Italian Frying Pepper Bruschetta

I received Italian Frying Peppers in my CSA share this week. I had no idea what an Italian frying pepper was so I was curious to find out more about these fun looking peppers. Although they look like they might be spicy, they are definitely closer to the flavor of a bell pepper, but there is a hint of spice. They come in a range of colors so I thought they’d make a beautiful bruschetta-type appetizer. I figured there was good reason they were called frying peppers, so I kept it simple and did just that: sauteed them up in some olive oil. (Sorry about the lack of amounts of each ingredient, I made this up as I was going)

Ingredients:
  • Italian frying peppers, cut small/thin enough to fit on bread slices
  • French or Italian bread, sliced
  • Olive oil (I used Nudo’s basil olive oil)
  • Parmesan cheese
  • Fresh basil, chopped

Preheat your broiler. Brush the pieces of bread with the olive oil. (I realized after I did this with basil how fantastic it would have been with Nudo’s olive oil with chili. Sigh. I’ll do that next time!)

Top with Parmesan cheese and add to a cookie sheet.

Broil for 1-2 minutes or until the bread begins to brown.

Add 1 teaspoon of olive oil per frying pepper (I cooked three so I used 1 tablespoon) to a saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the peppers.

Cook until they begin to brown, turning once, about 4-5 minutes.

Remove the peppers from the pan and top the bread with slices of peppers.

If desired, add a bit more Parmesan cheese and broil for another 30 seconds to a minute, or until the cheese melts.

They can be served as is. Simple, delicious, and quick.

You can also add some freshly chopped basil to the slices to add a bit more flavor.

These were really stellar. I loved how (for lack of a better term) creamy the peppers became once fried. This recipe was really delicious with the basil olive oil, but I bet the chili olive oil would have been spectacular. Normal extra virgin olive oil would also do the trick.

Italian Frying Pepper Bruschetta

Total Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

  • Italian frying peppers, cut small/thin enough to fit on bread slices
  • French or Italian bread, sliced
  • Olive oil (I used Nudo’s basil olive oil)
  • Parmesan cheese
  • Fresh basil, chopped

Instructions

  1. Preheat your broiler. Brush the pieces of bread with the olive oil.
  2. Top with Parmesan cheese and add to a cookie sheet.
  3. Broil for 1-2 minutes or until the bread begins to brown.
  4. Add 1 teaspoon of olive oil per frying pepper (I cooked three so I used 1 tablespoon) to a saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the peppers.
  5. Cook until they begin to brown, turning once, about 4-5 minutes.
  6. Remove the peppers from the pan and top the bread with slices of peppers.
  7. If desired, add a bit more Parmesan cheese and broil for another 30 seconds to a minute, or until the cheese melts.
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Kara-Age Popcorn Shrimp

One of the best parts of starting this blog is that I get to make food outside my comfort zone. I try to make new and different recipes to expand cooking repertoire. As a member of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, I received a box of Kikkoman Kara-Age Soy-Ginger Seasoned Coating Mix. Kara-Age (pronounced KAH-rah AH-geh) is a method used in Japan in which meat is coated in a soy sauce, garlic and ginger, dipped in flour, and fried. Although Kara-Age is typically used for chicken, I decided to try to make a “Kara-Age Popcorn Shrimp”.

Ingredients:
1 lb peeled and deveined shrimp (medium or small)
1 package Kikkoman Kara-Age Mix
1/3 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon chopped cilantro
1 teaspoon chopped mint
Juice from 1/2 a lemon

Heat the oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Depending on the size of your saute pan, you may need more or less oil- you want about 1/4 inch of vegetable oil in the pan. Heat the oil to 350 degrees.
Pour the package of Kikkoman Kara-Age Mix into a plastic bag.  Add the shrimp to the bag, seal the bag, and shake well to coat each piece of shrimp evenly.
Remove shrimp from the bag and discard the remaining mix.
Pan-fry 6-8 shrimp at a time in the hot oil for about 2 minutes per side, or until shrimp is cooked.
Remove from the pan and drain on a paper towel.
Repeat with remaining shrimp.  Squeeze lemon juice over the cooked shrimp and sprinkle with chopped cilantro and mint. Serve hot.
I tend to think all fried things taste the same. Well, Kikkoman just proved me wrong. The soy-ginger flavor still shines through the crispy fried coating and delivers awesome flavor. The cilantro-mint-lemon topping adds even more flavor to the dish without competing with the seasoning.
This can be served as an appetizer, or as a meal. I love how quick this was, probably 10 minutes in total to prepare and make. Very little effort for a whole lot of flavor!
To make this recipe healthier, instead of frying the shrimp, broil them on a sheet coated in olive oil. Spray the shrimp with cooking spray before broiling.

Fried Okra

Okra. I have never made anything with okra, nor have a really had a hankering to do so. But it was one of my vegetables in my CSA  share so I thought I’d give it a try. If I had time this weekend, I would have preferred to attempt to make a gumbo, but I’m short on time so I did the second best thing: fried them. Now I have zero idea how to fry anything, especially okra. Thankfully, All You had an easy looking recipe.
Ingredients:
1 pound okra
1 cup buttermilk
1 large egg
1 seeded and minced jalapeño chili
1/4 cup minced scallion
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
2 cups cornmeal
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 inch of vegetable oil

Add 1 cup buttermilk, 1 large egg, 1 seeded and minced jalapeño chili and 1/4 cup minced scallions to a medium bowl.
Whisk to combine.
Prepare the okra. Trim off both ends.
Cut the pods into 1/2 inch pieces and place into the buttermilk mixture.
Mix together so that the okra is coated. Marinate at room temperature for 15 minutes.
While the okra is marinating, mix 1 tablespoon of salt and 1 tablespoon smoked paprika in a small bowl.
In another bowl, mix 2 cups cornmeal and 1 teaspoon salt.
Heat 1/2 inch of vegetable oil in a medium frying pan to 375 degrees. Take a few pieces of okra out of the buttermilk mixture at a time, shaking to remove excess mixture, and toss in the cornmeal. In batches, drop the okra into the oil and fry for 3 to 4 minutes on each side, or until golden.
Drain on paper towels.
Sprinkle with the paprika-salt mixture and serve.
This was my first time eating fried okra so I honestly don’t have anything to compare this to. But fried food tends to taste, well, fried. And this does, but has a lightness to it that really surprised me. The jalapeño and smoked paprika add a little hint of heat at the end which is really nice!
P.S. My photos will (hopefully) be getting better now. I just bought a new toy suggested to me by my friend Mikey who always manages to take the most fantastic photos, be it of food (usually fried, hence my post choice to try this out), the Philadelphia skyline, or people.  I picked up a Portable Photo Studio which should help with some lighting issues I’ve been having in my kitchen (no natural light). Any comments or suggestions about how to best use the photo studio are appreciated. Thanks again Mikey!!
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