Sweet and Spicy Chili Pasta Channels the Work or Love of an Old Friend – San Diego Union-Tribune

By G. Daniela Galarza

This pasta, with its strong mix of sweet and spicy peppers, garlic, parmesan, toasted breadcrumbs and herbs, was inspired by a very special stuffed pepper I first encountered 16 years ago when, at least for that 26 year old , , it felt like the world was falling apart.

On the morning of September 26, 2008, I was walking to work along W. 3rd Street in Los Angeles when the reality of the Great Recession hit me for the first time. About 50 feet away, workers at a hydraulic elevator used a piece of tarp and bungee cords to cover the neighborhood bank’s sign while uniformed police officers chained and locked the door. Washington Mutual failed the day before. It remains the largest bank failure in US history.

Many other terrible things happened that year, the most important of which was that I, along with many other people, was fired. At some point, after weeks of panicked sending out job applications while watching my bank balance plummet, I heard that a professional acquaintance needed an extra pair of hands a few days a week. I didn’t even know what the job would entail, but I was in.

I initially only knew Dominick DiBartolomeo as an employee at the Beverly Hills Cheese Store, a customer of my previous employer (and, in my opinion at least, a national treasure). I was friends with the place and its people, so I knew that DiBartolomeo had a side business making pestos, tapenades, and a few other family recipes, which he sold at the Cheese Store and farmers’ markets across town. My new job was to help make these traditional recipes and then, every Saturday and Sunday, wake up at 5 am to drive to one of the several markets and sell them.

This is where I found the little stuffed pepper that inspired today’s pasta recipe.

They are a little bigger than a stick of gum; olive green or dark red, but wrinkled and a little boring. Packaged in plastic containers and stacked alongside bright green pistachio pesto and mosaic-shaped tapenade, they were a hard sell—until you tasted one. Filled with Parmesan cheese, garlic, herbs, breadcrumbs and olive oil, they are deeply flavorful and, as with fries and fries, I’ve never been able to eat just one.

I’ve been thinking about these peppers a lot since I left Los Angeles. When I called DiBartolomeo recently, I finally confessed: I may have overdone it when, for quality control purposes, I tried a few peppers every weekend.

DiBartolomeo laughed, a big, happy laugh. “Well, that’s understandable,” he said. I asked the story behind the stuffed peppers, which I hadn’t come across before or since.

“This is something my grandfather would do,” DiBartolomeo said, noting he was named after the elder Dominico. “He was a blacksmith in Italy, in Campobasso, which is in Molise, north of Naples. When he came to the US, he started making these peppers for family gatherings. They are truly a labor of love.”

The base is what DiBartolomeo calls vinegar peppers—sweet Sunnybrook or spicy cherry peppers are similar, but they’re also savory—that’s stem, pit, and clean. Enter that homemade stuffing. After a last drizzle of olive oil, they are baked until the filling is golden brown and puffs up like a mushroom cap.

“You’ll find iterations of this in Puglia, where they stuff the peppers with tuna, or even on the east coast of the United States, they stuff them with ham, or some people make bread and fry them,” DiBartolomeo said. “But I don’t know anyone who makes them like my grandfather did.”

In an attempt to channel that flavor memory, I invented this recipe, which starts with peppers and garlic breadcrumbs. To get the simple yet complex flavor and texture of stuffed peppers, I added sweet yellow onion, some ground pork, fennel seeds, and oregano. I think of it as an homage to the laborious original. When I explained the concept to DiBartolomeo, he approved. “The pork, it’s a good idea, it looks good,” he said.

For 45 years, the Cheese Store in downtown Beverly Hills was run by the fascinating and incredibly kind Norbert Wabnig. (Fans of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” may have caught him on a recent episode.) In 2022, Wabnig sold the store to DiBartolomeo.

A few years ago, he exited farmers markets to focus on store sales. “Today we sell sandwiches, and one of the most popular on our menu combines mortadella, provolone and spicy stuffed pep…” I interrupted him.

“Dominick, I’m planning a trip to Los Angeles early next year. I have to eat that sandwich!

“Daniela, let’s make it happen.”

Sweet and Spicy Pepper Pasta

Inspired by a Southern Italian-style stuffed pepper recipe, this pasta combines sweet and spicy red peppers with breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, and lots of parsley. A little ground pork – or a vegetable substitute – makes the dish more filling. Red peppers are best here, but you can also use orange or yellow peppers.

Makes 4 to 6 servings (about 10 cups)

INGREDIENTS

1/2 teaspoon fine salt, plus more as needed

12 ounces orecchiette or other small pasta

2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more as needed

8 ounces ground pork or a vegetable substitute (optional)

1 small yellow onion (6 ounces), diced

2 cloves of garlic, chopped or finely grated

1 teaspoon fennel seeds

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste

3 red peppers, seeded and chopped

1 cherry or Fresno pepper, seeded and thinly sliced ​​(optional)

1/2 cup panko or other plain breadcrumbs

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley, plus more for serving

1/2 cup (1 ounce) grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving

INSTRUCTIONS

1: Bring a large pot of water to a boil and sprinkle with a large pinch of salt. Add the pasta and cook until al dente as indicated in the package instructions or desired doneness. Drain well, transfer back to the pan and cover to keep warm.

2: While the water boils and the pasta cooks, in a large (12-inch) skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the pork, if using, onion, garlic, fennel seeds, oregano, salt and black pepper and cook, using a wooden spoon to break up the pork, until the meat is no longer thick. pinker and the onion softens, about 4 minutes. . Increase the heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the pork is browned and crispy, about 2 minutes.

3: Reduce heat to medium-high and add bell pepper and cherry or Fresno pepper, if using. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 4 to 5 minutes. Use the liquid released by the peppers to help scrape up any browned bits that have started to form at the bottom of the pan. Reduce heat to medium, taste the mixture, and add more salt and pepper if desired.

4: Push the meat and vegetables to one side of the pan and tilt them briefly so that some of the fat coats the bottom of the empty side of the pan. (If there is no fat, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the empty side of the skillet.) Add the breadcrumbs, stir to coat in the fat, and cook for 2 to 4 minutes without stirring, until beginning to brown. Remove from heat.

5: Stir the meat and pepper mixture into the pasta, along with the parsley and parmesan. Taste again, adjusting salt and pepper as desired. Serve family style, with additional parmesan on the side.

Substitutions:

• No peppers? Try cherry tomatoes, chopped fresh spinach – at least 180 grams – or pumpkin.

• Instead of using ground pork and seasoning it to taste like Italian sausage, you can use two pieces of sweet (raw) Italian sausage, casings removed, and omit the fennel and oregano. You can do the same with chicken or vegetable sausage.

• Instead of breadcrumbs, you can use leftover rice.

• Gluten-free? Use gluten-free and panko noodles.

Storage Note: Refrigerate for up to 4 days.

Recipe by G. Daniela Galarza.