Peppers piedmontese

Serves 4

(LISA BARBER)

This is one of my very favourite summer dishes – I love to spoon young goat's curd over the cooked peppers.

8 ripe tomatoes
4 red peppers, sliced in half lengthwise, seeds scooped out
1 generous bunch of basil, leaves only
8 good-quality tinned anchovies, roughly chopped
4 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced into fine slivers
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
A little sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5. Place a pot of water on to boil. Make a small incision at the base of the tomatoes in the shape of a cross, then plunge into the boiling water and remove with a slotted spoon almost immediately.

Allow the tomatoes to cool slightly then peel off the skin; it will come away very easily. Slice in half and scoop out the seeds.

Lay the peppers skin-side down on a roasting tray, roughly chop the tomatoes and distribute evenly in the cavities of the halved peppers, then simply nestle in all the other ingredients, drizzle over the oil, and add seasoning to taste.

Place on the middle shelf of the oven and roast for 15 minutes before lowering the heat to 170C/325F/Gas 3 and cooking for a further 40 minutes. Remove and allow to cool to room temperature before serving.