Marinated Sweet Bell Peppers with Mushroom and Onion Appetizer Antipasto
Nothing says Summer like a Dish of Colorful Fresh Vegetables!
This easy to make, make ahead dish really brings out sweetness of the Bell Peppers.
This is a very flexible dish to make so don't get too caught up in the number of peppers vs onions and Mushrooms - I've even made it with only Mushrooms and Onions.
One or two each of each color Bell Pepper (Green, Yellow, Orange, Red etc.)
One Medium to Large Onion per 4 Peppers
6 to 12 small to medium Mushrooms per 4 Peppers
Good Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Balsamic Vinegar
Some Fresh Italian Herbs, or Dried Italian Herb mix
Wash the peppers, and with a sharp paring knife inserted into the top outer edge of the pepper, cut all the way around the outer edge, as if you're removing a Pumpkin top for cleaning. Grasping the stem, pull the core of the pepper out, removing a great deal of the membrane and seeds with it. Discard the core. Tapping the sides of an inverted pepper will remove most of the seeds, try to remove as many as you can, they are edible so you don't have to be 100% accurate.
Using a larger Chef's Knife, cut the peppers vertically into strips.
Remove the outer paper like skin of the onion, remove the top and bottom of the onion and discard the top, bottom and outer skin. Cut the onion vertically into fourths peel the center sections of the quarters away from the outer section about half way between, take the remaining outer sections and cut them in half vertically, making them the approximate size of the middle pieces. So ot slices are too big or too small.
Mushrooms are like sponges so we typically try to clean them without washing them - a goodt Mushroom Brush will accomplish this - brush off any loose material. Set the mushroom upside down on the cutting board and slice them into quarters.
These freshly cut vegetables could easily be served up with dip in this condition, not many people appreciate a raw onion, so we're going to add an additional depth of flavor.
We're going to sweat the Peppers and Onions. This can be done in an oven or in a pan on the top of the stove. Sweating the vegetables is simply applying heat until the plant's cell walls begin to break down and the slices become limp and the onion becomes translucent. Start by coating the vegetables with the olive oil. This can be done in any manner you like but I've found, tossing them in a stainless steel bowl to be the quickest and most efficient and probably the cleanest. Fill the Stainless Steel bowl no more than half way with vegetables, drizzle some oil on them and either stir them with a spatula, or grasp the bowl in one hand and flip them over and over like you've seen your favorite chef flip a pancake or a saute pan of vegetables. You can practice over the sink. You can add the Italian Spices at this time or during the cooking process. Now either lay them out on a foil lined cookie sheet, or into a skillet that has a top to it. A low to medium heat is best, 300-350 oven temperature. Peppers and onions will cook at different time and temperatures so I typically cook them separately using the skillet, or on separate cookie sheets, then you can pull them off the heat when they're done. Stirr them every so often to make sure they're all getting heated at the same time.
The mushrooms don't get cooked, they can be put in the stainless steel bowl with Oil, Balsamic Vinegar, spices and toss.
When the vegetables are limp, if you haven't already added the spices - do it now. Splash on the Balsamic Vinegar to taste. If you're going to serve the dish now - stir in the mushrooms and serve. If you're making the dish ahead of time, allow the vegetables to cool, add the mushrooms, and put into a container (a gallon sized ziplock bag works great).
This dish can last up to a week in the refrigerator, flip or shake the container daily to coat the contents and distribute the marinade.
For Taste Sake
The leftovers or the prepared dish can be reheated alone or added to a stir fry.
These are wonderful, served along side other appetizers, antipasto like sliced or cubed salami, cheeses, marinated artichoke hearts, anchovies, pickled peppers, and olives.
For Christmas time, consider using only Red and Green Peppers.
So mix all the ingredients together, add salt, pepper (preferably fresh cracked), minced garlic or garlic granules or powder to taste. The salt will draw even more moisture from the produce - I like to drain the salsa when juice starts to accumulate. You don't have to throw the juice away - it's great in Bloody Mary's - I hear it cures hangovers 
Fresh minced garlic might be too much for some people - the Minced Garlic in a jar is less potent.
