Author Notes
Growing up, fall was ushered into my parent’s house with smells. My favorite was the smell of fried peppers. Sweet Italian reds mingled with fiery yellow bananas sizzling in a pan. Once finished, the softened peppers were lovingly layered into a dish with fresh chopped parsley, coarse salt and garlic sliced so thin you could practically see through it. A fried pepper sandwich on soft white bread, complete with hard salami and provolone cheese was sheer delight. So simple, and so good. Vegetarians – just omit the salami – peppers and cheese are still as mouthwatering.
—Jackie Varriano
Ingredients
- Fried Pepper Sandwich
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4
slices good bread: sourdough, pugliese or pane como
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1/2 tablespoon
butter
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4-6
slices provolone cheese
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8-10
slices hard salami
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4-6
slices fried peppers
- Fried Peppers
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3
Sweet Italian red peppers
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2
Hot yellow banana peppers
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1 tablespoon
olive oil
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1/2 bunch
fresh Italian parsley
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2
cloves garlic
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coarse salt
Directions
- Fried Pepper Sandwich
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Spread the butter evenly on two slices of bread. These will serve as the base of each sandwich.
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Layer the salami on the buttered bread first, then provolone cheese. Top with fried peppers and finish by placing the unbuttered slice on top of each sandwich.
- Fried Peppers
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Cut the stems off and de-seed the peppers, being cautious of the yellow banana peppers as they are very hot. Wear gloves if extra sensitive and don't rub your eyes without washing your hands. Slice into large pieces.
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Roughly chop parsley, set aside.
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Thinly slice garlic cloves, set aside.
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In a large saute pan set over medium heat, heat the olive oil for about 30 seconds. Working in batches, place a few slices of peppers in the pan.
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Saute the peppers for three to four minutes on each side. Some browning will occur and the skins will become slightly shiny. Be careful not to overcook, the peppers should still be slightly firm when pierced with a fork when finished.
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Remove from pan and place in glass dish. Sprinkle the peppers with the chopped parsley, sliced garlic and a sprinkling of salt, repeating in layers until all the peppers are cooked.
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