Pepperonata and crispy fried kale

It was Mr Nigel Slater who commented on peppers and the magic alchemy that occurs when they are cooked. Even though they are full of flavour when raw, this seems to intensify when heat is applied. The sugars caramelize, I assume, creating a sweetness not dissimilar to eating fruit. I love the crunch and freshness of them raw, perhaps in a salad or quickly stir fried, but roasting or grilling them allows the skin to be slipped off and then you have a different vegetable entirely.

Even though I love the Summer farmers' markets, I was telling Neil yesterday how much more I enjoy the Winter market. Probably because I get driven there, but more likely because there's something magical about being at a market in crisp, cold air, sometimes snow, with chestnuts roasting and sausages on the grill. Especially at Christmas time, when there's not much produce but what is there is colourful and bright, like emerald green kale and lime green and lilac broccoli. 

It seems strange now, to buy bags of dried Heirloom tomatoes, flat, orange red disks with a coat and gloves on and your breath floating in wisps around you. Now they are almost here, in bright sunshine with bunches of fragrant basil nestled next to them. Perhaps it's because the Winter market lets you feel the seasons and how they roll past one by one so quickly. It really helps you appreciate what each one brings, not just super-abundant Summer.

Cauliflower for sale at the market yesterday. Small, only the size of a man's fist, they have the most delicate and beautiful lilac stalks. I'm thinking of roasting it whole with some garlic and thyme, (pictured above), with a drizzle of olive oil and some saffron salt.

I won't bore you again with the same process as my previous post. Suffice to say, I grilled (broiled) some peppers this time to allow the skin to be easily removed. It's either my grill or my lack of patience, but this seemed to take a very long time. Barbecuing them is a far better option to achieve that blackened skin. I just got some tiny explosions and browning.

I made the mistake of washing the sliced, peeled flesh on Friday, mainly because there were some seeds that wanted to desperately cling on. This seemed to wash away a lot of the sugary-caramelized juices. It's better to try and scrape the seeds away, however long this takes, to ensure you keep as much sweetness as possible.

Bottled with some oil, balsamic, garlic, salt, pepper and thyme, these will be eaten with some bread and cheese as a snack, or simply just plucked out of the jar and eaten unadorned. Sweet, a little tangy and herbal. Recipe at bottom of post

Disastrous attempts to make kale chips resulted in a bowl of half crisp, half chewy, frizzled green leaves that got stuck between my teeth and proved impossible to remove. I dried them thoroughly with an idea to deep fry them, something that I very rarely do in my kitchen. Terrifying visions of chip pan fires and scarred faces has left me frightened out of my wits as far as this cooking method is concerned. Apart from our annual Scotch egg marathon, (of which Neil is in charge of), crisp, panko - breaded prawns, tempura, spring rolls, fried chicken and chips are all but eliminated from my cooking repertoire. Shame, but these kale chips illustrate how scary deep frying can be. 

Even though they were dry, they still spluttered all over the hob and myself with an alarming intensity. I've already told you about my fickle, anxious smoke alarm, so a plastic bag had already been surreptitiously placed over it's head. This was just too stressful, maybe grilling would be better. This was also a mistake as the grill, having exploded into fire after the sausage incident, was still likely to erupt again and began to issue small coughing noises that would lead to the explosion. Eventually I shallow fried them, letting them crisp in the merest whisper of oil until they could be eaten with the fingers like a cracker. They weren't the best type of chip, but tasty enough with the mineral, briny taste of kale and crisp edges. A few sprinkles of sea salt and some Japanese seasoning helped a lot adding a little heat and intensifying the taste.

Recipe : Pepperonata (Grilled or roasted marinated peppers - I found a good recipe here)

1 red and 1 yellow or orange bell pepper

1/4 cup Extra virgin olive oil

1 clove garlic, chopped small

1.5 tbsp Balsamic vinegar

1/2 tsp salt and pepper

A few sprigs of thyme

Grill, broil or roast the peppers until the skins are black. (The recipe in the link above suggests removing the seeds first - a great idea).

Place the peppers into a ziploc bag or bowl with clingfilm to seal and let them steam for about 10 minutes.

Remove the peppers from the bag or bowl and peel them. Cut the flesh into strips.

Place the strips into a clean jar and pour over the oil and balsamic and add the other ingredients, stirring into the jar to mix together.

Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to marinade before eating. They will keep for a while in the fridge.

Recipe : Kale 'chips'

1 bunch kale, hard stalks removed

1 tbsp olive oil

Salt and pepper

Togarashi Shichimi

Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat until hot and add the kale.
Stirring occasionally, let the kale fry and crisp in the oil, turning frequently but not disturbing too much. (This may take 10 minutes or so). 

Remove the kale and drain on kitchen towels, sprinkle with the salt, pepper and seasoning and serve.