Bulgarian sweet pepper can be eaten both raw and cooked. Like the related chili pepper, sweet varieties are sometimes dried and ground. Such powdered spice of non-volatile varieties is called paprika. Although in Hungarian culinary practice, where paprika has become particularly widespread, there is also a sharp burning paprika, which includes pepper seeds containing burning capsaicin. All kinds of paprika are added to dishes to give them varying degrees of spice and special flavors. In addition, paprika is often used as a dye in the manufacture of sausage and other meat products. Peppers of any color are used for food, but when selecting fruits, it should be taken into account that green (unripe) and purple vegetables have a slightly bitter taste, and red, orange and yellow have sweeter, almost fruity “notes”.
How to Cook with Bell Pepper?
Sweet peppers perfectly complement fried meat dishes, go well with stewed pork and chicken. In real French ratatouille, Hungarian and Bulgarian lecho, Hungarian goulash and paprikash, Turkish gyuveche, sweet pepper is one of the important ingredients. Fruits baked in the oven or on a charcoal grill acquire a particularly expressive aroma and taste. Fresh and pickled peppers get along harmoniously with scrambled eggs and omelette.
How to Choose and Store Sweet Bell Peppers?
When choosing sweet pepper, preference should be given to hard-to-the-touch fruits of bright color with glossy, dry and smooth skin without damaged areas (without dark putrefactive spots and cracks). On yellow peppers, spots of red, green or orange colors are acceptable, on orange – red or yellow. Bright spotting, as a rule, will indicate incomplete ripening of fruits, although such peppers can be bought. The peduncle from which the fruit is torn off should not be dried or black. Its drying is a sign of long–term storage, and the moisture content of the skin around the “tail” is a sign of the beginning of rotting. Regardless of the degree of ripening, it is better to keep pepper in the refrigerator, but at the same time, unripe fruits (at the stage of technical maturity), when stored for up to 2-3 months, are first placed in a relatively warm compartment of the refrigerator (about +10 ° C), and then, after acquiring a bright uniform color skin, they are moved to a cold compartment (0-1 °C).
Peppers already ripe at the time of purchase are placed in the cold compartment immediately. They are packed in plastic bags or placed in trays lined with crumpled porous paper to absorb excess moisture and create air pockets that provide ventilation. To preserve Bulgarian pepper until the next season, freezing in the freezer is used. To do this, the pepper is washed, the stalk and seeds are removed, and then dried well. You can freeze whole cups by inserting them into each other, as well as sliced fruits. But it should be borne in mind that even in frozen form, pepper gradually, albeit slowly, loses its flavor.
A wonderful, delicious salad, with a pleasant combination of ingredients. It is prepared easily and quickly, from available products. A very simple salad.
There are few snacks here… I suggest another one – a repeatedly tested roll that can be prepared on the eve of the holiday. And since everyone is waiting for the “mouse” year, the cheese dish is very important.
This recipe was found in the electronic version of the cookbook. I love warm salads, so I made them right away. The name remains. Delicious, appetizing, moderately spicy, instant salad!
In Russia, the festive table has always been famous for pies! I suggest you bake a lush yeast pie with a juicy filling of cabbage, chicken and mushrooms. This cake will not leave anyone indifferent…
Fish is a frequent guest on the New Year’s table. I will offer you my own version. The recipe is very quick and easy, does not take much time and effort, so we will need it on New Year’s Eve.
The dish is more for those who eat healthy, dietary food and, of course, for children. I often think, what would I cook myself for a festive table? I have been eating baked or boiled dishes for a long time, in general, I eat healthy food! I offer you just a wonderful, delicious and beautiful dish – chicken meatballs baked in a puree of fresh tomatoes and bell peppers with onions and parsley.
Sauces. They make a simple dish exquisite, give piquancy, flavor. The sauce is based on mayonnaise, which, if desired, can easily be replaced with sour cream, yogurt or olive oil. As a bonus, I also offer two sauces. We couldn’t even decide on one of them. I assure you, they are all delicious and very suitable for chicken.
