Roasted Peperonata with Polenta

Italian Peperonata Recipe, a true classic, rustic, tomato, peppers and onion stew to die for!

My roasted peperonata recipe has been dusted off. Because it’s cold and rainy out there! It seriously feels and looks like fall, and smells like fall too, someone is even burning wood near by. Crazy stuff for Southern Cali ! So needless to say, comfort food is a necessity !

I scored big on heirloom tomatoes again this week, yippee ! And this insanely delicious Italian peperonata recipe was begging to be made, and spooned over some rustic creamy polenta. And then you must wipe those bowls clean with some fresh crusty bread. So fresh it crackles when you squeeze it, as good bread should always do of course.

A good ridiculous peperonata recipe should be simple, consisting of 3 main ingredients. Tomatoes, Peppers and Onions. The best quality you can find. Peperonata is the ideal meal to make with the last of summer tomatoes. The extra ripened juicy heirlooms, the ones heavy with juice that will turn into a perfect sauce. 

Traditionally  peperonata is a quick stew done on the stove top, until the tomatoes release their juices and the peppers have softened. But today, I decided to roast everything together in the oven, until all the tomatoes collapsed completely. And those onions started to caramelize at the edges, so while that goodness is basically making itself, I could work on a creamy polenta on the stove top. 

This peperonata recipe calls for about 1 hour or so in the oven. However, I don’t know exactly how ripe and juicy your tomatoes are. Just keep an eye on them so that sauce doesn’t reduce all the way.

Ideally I want the tomatoes to release their juices and concentrate into a nice smooth sauce. If by any chance you find you left them in a little too long, just hit it with a splash of white wine to deglaze the brown bits and have a saucy consistency. Or just spoon the peperonata over some crusty bread as is. That’s a treat in and of itself. Oh yum ! I even added some of this perfect grilled chicken on top for the BatMan. Really good stuff!

This Italian peperonata recipe is pure delicious comfort, but also healthy. It definitely requires you to lick your bowls and fingers cleans, because peperonata doesn’t get any better than this. This is it right here, this rustic, classic peperonata recipe is the one you keep, Mangia ! 

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Roasted Peperonata with Polenta

Course Entree

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Servings 4

Author Florentina

Ingredients

• 5 heirloom tomatoes large
• 3 bell peppers your favorite colors
• 1 green chile pepper
• 1 large yellow onion
• 2 leaves bay
• 5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil + more to garnish
• 1 1/2 tsp sea salt + more to taste
• 4 basil sprigs
• 1 lemon

Instructions

• Preheat your oven to 400”F.
• Meanwhile slice the tomatoes and onion into wedges, and the peppers into rounds or thin strips.
• Add the tomatoes, peppers, onions and bay leaf to a large roasting dish. Drizzle over the top with the olive oil and season with the sea salt. Give it a gentle toss to coat.
• Roast in the preheated oven for 1 hour, stirring gently half way.
• Adjust seasonings to your taste with more sea salt. Discard bay leaves and serve hot over polenta, finished with a nice drizzle of olive oil, a squeeze of lemon and garnished with the basil leaves.

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