My Neapolitan aunt’s stuffed peppers were one of my favorite side dishes. Even at an early age, I relished their savory bread-crumb stuffing laced with anchovies, capers, garlic, and parsley. To date, however, I haven’t found a recipe to duplicate them. But when I came across one for Campania-style stuffed peppers in Arthur Schwartz’s Naples at Table, I thought I’d give them a shot.

I knew they would be different from my aunt’s since they called for a stuffing made with stale bread cubes while her filling employed a panade made from bread soaked in water which was then squeezed out to make something more like a paste. Nonetheless, the two stuffing mixtures did share the briny anchovies and capers that I savored as a kid.

As usual, I pretty much followed the recipe except for substituting Kalamata olives for Gaeta, and brined capers for salted. And while the recipe included an optional “few anchovies,” I used six and mistakenly used a half cup of olive oil as opposed to a third. The latter was a happy fault, however, since my bread needed even more oil as I prepared the stuffing. My one disappointment, was that some of the bread cubes came out overly toasted, and this led me to suggest in my adaptation covering them loosely with foil during the last 5 to 10 minutes of cooking.

Although the peppers yielded by the recipe were far different from my aunt’s, they were impressively delicious. The peppers were perfectly roasted with just the right amount of bite, and the savory stuffing perfectly complemented the sweetness of the peppers. As an homage to my aunt’s version, upon serving, I drizzled the peppers with some red-wine vinegar to brighten them with some acidity.

I served them as a first course, but they’d go well as a side with any roasted meats or poultry.

Neapolitan Stuffed Peppers (adapted from a recipe by Arthur Schwartz in Naples at Table)

Ingredients:

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more if needed
½ cup Kalamata olives, pitted and quartered
1½ tablespoon nonpareil capers, rinsed and drained
½ cup loosely packed parsley, finely chopped
1 tablespoon pine nuts
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
3 teaspoons finely minced garlic
6 anchovy fillets
3 cups stale bread cut into ½-inch cubes
4 medium to large red or yellow peppers, washed
Red-wine vinegar for sprinkling the cooked peppers (Optional)

1. In a small bowl, combine the filling ingredients except for the bread. Toss to mix and let stand for at least 20 minutes.

2. Preheat the oven to 400°F.

3. Pour the filling ingredients into the bread cubes and mix well by hand or with a spoon so that they absorb some of the olive oil. If the bread cubes appear overly dry, add a little more olive oil.

4. Cut the peppers in half lengthwise, and remove the seeds and the ribs.

5. Divide the bread-cube mixture evenly among the peppers. It should almost fill each. Drizzle lightly with olive oil.

6. Arrange the stuffed peppers in an oiled baking dish large enough to hold the peppers without touching.

7. Bake for 45 minutes, or until the peppers are cooked but still slightly frim and the bread cubes are browned and crisped. If the bread cubes are getting too brown, cover the dish loosely with foil.

8. Serve hot, optionally sprinkled lightly with red-wine vinegar.

Wine Pairing: If served as a first course, Falanghina, Greco di Tufo