Roasted Peppers with Cherry Tomatoes and Seasoned Breadcrumbs

How to prepare roasted peppers with cherry tomatoes and seasoned breadcrumbs

1. Start by preparing the breadcrumbs. Preheat the oven to 170°C. Cut stale bread into cubes, drizzle with a little olive oil, then sprinkle with salt and grind plenty of black pepper. Bake for 10 minutes, until well dried and nicely browned. Remove from the tray and let cool completely.
   In place of the bread, add the almonds and bake them also at 170°C for 10 minutes. Remove and let them cool.
2. In a food processor, measure 75 g croutons, the almonds, and Parmesan. Blend briefly until crumbled, but larger pieces are still visible. Taste the breadcrumbs to see if more salt and pepper is needed. Add the coarsely chopped herbs, salt and pepper if needed, and chili flakes to taste (I added 1/2 teaspoon and it came out nicely spicy). Blend briefly again, just enough to crumble, but don't make it too fine - you need to feel the crunchy almond pieces.
3. Transfer the breadcrumbs to a jar and store in the refrigerator. This makes more breadcrumbs than needed for this recipe.
4. Cut the peppers in half lengthwise. Remove the stems, seeds, and cores.
5. Arrange the pepper halves with the cut side up in a wide ovenproof tray that fits them side by side. Grease the bottom of the tray with olive oil before placing the peppers.
6. Cut the garlic into thin slices and then chop the pieces with a knife. Finely chop the anchovy.
8. Divide the garlic and anchovy on the bottom of the peppers. Pour about 1 teaspoon of spicy oil (if you don't want the dish to be spicy, use quality olive oil) over each pepper half.
9. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half, and the smaller ones can be left whole. Sprinkle with a little salt and oregano and mix. Divide the tomatoes into the peppers (you'll get about 3-4 in each half). Pour another teaspoon of olive oil over each pepper half.
10. Place the tray in the oven at 200°C for 30 minutes. Check after this time that the pepper halves are soft, cooked, and the tomatoes are browned here and there. If not, leave them in the oven for another 15 minutes. If you have time, after turning off the oven, you can leave the peppers inside for another 30 minutes to soften more and let the tomatoes dehydrate.
11. Remove the warm/hot peppers to a platter. Drizzle with the juices from the tray and sprinkle with seasoned breadcrumbs. Part of the breadcrumbs will soften in the vegetable juice forming a sauce, while the almonds will remain crunchy for a pleasant texture. They're better warm, but at room temperature they're fine too - they go well on an appetizer platter. You can serve the peppers prepared this way as a side dish next to steak, baked fish, or grilled halloumi cheese. Definitely with a slice of fresh bread.

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