Slow-cooked sweet peppers

If you read my recent post about candied tomatoes, you'll know that I'm on a slow-cooking kick. With the crisp fall temperatures and all the delicious fresh produce available now, can you blame me? I first had these slow-cooked sweet peppers in Rome many years ago when a friend's mom made them for us. I didn't know if being in Italy distorted my perception but they tasted like little slices of heaven. These peppers are melt-in-your mouth soft and tantalizingly sweet. I came home and promptly made them again. And again. And again. And they were just as good.

This is the recipe for a large batch using about 8 peppers. Again, they will shrink in size considerably while cooking so I prefer making a lot at once. Core peppers and dice or cut into thin strips. Pour enough olive oil to just coat the bottom of a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Add 4 or 5 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar and one heaping tablespoon of chopped garlic. Add peppers and toss to coat. Cook over medium-low heat for about 40 minutes, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. I usually cook with a lid for the first 15 minutes then remove it.

I photographed the peppers on top of crackers but they're also great on toasted baguette rounds. I'd served these when we invited our neighbour over for a bottle of wine and they were gobbled up before I thought to take a picture. We ate the leftovers with hot sausages for a sweet-and-spicy contrast.