RECIPE: Peperonata with Bacon

Want a go-to skillet recipe for your fresh garden veggies?  This recipe was given to me by my favorite farmers' market manager, Karyna. She puts it on everything from eggs to toast to potatoes to greens.  I cooked it up using our bacon ends (on sale now!) but you could try it with chicken tenders or lamb shoulder steaks per your taste. I hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1 pkg Ramstead Ranch bacon
• 4 lbs mixed peppers, sweet and a few hot
• olive oil (well, I used lard because I render our pork fat and use it for just about all of my cooking)
• 1 head of garlic
• 1 sweet onion, chopped
• 2 lb tomatoes, cut in wedges
• 1 T of your favorite vinegar (balsamic is an excellent choice)
• 6 sprigs of your favorite herb (thyme, oregano)
• Salt/pepper

Directions:

• Seed all of the peppers, rough chop.
• Heat oil/lard in a large, lidded pot.
• Toast the garlic, do not burn.
• Add peppers, onion, salt, pepper and bacon. Note: if you are using a different cut of meat, we recommend browning it in a separate pan before adding it to this mixture.
• Cover and cook about 5 min.
• Add the rest of the ingredients, slowly simmer for 45 min.

Serve over roasted potatoes, wrapped in a tortilla, topped with scrambled eggs, you name it! Enjoy those fresh veggies, and thank you for choosing to support small, local farmers when you purchase your food. We couldn't do this without you!