Sweet pepper
Sweet pepper is a versatile, colourful vegetable with a fresh, gently sweet flavour and a crisp bite. It works just as well raw as it does cooked until soft and sweet.
Latin name: Capsicum annuum
Origin: Central and South America
Description
Sweet peppers come in several colours, including green, red, yellow and orange. The colour reflects ripeness and flavour: green is firmer and slightly more bitter, while red is usually the sweetest and juiciest. Yellow and orange often sit nicely in between.
In the kitchen, sweet peppers are loved for their crunch, mild taste and the way they turn sweeter and more aromatic when cooked.
In the kitchen
Use sweet pepper raw in salads, sliced into sticks for dipping, or in wraps and sandwiches. Cooked, it’s great in stir-fries, pasta dishes, curries, soups and sauces.
Stuffed peppers are a classic: fill them with rice, pulses, minced meat, cheese or extra vegetables, then bake in the oven.
For a roasted flavour, grill or roast peppers whole. The skin will blister and darken and can be peeled off easily; the flesh becomes softer, sweeter and more intense.
Storage & preparation
Choose peppers that feel firm with a smooth, glossy skin. Avoid any with soft spots or dull patches.
Store peppers in the fridge (ideally in the vegetable drawer); they typically keep well for up to about a week. For longer storage, cut into pieces, remove the seeds and pith, and freeze. Frozen pepper is especially handy for soups, sauces and stir-fries.
