Pepper Salad

Peppers are the heart and soul of food, IMHO. Whether they are mild or hot or somewhere in between, peppers make the world go ’round. Without them the earth would come to a screeching halt!

I think it’s the colors. Peppers are like looking at a living, breathing color wheel. Deep and bright reds, purple, spring greens to light yellow-greens, bright oranges and yellows. Peppers are just a feast for the eyes! And for the mouth – from super mild to Call-911-I’m-Melting-From-The-Inside-Out! Crisp, crunchy peppers are delicious!

I made a run to my favorite “big box” wholesale store the other day a.k.a. Costco and they had the most beautiful tri-color package of 6 bell peppers – red, orange and yellow. I loaded up, came home and promptly pulled out one of each color. I had also gotten two large packages of baby cukes because my family LOVES Pickled Baby Cucumbers – I’ll post the recipe soon. Promise. And, I had loaded up on a 6-pack. Of black olives.

My friend, Alta, has a great gluten-free blog called Tasty Eats At Home and had recently published a recipe for Mediterranean-Style Pepper Salad, which originated with Smitten Kitchen. If I haven’t said it before, Alta is amazing and so are her recipes and adaptations. You must stop by – gluten-free or not – and check out her eats. She is also very funny and very educational and has encouraged her kids to learn to cook, too. What a gal! Anyhoo, I took her recipe and adapted it for the ingredients I had on hand.

Here’s the result of my pepper overload. BTW, this is the perfect picnic salad – especially for those of use who are a bit carb intolerant. You can even cut down or out on the sugar.

Pepper Salad

1/3 c red wine vinegar
1 T kosher salt
2 T sugar
1/4 c extra virgin olive oil or canola oil
1 Tbsp. fresh cracked pepper
1 medium onion, rough chopped
1 red bell pepper
1 orange bell pepper
1 yellow bell pepper
2 baby cucumbers
1/4lb fresh mozzarella cheese
1 c black olives
1/2 c cherry or grape tomatoes

Cut peppers into 1” chunks and onion and cucumber into 1/4” slices. Pinch off small 1” chunks of the mozzarella and add to peppers. Then put in olives and tomatoes. Stir in vinegar, oil, salt and pepper. Let sit in the friger-frater (that’s what my kids used to call it) for at least 30 min before serving. Stir well again before serving. As you can see, I forgot the tomatoes. You can, too!

Locked and Loaded,
Suz

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Tagged as: bell pepper, easy, healthy, low carbohydrate, pepper, picnic, quick, quick and easy, salad, summer, vegetable