VegBox Recipes

Peppers / Capsicum

Sweet peppers (rather than chilli peppers) are sometimes known as "capsicum". They are widely grown in the UK for box schemes, though usually under a polytunnel, as it can be difficult to get them to ripen outdoors, in our climate.

In Season?

UK: August & September - earlier in Mediterranean climates

Buy?

Choose peppers with a firm not wrinkly skin – check especially the point where the stalk meets the fruit, to ensure there is no sign of mould

Store?

Wrapped up in the fridge for up to a week before they begin to shrivel

Freeze?

Cut into thin slices and place in a freezer bag to use for cooking

Cook?

Delicious raw, regularly found alongside carrot and celery sticks on plates of crudités, ready for dipping into hummus, but also great lightly cooked in stir fries, or stuffed and roasted.
Cut off the stalk and cut in half to remove the seeds, before using.

More Peppers / Capsicum Information

Although thought of as a vegetable, they are actually a fruit.

Sweet peppers / capsicum are widely used in Mediterranean cuisine, since they were imported by the Spanish and Portugese explorers.

Peppers start off life green, before changing to yellow and then red - and eventually deep purple.

They originated in South America and their use is recorded as far back as 3000 BC.

Like the aubergine (and the potato), they are a member of the nightshade family, but fortunately, are delicious rather than deadly.

Growing capsicum in the UK is not easy, because of the cool climate, but it can be done using polytunnels.

Because it is thought of as savoury, it is easy to think the sweet pepper is a vegetable, but all those seeds are a dead give away – because in fact it is a fruit.

Vegetable Tempura
Although it's deep-fried, as long as the oil is hot enough and you drain the tempura after cooking, it's not that bad...! Quick, delicious and a nice change from sticking your veg in a curry!
Ingredients 500g mixed veg, e.g. carrots (in sticks), runner beans (sliced), courgettes (sliced), aubergine (in sticks), onion (in eigths), peppers (sliced), beetroot (in eigths) - use whatever you've got left! 200g plain flour large pinch of salt 300ml ice cold water - ideally sparkling Oil for deep frying Note: no egg in the batter
Method xMix the flour and the water together with the salt. Use a whisk to remove any big lumps, but don't worry about smaller lumps. Heat the oil in a wok or deep fat fryer until it reaches 180 degrees C. Cut the vegetables into slices or chunks - not too thick or they won't cook, not too think or they'll be mushy! Dry the vegetables with kitchen paper - the batter sticks better when they're really dry. Dip each slice in the batter and then immediately put in the wok. Keep going until you have a full wok, one layer deep. Cook for 2 minutes, then turn the vegetables. Continue to cook until the batter is lightly browned. Use a slotted spoon to remove the bananas from the wok and drain on kitchen paper. Serve with sweet chilli sauce or soy sacue / tamari - incredible!
Cupboard-To-Table 20 mins

Suggested Pepper Recipes

Andrew William’s Spicy Vegetable Lasagna with Peppers

Here is fellow food blogger Andrew Williams' recipe for Spicy Vegetable Lasagna with Peppers.

Andrew says:

"I think it’s safe to say that there’s more of an emphasis on Mexican that there is on Italian in this dish.

Ideally you should use habanero chilies to make this dish. The fruitiness of habanero chilies works really well in this dish. If you can’t get them then don’t worry as any chilies will do."

Baked Autumn Omelette

This baked omelette can be customised using so many different veggies, herbs and spices, and makes a fab lunch on its own, and a hearty dinner served as a side.

Balsamic Salad of Roasted Leek and Peppers

Here is a gorgeous recipe from the Leek Growers Association.

This is a warm salad of chunky rounds of leek and pepper, oven roasted with thyme and oregano in a white balsamic vinegar and olive oil dressing and finished off with a liberal sprinkling of pine nuts, leaves of rocket and parmesan shavings.

Serve as a light lunch accompanied by some foccacia bread or as a first course.

Serves 4 Prep 15 minutes Cook 30 mins

Broad Bean Couscous

This couscous is delicious and packed with protein and superfoods. A great way to boost your immune system!

Cod with Chicory and Baby Beetroot

This recipe was provided for us by the VegBox Recipes Number 1 Chicory Fan, Denise Tolson. We don't often feature fish recipes, but this one sounds so delicious, and is so easy, that we couldn't overlook it. Thanks Denise!

Dauphinoise Potatoes by Matt Tebbutt

Matt Tebbutt says "either serve immediately or chill and use to make "Savoyarde" potatoes ... a delicious and quite naughty treat. Don't worry about all the cream and butter, and don't try and reduce the quantities - that would spoil it. Just don't eat it every day!"

