Gluten-free Vegan Peperonata Recipe

What dish is a pasta sauce, condiment, filling, and side dish? Our gluten-free vegan peperonata recipe. Peperonata is mainly made from a mix of sweet peppers (and some hot peppers if you like), tomatoes, and onions. They blend to make a versatile dish that has many applications.

Peperonata is a well-known Italian condiment, that can be served hot or cold. You can serve it at room temperature on a charcuterie board, as it pairs very well with cheese, crackers, and meats. You could toss it over pasta, using a little pasta water to help make a sauce like with our Pasta Nerano. This spread can also be a delicious addition to either hot or cold sandwiches. It also goes very well with eggs. The breakfast options with eggs are not limited to adding it to scrambled eggs, as you can also use it as a filling in an omelette, or a frittata. Also, peperonata can be served as a side dish, or paired with any main course.

Gluten-free Vegan Peperonata Recipe

Ingredients:

• 4 bell peppers (orange and red)
• 3 Hungarian hot peppers (optional)
• 1 medium onion, minced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 500g fresh tomatoes, chopped
• 2 tbs olive oil or Puroliva (an olive oil and canola oil blend)
• 1 tsp salt
• 3/4 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
• 1/2 tsp each of granulated garlic, black pepper, and granulated onion
• 1 tsp chopped basil

Directions:

• Chop onion, set aside.

• Wash, dry, and chop peppers and tomatoes separately and set aside.
• Mince garlic and set aside.
• In a large pot, heat 2 tablespoons of oil.

• Add onions and garlic to the pot, stir well.
• Season the onion and garlic mixture with salt.
• If you want to add additional heat, this is when you add the red chilli flakes.

• Add the chopped tomatoes to the pot, stir.

• Once the tomatoes are mixed in, add in the peppers.
• If the mixture appears dry or it is sticking to the bottom of the pot, add in another tablespoon of oil. Cover pot with a lid, lower the heat to medium-low and allow to reduce.
• Remember to stir the mixture regularly to ensure it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot or burn.
• If at any time the mixture is getting too dry or sticking, you can always add more oil again. But at this point, the tomatoes should be giving off their liquid. Once the tomatoes and peppers have started to soften, add in the black pepper, granulated garlic, basil, and granulated onion.
• Slow and low is the name of the game, so keep the lid on, keep the heat to medium-low, and keep checking on it and stirring.
• Once everything is soft and melded, taste and check for flavour.
• This is when you can add whatever flavour you might feel it’s lacking – like more salt, or more basil, or more hot chili flakes, etc – for your palette.
  

• You know when it’s done, when the mixture has reduced by almost half, and it’s a thick jam-like consistency. Remove from heat and enjoy.

GFF NOTE: 

Keep in mind that while we added hot chili flakes and the Hungarian hot peppers, you don’t need to do that. You can easily remove the heat by replacing the hot peppers with regular bell peppers. Or if fresh hot peppers are not available, you could swap the hot peppers for regular bell peppers and increase the chili flakes for your palette.

The sky is the limit with this gluten-free vegan peperonata recipe and you can keep it in an airtight container or jar in the fridge, covered with a thin layer of oil, which can stay for up to three months (not that it ever lasts that long). It is also a recipe that you could very easily make big batches of, if you wanted to gift jars of it or just have extra on hand in your fridge. Know that your mixture needs to be fully cooked and cooled before going into the fridge.

This gluten-free vegan peperonata is an economical condiment to make because you can use up slightly blemished produce. In fact, you could buy reduced peppers and tomatoes to make this, so really, it can be quite the frugal choice.

Once you make this time-honoured Italian dish, it will become a year-round staple, in your cooking repertoire. However, it’s at this time of year, when produce is bountiful and affordable, that is the most opportune time to make a big batch. Then enjoy knowing that you have jars of this versatile, delicious condiment, that will become your multi-purpose, go-to base, to so many incredible meals.

Have you tried peperonata before? If so, what is your favourite way to eat it? If not, give it a try and let us know how it came. We’d love hearing your feedback especially on a family-favourite dish like one.

Enjoy.

Gluten-free Vegan Peperonata Recipe

Print Recipe/Tips

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

• 4 bell peppers (orange and red)
• 3 Hungarian hot peppers (optional)
• 1 medium onion, minced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 500g fresh tomatoes, chopped
• 2 tbs olive oil or Puroliva (an olive oil and canola oil blend)
• 1 tsp salt
  3/4 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
• 1/2 tsp each of granulated garlic, black pepper, and granulated onion
• 1 tsp chopped basil

INSTRUCTIONS/NOTES/TIPS

• Chop onion, set aside.
• Wash, dry, and chop peppers and tomatoes separately and set aside.
• Mince garlic and set aside.
• In a large pot, heat 2 tablespoons of oil.
• Add onions and garlic to the pot, stir well.
• Season the onion and garlic mixture with salt.
• If you want to add additional heat, this is when you add the red chilli flakes.
• Add the chopped tomatoes to the pot, stir.
• Once the tomatoes are mixed in, add in the peppers.
• If the mixture appears dry or it is sticking to the bottom of the pot, add in another tablespoon of oil. Cover pot with a lid, lower the heat to medium-low and allow to reduce.
• Remember to stir the mixture regularly to ensure it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot or burn.
• If at any time the mixture is getting too dry or sticking, you can always add more oil again. But at this point, the tomatoes should be giving off their liquid. Once the tomatoes and peppers have started to soften, add in the black pepper, granulated garlic, basil, and granulated onion.
• Slow and low is the name of the game, so keep the lid on, keep the heat to medium-low, and keep checking on it and stirring.
• Once everything is soft and melded, taste and check for flavour.
• This is when you can add whatever flavour you might feel it's lacking - like more salt, or more basil, or more hot chili flakes, etc - for your palette.
• You know when it’s done, when the mixture has reduced by almost half, and it’s a thick jam-like consistency. Remove from heat and enjoy.

NOTES/TIPS

Keep in mind that while we added hot chili flakes and the Hungarian hot peppers, you don’t need to do that. You can easily remove the heat by replacing the hot peppers with regular bell peppers. Or if fresh hot peppers are not available, you could swap the hot peppers for regular bell peppers and increase the chili flakes for your palette. Store in an airtight container or jar in the fridge, covered with a thin layer of oil. Can stay for up to three months (not that it ever lasts that long). The mixture needs to be fully cooked and cooled before going into the fridge.

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