2022 Giro d’Italia - Stage 15: Rivarolo Canavese to Cogne.
One last stage until a rest day, although I missed the entirety of the coverage. Your boy needed a breather today. It’s been a busy few months both at work and life and it all caught up to me. I slept for about 13 hours last night, which is more than twice as long as I normally sleep at night. I arose just in time to watch my beloved Tottenham Hotspur destroy their competition and solidify their season-long comeback to qualify for Champions League. So, I have highlights of today’s stage playing in the background while I type up this blog entry, which is a unique one.
Unlike the beautiful Aosta Valley countryside the riders zipped through today, this is one of my least favorite food photos, but it answers a question I always had about cookbooks. “Why doesn’t every recipe have a photo?” Well, sometimes, a dish is delicious, but it’s just not pretty. It’s hard to have roasted limp peppers, covered in a very creamy sauce, look appetizing. But, I assure you, what this dish lacks in beauty, it makes up for in flavor. Sweet and smoky roasted peppers, tart olives, mildly-sharp nutty fontina cheese, all in a creamy dijon dressing. While not something I would present to guests (solely on appearance criteria), this would be great for a family picnic/meal on a hot day…like today!
Roasted Pepper & Olive Salad with Fontina adapted from Lidia Cooks from the Heart of Italy, Lidia Bastianich
6 yellow bell peppers
3 tbsp olive oil
½ lb fontina, cut into matchstick-size pieces
10 oz jar of pitted green olives
½ cup heavy cream
3 tbsp dijon mustard
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
Ground white pepper
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
Preheat your oven 350. Meanwhile, oil up the peppers with the regular olive oil. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and roast in the oven for about 20 minutes, turning every 5 minutes. Then, turn on the broiler and roast the peppers until very charred, turning every few minutes.
Remove the peppers from the oven and allow them to cool for about 5-10 minutes. Then peel away all of the skin from the roasted peppers, cut off the tops and remove all of the seeds. Cut into ½-inch wide strips and place into a strainer set over a bowl and allow to fully cool.
Meanwhile, slice the cheese into ¼-inch thick slices. Stack the slices and cut into ¼-inch wide strips, then cut the strips into half and reserve.
Drain the olives and cut into quarters and reserve.
When all the ingredients are prepared, dump them into a bowl. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the cream, dijon, evoo, and vinegar, along with a pinch of salt and ground white pepper until smooth and emulsified. Pour some dressing over the peppers (you won’t need all of the prepared dressing) and stir in the parsley.
Let the salad marinade for about 30 minutes at room temperature, then place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Serve.
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