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I hate green peppers.
There, I said it. I have been a vegetable farmer for nine years and I love pretty much every single vegetable I have ever encountered (or at the very least have a recipe/way to enjoy them that makes it a fun part of my summer rather than a burden), but I do not love green peppers— don’t even like them.
They are a necessary evil. That I know.
To have yellow, red, or orange sweet peppers, you will inevitably have some green ones. They are the same plant after all. A pepper plant grows green peppers first that then continue to ripen until they’re (ideally) fully ripe, fully colored, sweet gems. And because it’s best to cull the plant by removing a few green peppers as the rest continue to ripen, you are going to get some green peppers on the way to eating yummy sweetened yellow, red, and orange ones.
This is why green peppers find their way into CSA boxes so often this time of year. They a) need to be culled to allow more room for the others to ripen and b) are what’s available as the farmers await the late summer fruits everyone actually wants.
Our first couple seasons of farming, we were grateful for the bounty green peppers provided in lean harvest weeks so we loaded our members up. This was before I understood just how undesirable a green pepper was.
The last couple of seasons at our farm (after my CSA members had let us onto the fact that they would prefer not to receive four green peppers for 4+ weeks straight), we had two chefs who loved green peppers and would order them by the case, thus allowing us to not give so many to our members.
Between these two factors, I would say I successfully avoided green peppers for 95% of my CSA farming career.
Now I’m a CSA member, during a fairly slow peak harvest season— yeah, this picture perfect August weather with temperatures in the 70s and crisp, cool, fall-like nights is actually pretty suboptimal for our veggie farming friends who need it hot, hot, hot for all those tomatoes, peppers, and melons. Combined with all the other reasons farmers usually give green peppers in their CSA boxes, this means I’ve been getting a fair amount this summer.
And the thing is, because I was a CSA farmer for nine years before being a CSA member, I know that it is my job as a member to embrace what my farmer is dealing with this growing season. Key word: embrace, aka learn to like, or maybe even love.
So now I find myself with a produce drawer full of green peppers and a shift in my disposition, determined to enjoy whatever is coming out of someone else’s fields (because I know it means I get to eat great, healthy, local food without having to tend to it myself).
The answer to this puzzle is so very simple: an idea presented to me by my sandwich-loving husband.
“Why don’t you just sauté them up for an Italian Beef?” he asked.
AH YES! A green pepper sautéed with an ample amount of oil/butter and onion is transformed into something else entirely. A perfect, the perfect, accoutrement. Why did I think the green pepper had to have a starring role?!
That is how we arrived at this sandwich: this beautiful riff on an Italian Beef that is vegetarian thanks to thick, meaty slices of portabella mushrooms, and is utterly delicious thanks to deeply cooked onions and zucchini, melty cheese, a nice spread of mayonnaise, and yes, those beautiful green peppers I’ve been avoiding for the past decade.
I’ve even decided to cut some green peppers into strips to freeze (a task I thought would only ever be reserved for green peppers' more colorful counterpart) so I can enjoy this sandwich in the cooler months. It’s that good.
I hope you love it and also find that it’s a great recipe to repeat each week of green pepper season. In our household, we’ve had it three times and still get excited about the leftovers.
-Lauren
P.S. If you love green peppers and I’ve insulted you, first of all I am so sorry, and second of all, please, oh please share your secrets with me.
VEGETARIAN PORTABELLA MELT
Serves 4
Takes 40 minutes
5 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound portabella mushroom caps, cut into thick slices
1-1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
20 twists freshly ground black pepper, divided
2 green peppers, seeded and cut into thin strips
1 large or 2 small yellow onions, thinly sliced
1 medium to large zucchini, cut in half lengthwise and slice
4 hoagie rolls, toasted
4 tablespoons mayo, optional
1/4 pound sliced cheese (provolone or havarti work best)
Heat a large saute pan over medium heat. Add 1/4 cup olive oil, mushrooms, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and 10 twists freshly ground black pepper. Cover and cook for 10 minutes, stirring every couple of minutes for even browning. The mushrooms should be starting to soften.
Add peppers, onions, zucchini, and remaining 1 tablespoons olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 10 twists freshly ground black pepper. Cover and cook 5 minutes more over medium heat. Remove lid and continue sauteing until veggies are well-softened, about 10 minutes longer.
Turn off the heat, divide the mixture into quarters in the pan, add cheese to each quarter, and cover for 1 minute (until cheese is melty).
Prepare your hoagie rolls by spreading a tablespoon of mayo on each roll (if using). Using a spatula, transfer a quarter of the melty veggie mixture to each prepared roll. Enjoy warm.