Peppers are so versatile. You can make them into sauces; use them chopped, pickled, stuffed, just to name a few. And, that’s exactly what you can do with our recipes this week. We’ve got a low-cal linguine made with red pepper sauce, Feta cheese stuffed pepper to use as an appetizer and a jalapeño mustard just waiting for a hot dog or hamburger. Enjoy this warm weather.
Here’s wishing you a good garden and good eating! Linda.
Linguine with Red Pepper Sauce
(Low-cal from the 1990’s back again)
8 ounces linguine, uncooked
Cooking spray
3 tablespoons olive oil
6 cups chopped sweet red pepper
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar or red wine vinegar
2/3 cup chopped fresh basil
1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Cook linguine according to package directions, omitting salt or fat; drain and keep warm. Coat a nonstick skillet with cooking spray; add olive oil, sweet red pepper, and garlic. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally for 30 minutes. Place in container of an electric blender or food processor. Add vinegar and process until smooth. Spoon over bowls of linguine and serve immediately. Use 1 cup pasta to ¼ cup sauce. Refrigerate any remaining sauce and serve over pasta or chicken. (4 servings).
Peppers with Feta
This is a recipe that I found in a book titled Mezze which is a good little book with good ideas for Mediterranean style food.
4 1/2 ounces Feta cheese
12 long slender red or yellow peppers or short, thick fresh red chile peppers rubbed with olive oil
Extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling peppers
Arugula leaves (garnish)
Put the feta in a bowl with warm water to cover. Let soak for 1 hour, changing the water 2-3 times.
Meanwhile, preheat the broiler to its highest setting. Put the peppers in a roasting pan and cook under the broiler about 4-inches from the heat for 10 minutes, turning once, until the skins are just charred. Transfer to a bowl, cover with a folded clean kitchen towel, and let cool. When cool enough to handle, peel away the skins, then cut off the tips so that they are about 1 ½ inches long. Use a teaspoon to scrape out the seeds and membranes from the pepper tips, being careful not to tear the flesh.
Drain the feta cheese well, put in a bowl, and use a fork to mash into a thick paste. Put one teaspoon of the cheese into each pepper tip and use your fingers to push it into the cavity, handling gently to prevent tearing. Put on a serving plate and drizzled with olive oil, and season to taste with pepper (freshly, coarsely ground). Cover and chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Just before serving, garnish with arugula.
Jalapeño Mustard
2 cups prepared mustard
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 to 2 jalapeño peppers seeded, and minced
Dash of salt
1 tablespoon white vinegar
Combine all ingredients, stirring well to mix. Keep refrigerated until ready to use. Use the mustard within a few days of making it since it has fresh ingredients that have not been cooked.
By Dan Heims, President, Terra Nova Nurseries, Inc.
Photographs courtesy of Terra Nova Nurseries, Inc.
Terra Nova’s breeders have created a series of outstanding world-class echinaceas that are consistent in size, bloom power, color intensity and are a pollinator buffet. What’s not to like.
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Peppers are so versatile. You can make them into sauces; use them chopped, pickled, stuffed, just to name a few. And, that’s exactly what you can do with our recipes this week. We’ve got a low-cal linguine made with red pepper sauce, Feta cheese stuffed pepper to use as an appetizer and a jalapeño mustard just waiting for a hot dog or hamburger. Enjoy this warm weather.
