what's cooking wednesday: potatoes & peppers

And onions too, if you want to be particular.

P's mom brought me some gorgeous peppers, so today we're doing a side dish that's good enough to eat as a whole meal--and it's easy as all get out. Six ingredients. Olive oil, potatoes, green and red peppers, onions, salt, and peperoncino. That's it. You can also use yellow peppers, by the way; you'll have a sweeter overall taste.

But before we get to the recipe, a note on the peperoncino (chili pepper) for the uninitiated. As I was cooking, I realized that I put peperoncino in everything--I'm fairly certain this is the law in Calabria. Those who don't like spicy food might be afraid of this lil' devil , but don't be! If you add just a dash, it will heighten all of the other flavors. Add too much and you might be calling the Vigili del Fuoco, but just take it slowly at first, and you'll be fine.

Potatoes, Peppers & Onions
(serves 4)

6 medium sized potatoes
2 large red bell peppers
2 large green peppers
1 medium onion
5 tablespoons olive oil
salt to taste, about 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon
peperoncino to taste, about 1/4 teaspoon (or black pepper if you must)

Peel and thinly slice the potatoes. Keep them in a bowl of fresh water until you are ready to cook them.

Wash and slice the peppers into thin strips.

Peel and slice onion into strips as well.

Put 2 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pan and turn heat on to medium. Sauté the onions until they are translucent, about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove them, leaving behind as much oil as possible, and put potatoes in pan. Coat the potatoes in the remaining oil and cook for about 10 to 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are cooked through and slightly brown. Be sure to move the taters around a bit or they'll burn and or/stick on the bottom. Remove the potatoes.

Add another 2 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil to the pan. Put in the peppers, stirring to coat them in the olive oil, and sauté for about 10 minutes or until they are almost fully cooked to the consistency you like. They won't cook all that much more once you throw everything in together.

Put the potatoes and onions back into the pan, add salt and peperoncino/pepper, and mix well. Lower the heat and cook for another 10 to 15 minutes, or until everything is cooked to your satisfaction. Be sure to stir occasionally.

Buon appetito!