Confit Peppers

Name: Confit Peppers
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 1 h 30 min
Total time: 1 h 40 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Spanish
Ingredients: 1 jar roasted piquillo peppers preserved in their own juice (about 12 pieces; or 6 roasted kapia peppers frozen with their juice); olive oil (amount depends on the dish); 5-6 garlic cloves; a little parsley or basil

February 14, 2017

Appetizers Spanish Vegetables Salads

The most intense red for the hottest day of the year. Roasted, slow-cooked in oil, then glazed in their own juices. This is a great method to intensify the flavor of roasted peppers, to revive jarred peppers or frozen roasted ones. They are delicious on toast with tuna, marinated anchovies/sardines, with goat cheese, beer sausages, with eggs (poached or fried) or in salads.

This recipe is inspired by the way peppers are prepared for pinchos in northern Spain.

Ingredients

1 jar roasted Piquillo peppers preserved in their own juice (about 12 pieces; or 6 roasted kapia peppers frozen with their juice)
olive oil (amount depends on the dish)
5-6 garlic cloves
a little parsley or basil

How to prepare confit peppers

For this recipe, use roasted and peeled peppers (piquillo or kapia). They can be jarred or frozen along with the juice they release. Piquillo peppers compared to kapia are smaller and slightly spicy. They are equally sweet and meaty with the same intense red color. I buy jarred piquillo peppers because this Spanish variety is not available where I live.
Arrange the roasted, peeled peppers in an oven-safe dish, even if they overlap slightly. Place the peeled garlic cloves among them. Pour enough olive oil over them to completely cover. If using kapia peppers, you can add a few pieces of red hot pepper or chili flakes to the oil to make them slightly spicy, similar to piquillo. If desired, you can also add herbs to the oil (rosemary, marjoram, bay leaf, oregano).
Put the dish in the oven at 120°C (250°F) and let it cook for 1 hour, turning them once halfway through.
Drain the oil from the peppers and add the juice in which they were preserved in the jar or freezer. If using kapia peppers preserved in the freezer, you also need to add 2 teaspoons of vinegar (sherry or red wine) and sprinkle a little salt. Those from the jar already have acidity corrector (a little vinegar or lemon juice) and salt, so no need to add more.
Put the dish back in the oven at 160°C (320°F) for 30 minutes, turning them once halfway through.
Transfer the peppers and garlic to a wide plate and pour the syrup formed in the dish over them. Sprinkle with a little chopped parsley or basil. Store in the refrigerator.