Peppers play a central role in this Calabrian version of potato salad. Fresh green peppers are fried as a main salad ingredient; and peperoncino, dried crushed red-pepper flakes, serves as an essential seasoning. The peppers you want for this are the slender, long ones with sweet, tender flesh, which I have always just called “Italian frying peppers.” These days, with the greater popularity of peppers and chilis here in America, markets sell a number of varieties that are suitable for frying, such as banana peppers, wax peppers, Hungarian peppers, and Cubanelle peppers. In addition to this delicious salad with potatoes, you’ll find many wonderful uses for fresh peppers, fried Italian-style. Season them with olive oil and slices of garlic, let them marinate, and enjoy them as part of an antipasto or layered in a sandwich. Or sprinkle a little wine vinegar on the peppers (with the olive oil and garlic) for a condiment-like salad that is just perfect with grilled fish or chicken.

　　

Ingredients

serves 6

　　1 pound russet potatoes

　　1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

　　6 Italian frying peppers (also called banana peppers and Cubanelles), preferably 5 inches or longer

　　12 plump garlic cloves, peeled

　　1 small red onion, halved and very thinly sliced

　　1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

　　1/2 teaspoon peperoncino flakes, or to taste

　　2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar

　　

RECOMMENDED EQUIPMENT

A bowl for mixing and serving the salad; a heavy-bottomed skillet or sauté pan, 12-inch diameter or wider

　　

Step 1

Put the potatoes in a pot with water to cover them by about 2 inches, and heat to a steady boil. Cook just until the potatoes are easily pierced with a fork or sharp knife blade (don’t let them get mushy), then drain and cool them. Peel off the skins, cut the potatoes crosswise into round slices about 1/3 inch thick, and put them in the salad bowl.

　　

Step 2

Pour 1/4 cup of the olive oil into the big skillet, and set over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, put the whole peppers in it and cook for a couple of minutes, until they’re sizzling and starting to color on one side, then turn them and brown the other side. Keep turning and moving the peppers around so they cook and color evenly.

　　

Step 3

After 5 minutes, when the peppers have been turned a couple of times and are sizzling nicely, scatter the garlic cloves in between them. Now lay another, smaller skillet or a heavy pot cover on top of the peppers, and press down for more thorough browning. Cook for another 5 minutes or more, rotating the peppers a couple of times, until they are browned and blistered on all surfaces. Remove from the heat, and let the peppers cool for a few minutes, with the weight still in place.

　　

Step 4

When the peppers can be handled, cut off the stems, peel off the skin, slice them open, and scrape out the seeds. Slice them lengthwise in strips about 1 inch wide; if the peppers were very long, cut the strips crosswise into nice lengths for eating, 3 inches or so.

　　

Step 5

Assemble and dress the salad while the pepper strips are still warm (though it is also good at room temperature). Put the pepper pieces and the onion slices in the bowl with the potatoes, and sprinkle the salt and peperoncino over them. Drizzle the remaining 1/4 cup olive oil and the vinegar on the vegetables, and toss well. Serve right away.

　　Lidia Cooks from the Heart of Italy by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and Tanya Bastianich Manuali. Copyright © 2009 Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and Tanya Bastianich Manuali. Published by Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved.Lidia Mattichio Bastianich is the author of four previous books, three of them accompanied by nationally syndicated public television series. She is the owner of the New York City restaurant Felidia (among others), and she lectures on and demonstrates Italian cooking throughout the country. She lives on Long Island, New York.Tanya Bastianich Manuali, Lidia’s daughter, received her Ph.D. in Renaissance history from Oxford University. Since 1996 she has led food/wine/art tours. She lives with her husband and children on Long Island.