Hi Sergio – Thank-you for such a wonderful comment & I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe. I did consider peeling the peppers but I find it quite fiddly to do so and the skins aren’t too intrusive in this dish. (Plus, my mum always reminds me that all the goodness is just under the skin!) I think the fairly long cooking time helps to refine the skins. I love the idea of adding Martini to deglaze the pan and white wine instead of water. I can imagine that would lead to a very refined taste. I’ll have to try that next time.

For a truely Mediterranean fusion meal – the next day we finished off the peperonata with some more grilled chicken breast (plain this time), all stuffed into garlic pita breads and topped off with some good houmous. Astonishingly good!

Dear Angela,
A great recipe, thank you. May I add some of the thing I tried ( although it makes my result less traditional and more fusion).
First I peel the peppers, either by running them under the grill first or by using a very good peeler like the one I bought at Betty Bossi in Switzerland. This makes the dish more digestible, at the risk of losing some taste.
After sautéing the peppers, I use a tablespoon or so of Noilly Prat or Dry Martini to loosen up, before adding the tomatoes, which I sometimes do in the form of tomato juice. As you say, it is key to keep the sauce very very restricted, as required with braised Mediterranean dishes. May I also suggest substituting dry wine, eg. Sauvignon, to water, in which case the taste greatly improves if you leave the dish overnight in the fridge. Instead of basil, thyme and/or rosemary can be added, after sautéing, in the form of very finely chopped leaves.
Take care, Sergio.

Great description of what a good peperonata should be. Couldn’t agree more. I never added olives and pinenuts to peperonata but since they work great in other pepper dishes I’ll definitely give it a try next time. Thanks for the tip.