Piedemontese peppers

First made popular by Elizabeth David in the Fifties, this really is, as Simon Hopkinson writes in his new book The Good Cook, 'the most delicious event ever to happen to a pepper'. 

For me, the anchovies are essential, but if you're vegetarian, or just can't stand them, then crumble over a bit of feta cheese. It won't taste the same, but it will give a similarly intense, salty contrast the fruity tomatoes and sweet, roasted peppers. The size of your tomatoes is less important here than their ripeness, and the peppers should be roasted until they crumble and begin to blacken at the edges. Be generous with the olive oil.

Serves four as a starter or two as a light lunch.

two large red peppers

one large clove of garlic

tomatoes – enough to fill each pepper

good extra virgin olive oil – about five tablespoons

four anchovies

a few leaves of basil

Set your oven to 190C. Cut each pepper in half, taking care to cut through the stalks. Cut out the seeds and membranes from inside. Meanwhile put the tomatoes in a bowl and pour over boiling water. Move them around for a minute or so until the skins crack and then drain and rinse under a cold tap. Peal the tomatoes. 

Arrange the peppers in an oven-proof dish. Slice the garlic thinly. Pour a little olive oil into each pepper half and scatter in the garlic. Add a little salt and pepper. Now arrange the tomatoes in each pepper half, cutting some in half to fill any awkward gaps and drizzle a tablespoon of olive oil over each one.

Put the dish in the oven and bake for 15 minutes, then turn the heat down to 180C and bake for another half an hour or so until the peppers are collapsing. About half way through cooking remove the dish and, with the back of a spoon, squash the tomatoes gently so that they fill the inside of the peppers and their juices mix with the olive oil.

Remove the dish from the oven and criss cross each pepper with two anchovy fillets, then poke a basil leaf into each gap and leave for a few minutes. 

You'll need some good crusty bread to mop up the oily, tomatoey juices.