Peperoni Ripieni Pugliesi
Tender sweet peppers stuffed with seasoned breadcrumbs, olives, capers, and anchovies, slow-baked in olive oil until meltingly soft.
- Prep
- 25 min
- Cook
- 50 min
- Total
- 75 min
- Servings
- 4
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Calories
- 420 kcal
Equipment
- •Baking dish
- •Mixing bowl
- •Chef's knife
- •Cutting board
Nutrition
Per serving, approximate
- Calories
- 420 kcal
- fat
- 24 g
- carbs
- 44 g
- fibre
- 6 g
- protein
- 8 g
- calories
- 420 kcal
Instructions
- 1
Preheat your oven to 190 degrees C.
- 2
Slice the tops off the peppers and reserve them to use as lids.
- 3
Scoop out and discard the seeds and white membranes from inside the peppers.
- 4
Combine the breadcrumbs, chopped anchovies, olives, capers, garlic, parsley, and diced tomatoes in a bowl.
- 5
Drizzle half of the olive oil over the mixture and toss until evenly moistened.
- 6
Season with black pepper and a light pinch of salt, taking care as the capers and anchovies are salty.
- 7
Spoon the stuffing loosely into the peppers without pressing down too hard.
- 8
Place the pepper tops back over the filling to form caps.
- 9
Arrange the peppers upright in an oiled baking dish.
- 10
Drizzle the remaining olive oil generously over the tops and around the peppers.
- 11
Bake for 45 to 50 minutes until the peppers are tender, wrinkled, and slightly charred at the edges.
- 12
Allow the peppers to rest for at least 15 minutes before serving warm or at room temperature.
Chef's tips
Do not pack the bread filling too tightly, or it will turn heavy and dense during baking. Coarse breadcrumbs made from rustic sourdough or Altamura-style durum bread yield the best texture. If the peppers lean over in the baking dish, trim a tiny sliver off the bottom to level them without puncturing the base.
Ingredient substitutions
- anchovy fillets in oil → an extra tablespoon of capers or chopped sun-dried tomatoes for a vegetarian version
- stale breadcrumbs → coarse panko breadcrumbs, though rustic southern Italian bread is traditional
Storage
Store leftover peppers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Reheating
Reheat gently in a warm oven at 160 degrees C for 10 minutes, or bring to room temperature before serving.
Common mistakes to avoid
- •Over-salting the bread filling before accounting for the salt in the capers and anchovies.
- •Overfilling and packing the bread tightly, which prevents the oil from softening the centre.
- •Serving immediately out of the oven when the peppers are too hot and flavours have not settled.
Serving suggestions
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