Melrose Peppers – A Most Wonderful Time of the Year

I have talked at length both here and on my Face Book page about the summer glory of Melrose Peppers. They are one of my home town’s claims to fame and a source of joy to Italian cooks in the Chicago area. I grew up eating these in the summer and I anxiously await their arrival now. The waiting was excruciating this year. I came home empty handed twice, before I finally hit the jackpot as always at Caputo’s. Finally these wonderful Italian frying peppers are here. It seems that they arrived later than usual, but looking at past posts, mid-August is about right. They are only around for a short time each summer so we lovers of the pepper must take advantage. I have… Quite a lot… Papa D may be getting close to his capacity for them…

They are wonderful fried and then scrambled with eggs  and mounded  onto crusty bread to create a totally yummy sandwich. They are also wonderful grilled with or without  Italian sausage. Always the crowning touch  to  a one (grill) pan meal in the summer.

This year I found a new ingredient that seems to go with Melrose Peppers as well as sausage or eggs. That my friends, is the potato. Now, this is not earth shaking news, but it is an idea I had never thought of before, so to me it was a minor revelation. The simple addition of potatoes gave more body and a heartiness to a light summer side dish. Somehow the starchiness of the potatoes enhanced the flavors of the peppers and onions.

This has become a frequent “sider” as it has a special affinity to grilled proteins. It is perfect with pork, chicken, beef, and sausage (tried them all) and I do not doubt that it would be quite comfortable next to fish or seafood.

The ingredients are simple. Peppers, Melrose of course, but another frying pepper like Cubanelle could be used. The thinner flesh of frying peppers cooks a little faster and takes to light caramelization well. For potatoes, Yukon Gold work well here because they hold their shape as they fry. As far as onion goes, yellow are fine and as always if you like another variety, please use what you love. Now for seasoning. Garlic just goes without saying, but I find that granulated or powder work better than fresh. The frying time is relatively long and if you don’t watch the pan carefully the garlic may burn and your side dish will wind up one step away from the garbage. I am very generous with the salt and also use a good amount of pepper. Dried Italian herbs or red pepper flakes can be added if you like. All of this comes together in a large fry pan containing a good amount of olive oil. This could easily be a Non-Recipe, Recipe, but since I’m working on getting back in the blog saddle here is a recipe that will serve 2 people generously.

5 from 1 vote

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Fried Peppers with Potatoes and Onions

Course: Side Dish

Servings: 2

Author: binner216@comcast.net

Ingredients

• 2 Medium Yukon Gold Potatoes Cut in thin wedges
• 10-12 Melrose Peppers Cut in strips
• 1/2 Medium Onion Cut vertically in thin wedges
• 2-3 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 1 Tsp. Garlic Powder To taste
• Salt & Pepper To taste
• Red Pepper Flakes Optional, to taste

Instructions

1. Heat a large fry pan over medium heat. When the pan is hot, add the olive oil and swirl it around to coat the bottom of the pan.

2. Add the potato wedges to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally for 3-5 minutes. They should just be picking up some color.

3. Add the peppers and onions to the pan and mix with the potatoes. Add some salt and the garlic powder and toss again. Cover the pan and let everything steam for a few minutes.

4. Continue to cook uncovered until the peppers are very tender and the potatoes and onions are nicely browned.

5. Add additional salt, pepper, garlic powder, and the red pepper flakes if you are using them to your taste Serve immediately.

As I said earlier, this is a wonderful partner for whatever you are grilling. Our last perfect pairing was with grilled Sicilian Sausage (another great Caputo’s find). A little toasted sourdough was a nice garnish.

As this delicious season slowly fades away, I hope that if you can find these little beauties that you give them a try. If not, there’s always next year.