Name: Puglia-Inspired Baby Bell Peppers and Tomato
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 35 min
Ingredients: Extra-virgin olive oil; 1 cup whole blanched almonds; 1 pound red, yellow, and orange baby bell peppers, cored, seeded, and cut crosswise into ½-inch-wide rings; 4 or 5 Roma (plum) tomatoes (about 14 ounces), roughly chopped; ¼ cup roughly chopped sun-dried tomatoes; 3 large garlic cloves, crushed; 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves; Kosher salt and ground black pepper; Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon; 1 loaf hearty Italian bread, for serving

Suzy Karadsheh is the queen of the Mediterranean diet — and she’s come out with a new cookbook: The Mediterranean Dish: Simply Dinner.

Karadsheh, who is author of the blog The Mediterranean Dish, has been sharing her intel on a Mediterranean-style of eating for a decade now and has garnered a following of nearly 650,000 on Instagram.

Suzy Karadsheh of The Mediterranean Dish in a kitchen wearing a black dress — Suzy Karadsheh, author of the blog The Mediterranean Dish. Photo: Caitlin Bensel

In celebration of the release of her cookbook, Karadsheh has shared a newly published recipe with Appetito: Puglia-Inspired Baby Bell Peppers and Tomato with Toasted Almonds.

“This is the meal I first made in Puglia, Italy while on tour with a group of the Mediterranean Dish audience,” says Karadsheh. “It was lovely to make in just a few minutes with a few simple ingredients we bought from the market that same day.”

In the dish, she said, bell peppers and tomatoes act as main characters.

The recipe proves “making a simple meal that is entirely vegetarian can be satisfying and absolutely delicious,” says Karadsheh.

The Mediterranean Dish: Simply Dinner is available on Amazon.

Puglia-Inspired Baby Bell Peppers and Tomato

Recipe by The Mediterranean Dish

0.0 from 0 votes

Servings

servings

Prep time

minutes

Cooking time

minutes

Ingredients

Extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup 1 whole blanched almonds
1 pound 1 red, yellow, and orange baby bell peppers, cored, seeded, and cut crosswise into ½-inch-wide rings
4 4 or 5 Roma (plum) tomatoes (about 14 ounces), roughly chopped
¼ cup roughly chopped sun-dried tomatoes
3 large 3 garlic cloves, crushed
2 teaspoons 2 fresh thyme leaves
Kosher salt and ground black pepper
Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 1 loaf hearty Italian bread, for serving

Directions

Line a small plate with a paper towel. Place a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add 2 teaspoons of the olive oil. Once the oil begins to shimmer, add the almonds and toast, stirring regularly with a wooden spoon, until golden brown, 2 to 4 minutes. Transfer the toasted almonds to the paper towel–lined plate to drain.
Add about 3 tablespoons of olive oil to the pan and raise the heat to medium-high. Once the oil begins to shimmer, add the peppers, Roma tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, and thyme.
Season with a big pinch of salt and black pepper (about ½ teaspoon each).
Cook, stirring occasionally, until the peppers are tender and the tomatoes have fully collapsed, creating a bit of a sauce, 10 to 12 minutes.
Stir in the lemon zest, 2 tablespoons of the lemon juice, and cup of the toasted almonds. Transfer to a serving bowl and sprinkle the remaining almonds on top. Serve with Italian bread to sop up all the juices.