg frittata with wild herbs would be prepared for lunch or dinner.

Wild herbs frittata and other types of frittata were for a long time considered a dish for only the poorest people, but thanks to new gastronomic traditions, they are very proudly back on the menus of many homes and restaurants, and given the true dignity they deserve. They are quick and cheap to prepare, have low caloric intake, and are abundant with nutrients from freshly picked herbs in the local area.

I am sharing here a very easy family recipe for this modest frittata. All you need to do is take a nice walk in the natural world around you - forests, meadows etc., and pick some seasonal wild herbs. What can be easier than that?

Well, if you are mainly in an urban area, you can skip the walk and use store bought baby spinach, wild rocket, some fresh basil and flat leaf parsley and you are ready to go...