Bandiera, a vegetable stew with bell peppers, zucchini and eggplants

In Italy, sweet peppers, zucchini and eggplants are abundant and delicious in the summer. As a consequence, throughout Italy you will find endless dishes made with various combinations of them, generally stewed and consumed at room temperature during the warm weather.

This is my mother’s version of the Canazzo from Palermo. She called it Bandiera because we lived in Umbria where the name of a similar recipe is inspired to the colors of the Italian flag. In Basilicata and Salerno, another similar dish is known as ciambotta or cianfotta. Somewhere else you will find it named as Peperonata: they all are close relatives of the famous Sicilian Caponata.

My mother’s recipe was legendary. Rather than cooking the vegetables together like a ratatouille, she fried them separately and quickly combined them with just a hint of tomato and onion.

When you keep it in the refrigerator for a couple of days, it becomes be slightly softer and mellower, perfect food for a picnic or garden party.

Recipe

• 1 eggplant, diced into 1-inch pieces
• 1 red or yellow bell pepper, cut into 3/4-inch strips
• 1 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
• 2 medium yellow potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 2 plum tomatoes peeled and diced or 3-4 tablespoon diced canned tomatoes
• a few leaves of fresh basil
• a few tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

The key to this recipe is the mise an place. Chop/slice all ingredients before starting to cook. Prepare a bowl where you will transfer keep the cooked vegetables. Use a large non-stick pan and a cast iron pan or wok. Use no more than 1/2 tablespoon  of olive oil to stir fry each vegetable, adding more oil when necessary.

When almost cooked, lightly season each vegetable with salt and pepper, then transfer into the bowl.

Directions

1. Heat 1/2 tablespoon olive oil and shallow fry the potatoes until crispy. If you need to save time, pierce the potatoes with the tip of a knife, then par-cook them in the microwave for 5 min, peel, slice and proceed to crisp them up in olive oil. Transfer in the bowl.Over medium heat, stir fry the  the zucchini and peppers separately in the cast iron pan, then add to the bowl.
2. Increase the heat to medium-high, add one teaspoon olive oil and the eggplants. Cover, sauté for a few minutes until they start to brown, lower the heat, uncover and cook for approx 5 more minutes until tender. This way the eggplants absorb a minimal amount of oil. Transfer in the bowl with the potatoes.
3. Lower the heat, add a little more olive oil if necessary and soften the onions until translucent. Add the tomatoes and cook them for 5-6 minutes to soften.
4. Increase the heat to maximum, add all the vegetables and stir fry quickly until the tomatoes are absorbed by the vegetables. Taste for seasoning, adjust if necessary and transfer back into the bowl, add basil.

Serve at room temperature or cold, better if the next day.

Serves 4-6

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