Spice it Up with Peppers

Europe

France

Ratatouille is a traditional Provencal vegetable ragout. It is prepared with courgettes, eggplants, green and red peppers, tomatoes, onions, garlic, and parsley. Each ingredient is first simmered separately and seasoned with salt, pepper, and olive oil. Once done all the ingredients are tossed together.

Bulgaria

Chushki burek is a traditional dish that is prepared by stuffing and frying peppers. Roasted sweet red peppers are stuffed with a mixture of cheese, eggs, and fresh herbs like parsley or dill. Once stuffed the peppers are dredged in flour, eggs, and breadcrumbs then deep-fried until crispy.

Hungary

Toltott paprika is made with yellow wax peppers. It is a Hungarian summer dish. The peppers are filled with minced meat, rice, eggs, and various seasonings. Then the filled peppers are cooked in a rich, paprika-infused tomato broth.

Serbia

Belolucene paprika is a healthy Serbian salad. It consists of roasted bell peppers, garlic, vinegar, salt, oil, and parsley. The ingredients are combined and well-chilled before serving. In the summer it is made with freshly roasted bell peppers, and in the winter, with prepared preserved, canned bell peppers.

Turkey

Dolma is the national dish of the country. Traditionally grape leaves are stuffed with ground meat and rice but also bell peppers can be stuffed with the meat and rice.

Asia

India

Kadai paneer is a traditional dish that is made with cooked paneer cheese and bell peppers and flavoring the dish with a ground spice called kadai masala. The spices include red chili peppers, cardamom, cinnamon, fennel, cloves, and coriander seeds. To make a thick gravy onions, ginger, and tomatoes are used.

Indonesia

Ikan bakar is a popular dish that is made with barbecued fish. Other kinds of seafood can be used like squid, cockles, and clams. The fish is marinated in chili paste, soy sauce, turmeric, galangal, and other seasoning before grilling. The dish is served with lemon slices on top.

China

Chongqing chicken is a well-known Sichuan dish. It consists of chicken and chilies. The dish is prepared with chicken on the bone chopped into small pieces, marinated, and deep-fried. Traditionally there are more dried red chili peppers in the dish than chicken.

Pepper steak is considered to be a classic Chinese-American dish but has origins in the Chinese province of Fujian. Thin sliced strips of stead are heavily sprinkled with freshly ground pepper, They are stir-fried with thin strips of onions and bell peppers.

Africa

Tunisia

Mechouia is a salad prepared with grilled, coarsely chopped onions, peppers, tomatoes, and garlic. It is drizzled with olive oil and flavored with caraway, salt, and black pepper. The salad is garnished with hard-boiled eggs, olives, or tuna.

Libya

Tajin mahshi is a flavorful dish that consists of a variety of stuffed vegetables. The vegetables used are bell peppers, tomatoes, aubergines, and courgettes. These vegetables are stuffed with ground meat, onions, rice, and spices like chilies, salt, pepper, turmeric, ginger, and cinnamon.

North America

Mexico

Camarones enchipotlados is a traditional Mexican dish that originated in Central Mexico. The dish combines shrimp, tomatoes, olive oil, chipotle chilies, ginger, garlic, orange juice and zest, salt and pepper. Tomatoes are halved and seasoned with salt and pepper then brushed with olive oil and roasted in the oven. The shrimp are marinated with tomatoes, hot peppers, and ginger. Orange zest and juice, garlic, and ginger are fried in olive oil and simmered for a few minutes then all the ingredients are combined.

Chiloria is a Sinaloan dish. It is made with fried pulled pork cooked in chili sauce and oregano, garlic, and cumin. It is used to fill tacos or enchiladas.

South America

Peru

Rocoto relleno is a well-known appetizer from Arequipe, Peru. Spicy oven-baked rocoto chili peppers are stuffed with ground beef, onions, and pieces of hard-boiled eggs. The stuffing is seasoned with cumin, chili paste, salt, and ground pepper.