Pepper Rally

You know those peppers Peter Piper picked? Well, guess what: They weren’t pickled after all; they were roasted. And jarred. And tucked so well in the far reaches and back corners of my pantry that I kept thinking I didn’t HAVE any roasted peppers, and kept buying more. And more. And… total roast-pepper-tally when Steve organized the pantry last weekend? Four big jars. (And that’s just the sweet peppers. Let’s not even talk about the chipotles right now…)

But now we’re down to two jars, thanks to a strategic pantry attack that used up not only half of my pepper stash but also the half-box of currants I’d had since God was in knee pants; some of the many, many slivered almonds I have accidentally accumulated; the open jar of capers in my refrigerator (leaving room for the unopened jar in the pantry to take its place); the itty-bitty bits of wine vinegar I had left in two separate bottles, some random cloves of garlic sitting on my kitchen counter… and, oh, yes, the leftover half of a red onion I cut into last Sunday to go with our bagels and lox.

Simmered with boneless, skinless chicken thighs (you could use white meat, but I had thighs in the freezer) it all made for a delicious, kind-of-sort-of-Spanish-inspired stew that was really good with saffron rice and the frozen haricots verts I bought one day when I forgot that I really don’t LIKE frozen haricots verts, because they get too mushy when you cook them. With stew and rice on a rainy night, the “mush factor” didn’t bother me quite so much.

Overstocked on peppers yourself?  Here’s a way to use some of them up. And if you don’t have any peppers, but don’t have anything else to make for dinner, either, either, go buy two jars. This was REALLY good. (And even better re-heated the next day.)

Peck of Peppers Stew

¼ Cup olive oil

1 Cup chopped onion (I used red; you could use white or yellow, too)

5 cloves of garlic, minced

1 Tblsp smoked paprika (if you don’t have smoked, use sweet )

2 lbs skinless, boneless chicken, cut into strips

Bit of flour or cornstarch

2 Cups white wine (I used pinot grigio. Anything similar – not too sweet; not too dry or oaky – would be fine.)

Two 12-ounce jars roasted sweet red peppers, drained, rinsed and drained again

1 Cup dried currants (or raisins, black or golden)

3 Tblsp capers, drained

1 Tblsp wine vinegar

Freshly squeezed juice of one orange (fresh really does matter here)

Salt to taste (I needed about ¼ teaspoon)

Handful chopped flat leaf parsley, divided

½ cup slivered almonds, toasted (you could use pine nuts, instead, if that’s what you have)

In a large skillet over medium heat, start cooking the onions and garlic in the olive oil. Add the paprika and continue cooking until onions are soft and the whole thing is paprika-colored and smells great.

Dredge the chicken in the flour or cornstarch and shake off any extra. Raise the heat to high and add the chicken, browning lightly on all sides.

Add the wine, and lower the heat to a simmer.

Add all the other ingredients EXCEPT the almonds and most of the parsley (That is, add a bit of parsley to the pot, but save the rest for later.) Cook over low heat for about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through, the sauce is cooked down and everything comes together. It's fine to let it cook longer than that, if the heat is low and you check occasionally to make sure the sauce isn't evaporating too much.

Spoon onto a big platter and top with toasted nuts and chopped parsley. Serve with starchy short-grained rice (I added some saffron to mine) or crusty bread to sop up all of the sauce.