Peperonata con Bruschetta

[mamster]

Peperonata con Bruschetta

Adapted from Trattoria Cooking, by Biba Caggiano

• 8 thin, round slices pancetta
  
• 1/4 c olive oil
  
• 5 bell peppers (your choice of red, yellow, green, or a mixture), seeded and cut into thin strips
  
• 1 large onion, halved pole-to-pole and thinly sliced
  
• 1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes (I use Muir Glen), drained, juice reserved
  
• 1/4 c red wine vinegar
  
• salt and pepper
  
• 1 loaf rustic bread (such as the Como Loaf from Seattle's Grand Central Bakery, or La Brea's Country Sourdough Oval), cut into 1/2
  
• garlic cloves, peeled
  

In a 12" skillet, fry the pancetta over medium heat until crisp. Drain the pancetta on paper towels, leaving the fat in the skillet. Raise the heat to medium-high. Add the olive oil to the pancetta fat in the skillet and let heat for one minute or until shimmering.

Add the peppers (they will mound up in the pan) and cook three minutes, stirring often. Add the onion and reduce heat to medium. (If there's anything better than standing next to a pan of onions, it's standing next to a pan of onions and peppers with the lingering scent of bacon in the air.) Cook five minutes or until the onion is translucent and just beginning to brown.

Around this time, start toasting the bread in a toaster, under the broiler, or in a panini grill.

Add the tomatoes and cook five minutes, stirring often. Add a bit of the reserved tomato juice if the pan is getting too dry. Check a pepper for texture; it shouldn't be crunchy, but it should still give slight resistance to the tooth.

Add the vinegar, raise the heat to high, and cook one minute to reduce the liquid. Season with salt and pepper (it may be easier to check for seasonings if you let the peperonata cool briefly).

Let diners assemble the bruschette at the table. Take a slice of toast, rub it gently with a garlic clove, and top with a slice of pancetta and a large spoonful of peperonata. Wine would be appropriate, of course (something acidic and low on tannin and oak, like barbaresco, barbera, Macon-Villages, or pinot grigio), but most of the time I'd rather pop open a can of Limonata, San Pellegrino's lemon soda.

Keywords: Italian, Easy, Appetizer, The Daily Gullet

( RG104 )