Pepper and Caper Salad

My friend Veronica had a supplement from a cookery magazine that featured lots of meals that had 5 or fewer ingredients (excluding store cupboard essentials such as oil, basic spices and salt & pepper), she loved the recipes as at the time she was looking after a new born baby and wanted something that was quick, delicious and would make planning her shopping easy. I loved the recipes as they emphasised the main ingredients and their flavour rather than the skill of the cook and recipe writer and after all “fuss free flavours” is what this blog is meant to be about.

I have been thinking about Veronica lots recently as her second baby is now several days past due date, and I remembered her 5 ingredients or fewer recipe booklet when I was making this salad. I hope she still has the recipes - life will be even busier for her with 2 children!

In this salad peppers are slowly fried until tender and sweet, then dressed with capers and balsamic vinegar and olive oil. It is best made the day before serving to allow the flavours to infuse, I ate it with warm homemade sourdough bread – perfect for soaking up the juices. I used red and green peppers as that was in the vegetable bowl, but any combination would work, the salad would look prettier with orange and yellow peppers too. There is no need for onion, garlic or any other flavours, the peppers, capers, oil and balsamic all mingle and their flavours grow together. Use cheap supermarket balsamic vinegar – you will boil it to concentrate it by using it to deglaze the pan after charring the capers, it would be a waste of an expensive one.

Pepper and Caper Salad (Serves 2 as a side dish or light meal with bread)

1 red pepper – cut into strips
1 green pepper – cut into strips
1 tsp light olive oil – for frying
1 tbs capers
Extra virgin olive oil
2 tbs balsamic vinegar

Fry the pepper strips in the olive oil over a low heat until soft and tender and starting to brown (season with salt whilst cooking as this will draw liquid out and help to concentrate the flavours), when cooked place in a bowl. Add the capers to the frying pan cook on a high heat until charred, add to the serving bowl. Add the vinegar to the pan to deglaze, boil to reduce by half until syrupy. Pour over the capers and peppers. Add a good glug of extra virgin olive oil and season with pepper and salt to taste. Cover and chill overnight to allow the flavours to infuse.

Remove from the fridge an hour before serving to allow the salad to return to room temperature.

Other recipes with capers include
Anchovy, Chilli and Caper Pasta
Asparagus & Tofu Salad with Charred Caper & Mustard Dressing