This is a side dish or an appetizer, but a very quick one, since piquillos (sold in cans or jars) are already cooked. You can use freshly roasted red peppers (page 470) as a substitute, but not canned pimientos, which will fall apart (and, in most cases, are tasteless anyway). Add a few anchovy fillets along with the garlic if you like.

　　

Ingredients

makes 4 servings

　　2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, or a little more

　　2 teaspoons slivered garlic

　　8 to 12 piquillo peppers, cut into strips

　　Salt and black pepper to taste

　　Sherry vinegar to taste, optional

　　

Step 1

Place the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat and add the garlic. Cook, shaking the pan occasionally, until the garlic begins to color, about 5 minutes.

　　

Step 2

Add the peppers and turn the heat to medium. Cook, shaking the pan, until the peppers just begin to change color on the bottom, less than 5 minutes; turn and repeat. Season and serve hot or at room temperature, drizzled, if you like, with a little more olive oil and some sherry vinegar.

　　The Best Recipes in the World by Mark Bittman. © 2005 by Mark Bittman. Published by Broadway Books. All Rights Reserved.MARK BITTMAN is the author of the blockbuster The Best Recipes in the World (Broadway, 2005) and the classic bestseller How to Cook Everything, which has sold more than one million copies. He is also the coauthor, with Jean-Georges Vongerichten, of Simple to Spectacular and Jean-Georges: Cooking at Home with a Four-Star Chef. Mr. Bittman is a prolific writer, makes frequent appearances on radio and television, and is the host of The Best Recipes in the World, a 13-part series on public television. He lives in New York and Connecticut.