Cooking In, Quick PostKerry Alaric CheeseboroJune 07, 2012basil, Cooking In, herbs, hot, Hungarian, pepper, peppers, potato, potatoes, Quick Post, roasted, shallot, shallots, side, side dish, spicy, stew, stewed, thyme, tomatoComment

From Hungover To Hungarian

Roasted Tomato-Stewed Potatoes with Hungarian Hot Peppers

SO, I KIND OF OVERDID did it last night with the drinking. And as is Murphy's Law in my apartment, the mornings I wake up with the worse hangovers are also the ones where there happens to be absolutely no food whatsoever in my apartment to cook and/or eat. So, often, I find myself making an early run to the local supermarket, still cobweb-headed and headached, to pick up groceries that would soon be enthusiastically consumed.

On this morning, I did happen to only have some Hungarian hot peppers—a gift from a friend whose Hungarian father is a produce wholesaler—so as I headed to the neighborhood Fairway, I imagined any number of proteins I could I could add the peppers to in a stew preparation.

Once at Fairway, I bee-lined to the beef department that, at that exact moment, was still being stocked. (This was at 7:30 in the morning; I get drunk early, get home early and get up early.) Since they hadn't stocked the larger cuts of beef yet, I decided to get the rest of the ingredients for this beef stew. picking up a couple of Idaho potatoes, a can of chopped roasted tomatoes, and a bulb of shallot. I then paid up and left Fairway.

It wasn't until I got home that I realized that I forgot to go back to the meat section; I had come home without any meat whatsoever.

Frustrated, yes, but more hungry and impatient, I figured I'd instead make a stew with the potato as the base. I slice the shallots and sweated them in some olive oil with salt and fresh-cracked pepper. I then cored and seeded two of the Hungarian hot peppers, slicing them crosswise and throwing them into the saucepan with the shallots, sautéing them briefly.

I added the chopped roasted tomatoes, some thyme and basil, and cup and a half of water. I did a very large dice on the potatoes—skin still on—and added them to the still simmering liquid. I covered the pot and let the whole shebang simmer for about 45 minutes, letting most of the liquid reduce into more of a sauce-like consistency. Once ready, I served it in bowl, topping it off with a few raw slices of the Hungarian peppers.

The final result was i yummy, hearty, aromatic, spicy dish, where the potatoes, with their large chunks, provided a meaty bite while the sweetness of the roasted and cooked tomatoes tempered the rich, deep, front and back heat of the peppers.

I haven't really featured side dishes here on PHUDE—they're usually the supporting player. But one bowl of this had me completely sated. I felt I had eaten a whole meal, and the long-lingering residual spicy heat assisted in helping me sweat any leftover toxins out of my pores.

I have about 4 of those Hungarian peppers left, and although I still look forward eventually incorporate them in a meat dish, I can easily see myself making this dish at least one more time before I run out of the peppers.

Now if I could only remember where I put my glasses....