Italian peppers - what to do?

I decided to try growing Italian peppers this year, after I spotted one lone remaining plant at the Oak Park Conservatory sale. Well, I'm happy to report that it's thriving and has produced quite a few peppers already. But, as I've never (a) grown them before and (b) nor eaten them, I have a couple of questions. Are these supposed to be picked green, or will they turn red at some point, and if so, should I wait for that? How large do they get? And most importantly, what do I do with them? I've searched the web for "Italian peppers" but the only results I seem to get back are either websites selling seeds or recipes that call for bell peppers. Can I use these in place of bell peppers? Any other suggestions (other than stuffed - the hubby hates stuffed veg)?

Your input is highly appreciated!
gtgirl

gtgirl,

Are these the longish, light green type of peppers, also referred to as Cubanelle peppers? Are they spicy or 'sweet'?

If they are of the Cubanelle variety, here are a couple of preparations we use in my family.
- fried, very high heat, in olive oil, with sliced onion and optionally a little garlic added late (don't let the garlic burn). A variation on that theme would be to add a little tomato paste late in the process (then a little liquid -- water is fine -- to liquify the paste); some fresh tomato or canned peeled tomato can be used as well, but we usually keep the tomato element fairly small.

I like to mix in hot peppers ('Hungarian' or 'hot banana' peppers with the sweet ones). You can also dress them with some vinegar after frying.
Such fried peppers are nice along side sausage or eggs or mixed in with eggs.

- roasted on a grill, dressed with salt and olive oil. This is hard to beat.

I hope those sound interesting.

Antonius

gtgirl,

In addition to Antonius' nice ideas, almost any pepper works well for pickling and canning.

Best,
Michael

Antonius wrote:gtgirl,

Are these the longish, light green type of peppers, also referred to as Cubanelle peppers? Are they spicy or 'sweet'?

They're dark green, longish. I just took another look at the tag that came with it - it's an Italia pepper (misread it the first time), "Sweet Italian type; 2.5" x 8" fruit; 55 days green; 75 days red" The largest I have right now is about 4", so, to my surprise (it's a small plant), they've quite a ways to go before they're actually full-size.

The grilled peppers sound delicious! Thank you for the suggestions!

By the way, I also picked up a Filius Blue pepper plant, which I got mostly as a pretty plant to look at, but I understand that the peppers are indeed edible. But looking on the web, I've seen contradicting statements that the peppers are hot/no, they're mild. Anyone else tried these peppers before?

Thanks!
gtgirl

A quick fry with some cherry tomatoes might be nice, too. While the peppers are still green, try this:

1 lb peppers, tops removed and seeded
.5 lb cherry tomatoes halved
2 cloves garlic, crushed and minced
1/4 C olive oil
sea salt
lots of basil, torn

Heat oil over medium, add garlic and fry until it starts to color; raise heat to high, add peppers fry for a minute or two; add tomatoes, salt, and cook for 5 more minutes. Toss with abundant basil and serve as a contorno or as a sauce for pasta (rigatoni, perhaps, topped with pecorino romano). This is best when the peppers are smallish, but works fine with larger ones, too.

And don't forget peppers & eggs. Fry up the peppers with olive oil & onions they way Antonious recommended [myself, I'd skip the tomatoes for this but, heck, it's your meal]. Then either scramble some eggs with the peppers when they're done or make a fritatta out of them.

Giovanna

gtgirl--

I grow Italias as well. If you would like to wait a while, they will turn very red and very sweet by the end of the season. All the recipes already recommended, esp. Antonius' classic with onions, will take on a richer, sweeter flavor when they're fully ripened.

If you end up liking the results, next year also look for Gypsy, another cubanelle-type, but one with its own special ripe color (orange-yellow) and--at least as grown in KC's Summer heat-- a very special flavor. It's quite prolific as well.

Geo

Geo wrote:If you end up liking the results, next year also look for Gypsy, another cubanelle-type, but one with its own special ripe color (orange-yellow) and--at least as grown in KC's Summer heat-- a very special flavor. It's quite prolific as well.
Geo

I had a magnificently productive Gypsy pepper plant last year. Excellent flavour, medium to fairly high level of piquancy, and the colour added nicely to mixed pepper dishes and to my summer vegetable stews (cianfotta, boumiano, samfaina, etc.).

Antonius