Garlic Spinach

This is a delicious recipe for garlic spinach. It's a great way of using up a glut of spinach and works well with baby spinach leaves or even winter spinach.

Halloween Mummy Heads

These look brilliant when they come out from under the grill.

Jam-Packed Summer Vegetable Risotto

This ruby-red risotto not only looks stunning but tastes amazing AND it can be adapted to use whatever's in your box this week.

Lentil Soup

Lentil soup is an old favourite of mine. It's thick and warming and there are so many ways to vary the ingredients, you never need to get bored of it.

Lorna's Celeriac and Mustard Sauce

This recipe was kindly provided for us by Crown Hill Vegbox customer Lorna. Lorna tells us that this really simple side-dish has quite a bite and is a great way to use celeriac without resorting to soup all the time.

Okra and Tomato

This recipe was sent in to us by Sue C in Fiji. Sue says:

"This is a favourite recipe which goes well with curries, Chinese dishes, and at room temperature it's great with cold cuts. Cooked this way the okra does not go slimy!"

Pickled Beetroot

Personally, I like shop-bought pickled beetroot. But this recipe for home pickling is much tastier and it's fun to experiment with the ingredients.

Purple Cauliflower and Romanesco with Blue Cheese Sauce

This was initially an experiment, but as a recipe for purple cauliflower and / or Romanesco, it's delicious. It takes 20 minutes start to finish and looks impressive, too.

Raspberry Vinaigrette

Once made, this vinaigrette should keep nicely for up to one week if it’s in the fridge. What you do with it then is entirely up to you – you could try it with a goats cheese and seasonal leaf salad, perhaps, or drizzle it over seared tuna or your favourite roasted veg of the month.

Salad Soup from Fiji

This recipe was sent in to us by Sue C in Fiji. Sue says:

"'Salad Soup' might sound silly - but think 'Gazpacho'! I dreamed this up when I was put on a mostly soup diet for a while and really wanted to make the most of salad ingredients as well as mixed veggie soup.

Amounts are not given - that depends on which flavour you want to dominate - or none at all. I use plenty of onion, garlic and coriander; and prefer it quite thick. 2 tins of tomatoes make a good start, with water added to about half the depth of the veggies - they cook down, of course. A big batch freezes well in single serving containers."

Salsify Gratin

This recipe is the first we've added for the unusual root vegetable "salsify" and has been generously provided to us from the lovely book "Veg: The Cookbook" by Greg Wallace.

Simple Salsify Fritters

This simple recipe, generously provided for us by Abel & Cole, makes a brilliant lunch or a special side for a bigger meal.

Spiced Runner Beans

Finely sliced runner beans are such a tender and delicious vegetable and these Indian-style spices really bring out the flavour. Quick to make and excellent with rice or to accompany other Indian dishes.

Spicy Beanburgers with Courgette

This has turned out to be by far our favourite new recipe of the Summer season. It was so exciting to make our own burgers for the first time, and SO easy. These little fellas could be created with so many different ingredients added into the basic mix, depending on the season, although we’re struggling to think how they could get any tastier than in this version.

Thanks to our friend David_d from the Ooffoo community for suggesting we give them a go.

Spicy Beanburgers with Courgette

This has turned out to be by far our favourite new recipe of the Summer season. It was so exciting to make our own burgers for the first time, and SO easy. These little fellas could be created with so many different ingredients added into the basic mix, depending on the season, although we’re struggling to think how they could get any tastier than in this version.

Thanks to our friend David_d from the Ooffoo community for suggesting we give them a go.

Vegetable Tagine

This recipe has been kindly donated by The British Potato Council. It's so simple yet good enough to serve at a dinner party. Depending on the time of year you make it, you may have to do without the red pepper.

Vegetable Tempura

Although it's deep-fried, as long as the oil is hot enough and you drain the tempura after cooking, it's not that bad...! Quick, delicious and a nice change from sticking your veg in a curry!

Vegetarian Burritos with Fresh Cucumber and Tomato Salsa

These are perfect for a more substantial lunch, sliced into bite sized pieces for party nibbles, served cold the next day in your lunch box, or at your next Mexican night with friends.

Watercress, Spinach & Goats' Cheese Salad

I invented this recipe one lunchtime when we were all craving salad - in the depths of winter. Our local farm shop had some fresh watercress and mixed winter leaves and the rest is, as they say, history.

The warm goats' cheese makes this salad a filling winter or springtime treat.

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