Culinary Explorer
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Maiale ai Peperoni
Created by Chef Graziella
A Roman summer supper where sweet peppers cook until they nearly melt, mingling with strips of browned pork, white wine, and just enough tomato to bind it all together.
Romans cook peppers until they surrender completely. Not crisp, not al dente, but soft and almost jammy, collapsing into the oil and releasing all their sweetness. This is how my mother's generation understood vegetables: cooked fully, without apology, until they became something new.
The pork must be browned properly before it joins the peppers. Wet meat thrown into a crowded pan produces grey, chewy disappointment. Dry the meat. Heat the oil. Give each piece room to develop color. This is not fussiness. This is the foundation of flavor.
I use only a touch of tomato here, just enough to give the sauce body and tint the peppers. Americans want to add more. They think tomato sauce means Italian. But this is a pepper dish. The tomato supports. It does not dominate. What you keep out is as significant as what you put in.
Ingredients
boneless pork shoulder
Quantity
1 1/2 pounds
cut into 1-inch strips
extra virgin olive oil
Quantity
3 tablespoons
yellow onion
Quantity
1 medium
sliced thin
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| boneless pork shouldercut into 1-inch strips | 1 1/2 pounds |
| extra virgin olive oil | 3 tablespoons |
| yellow onionsliced thin | 1 medium |
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