Stuffed chilli peppers by Marco Centonze
This is a particularly popular antipasto in southern Italy, where it is treated as a real delicacy. The
chillies used look like large cherry tomatoes and, although hot to start with, lose much of their
fieriness in the cooking process while retaining a deliciously sweet, fruity flavour. Although you
can find the hot peppers in speciality greengrocers nowadays, we highly recommend buying the
seeds and growing them yourself. Go for Franchi seeds and buy either the Red Cherry Small or
Ciliegia Piccante for best results. SERVES 2 per person as a starter.
Ingredients:
500 g fresh cherry chillies
1 litre water
1 litre white wine vinegar
3–4 anchovies in oil, chopped
200 g canned tuna in oil
1 heaped tablespoon small capers in vinegar
25 g freshly chopped parsley
500 ml extra-virgin olive oil
Wash the chillies well and, using a sharp paring knife, remove the tops, leaving a hole big
enough to insert a small spoon and remove all the seeds.
Bring the water and vinegar to the boil in a pan. Place the cleaned, deseeded chillies in the
boiling mixture for 5 minutes, then drain and leave to cool for a few minutes. Add the chopped
anchovies to the drained tuna, capers and chopped parsley in a mixing bowl. Using a fork, crush
and mix the ingredients until you’re left with a medium-textured paste. You can use a food
processor to do this but don’t over-blend the mixture.
Take the drained chillies and, using your fingers, stuff them with the tuna paste, taking care
not to overfill them. Pack the stuffed chillies closely in a sterilized 500 ml Kilner jar and cover
with the extra-virgin olive oil.
Seal the jar and place in the fridge for 24 hours before enjoying with a good piece of crusty
bread and a crisp glass of your favourite white wine (we recommend Greco Di Tufo from
Naples!). The chillies should keep for at least a month in the fridge.
*taken from the book ‘From Seed to plate’ by Paolo Arrigo, published by Simon and Schuster
