Poivrons à la Grecque

Green bell peppers are (how do I put this?) kind of... unappetizing. Here in America, green bell peppers are part of a standard green salad, but other than that, I cannot think of anything else (off the top of my head) where we eat them. In Italy, green peppers are considered un-ripe, and are not used for anything until turning red. It is a similar situation in Spain. After living there, I can honestly say that red peppers are a standard (like Italy), and green... well... you kind of don't see them. Ever. They go in part of the flavor base of a paella, but it is strictly for the bitterness, nothing more. Red peppers (roasted in olive oil and served cold) were a popular beach-side tapa.

What to do with green bell peppers? For some reason we had bought some, and they just sat there in the fridge. Tonight, fed up with seeing our bizarre purchase on the shelf, I began to sift through our cookbooks on how to use them.

Mastering the Art of French Cooking is always a favorite "go-to" standard. The only downfall to any Julia Child recipe is that you need time. A precious item for a New Yorker. It is a Sunday, I had time, so let's embrace our inner Parisian, shall we? I was shocked to find a recipe in her Vegetable section for Green Bell Peppers! And would you believe ... it is vegan? Like Spain, the peppers are taken cold (or room-temperature). Julia recommends you enjoy them as part of a cold buffet. Um, sure! You simmer them (de-seeded and chopped) in an aromatic broth for 10 minutes. Following this, you remove the vegetable, and reduce the broth until it becomes a syrup-like consistency. I removed the liquid until I had about a 1/4 of a cup. Spoon this (cooled) over the peppers (also cooled). We popped open a bottle of White Bordeaux (Julia would have wanted that) and took her advice of having our Poivrons à la Grecque with a salad. We dressed a bowl of rocket greens with oil, vinegar, and Ile de France peppercorn-crusted goat cheese. Our Poivrons were served on the side, tossed with our syrup-ed reduction. Add a protein of your choice, a slice of crusty bread, and wow! You have a meal!

Serving Green Peppers this way was so delicious. I had no intention of buying them again, but if we do, I know how we are going to prepare them! Check out the recipe in Mastering the Art of French Cooking... Bon Appetit!