Bell peppers are the sweet, non-pungent members of the Capsicum annuum family, prized for their crisp texture, juiciness, and vibrant colors. Green, red, yellow, and orange peppers are the same fruit at different stages of ripeness, with sweetness increasing as they mature. In the kitchen, bell peppers are valued for their versatility—equally at home raw in salads, roasted for depth and sweetness, or sautéed as a foundational aromatic in countless cuisines.
Cooking with Peppers
Pepper Varieties
Peppers are remarkably versatile and can be enjoyed raw in salads and on sandwiches, or cooked in countless ways. They’re commonly stuffed, roasted, grilled, or sautéed, and play an essential role in breakfast dishes, stews, soups, and sauces across many cuisines.
I enjoy preparing sofritos in the summer with our garden peppers. Junnie loves to pickle hot peppers and give these as gifts to our friends.
Whether used for sweetness, aroma, or heat, peppers adapt easily to both simple preparations and more complex dishes, making them a foundational ingredient in kitchens worldwide.
Beyond bell peppers, the world of peppers spans a remarkable range of heat, flavor, and regional identity. Mild varieties like Anaheim and poblano offer earthy depth, while jalapeño and serrano bring fresh, bright heat. Hotter peppers such as habanero and Scotch bonnet contribute fruitiness alongside intense spice, and dried chilies—like ancho or guajillo—add complexity and smokiness. Each variety brings its own balance of heat, aroma, and character, allowing cooks to fine-tune both flavor and intensity.
Paring & Cutting Bell Peppers
Prep Time: 5 min
Cooking Time: 0 min
Yield: 1 portion
Ingredients
1 ea Bell Pepper
New Title
How to Prepare Sliced & Diced Peppers
Wash the peppers in cool water; there are several ways to pare a pepper...
Many cooks simply slice the top (area where the stem is) off about an inch from the top-and discard this whole piece. This seems very wasteful to me!
A better method is to place the pepper on it's side, on a clean cutting board. Split the pepper in half and then quarters the long way with a small chef's knife. Then simply pare out the seeds and veins from the pepper. These are eaten in some countries-so consider using these in salads, soups etc...
I like to use a paring knife and cut down from the top area where the stem is to the bottom (on four sides and then simply peel the pepper quarters down from the vine stem. This could be dangerous for beginners until you get very comfortable using a paring knife.
There are a variety of delicious meals with peppers. I like to stuff pepper halves or quarters with ground meat and bake, dice or slice the peppers and use in salads or soups-Sausage & Peppers is a classic!
Roasted pepper halves is also fantastic... Simply drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper and bake or roast.
Chef Tom's Cooking Class Minute: Week 3 Cooking Pork Spare Ribs
Years ago I traveled around the south for a few weeks researching some of the amazing foods of each region. In Charleston, I was introduced to a local pig farmer, Tank Jackson who manages Holy City Hogs. Tank and his wife raise heritage breed pigs and distribute the pigs around the country. He offers on-site cooking whole pig roasts, primal cuts and sausages, and I believe he produces the best pork in the country.
Years ago, while working as a chef in a busy continental restaurant, we featured grilled, fresh swordfish on the menu—finished with a generous spoonful of herbed compound butter and capers. It was popular and delicious. One afternoon, a seafood purveyor stopped by with a sample of frozen swordfish steaks, fully thawed and ready for evaluation. Curious, we grilled it side by side with the “fresh” swordfish we had been serving—fish we believed to be of high quality. The result was surprising. The frozen swordfish was superior—firmer, cleaner in flavor, and more consistent in texture. In contrast, our “fresh” fish, likely several days out of the water, lacked the same integrity. It was a defining moment and an important reminder: in many cases, properly handled and quickly frozen seafood can offer better quality than fish labeled as fresh. For chefs, understanding sourcing and handling is just as critical as technique—especially with a product as prized as swordfish.
Chef Tom's Cooking Class Minute: Week 2 Cooking Rice: creating socarrat—
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The name "caponata" itself has a fascinating origin story. One popular theory suggests it derives from capone, the Sicilian word for mahi-mahi. Historically, wealthy Sicilian aristocrats enjoyed a sweet-and-sour fish dish. Because seafood was too expensive for the working class, local home cooks substituted fish with affordable, meaty eggplant. Over time, this creative peasant food evolved into the beloved antipasto we celebrate today, often rounded out with celery, olives, and capers.
From Talk to Action: A Chef’s Challenge for School Lunches
The legendary New York-style cheesecake was famously popularized by Lindy’s Restaurant , an iconic Theater District deli opened in 1921 by German-immigrant Leo "Lindy" Lindemann and his wife Clara . A NY-style cheesecake has a dense but velvety cream cheese base, citrus zest, and a distinct cookie-dough pastry crus t. For years, I took the bus into NYC to work in amazing restaurant kitchens. On one bus ride I met and became friends with a manager at the legendary Lindy’s Restaurant. One day, he did the ultimate honor: he shared the closely guarded, original cheesecake recipe with me. This new recipe is directly inspired by that legendary Lindy’s classic, capturing its iconic velvety richness and signature flavor profile, but re-engineered for a modern, protein-packed lifestyle. Why This Recipe Delivers High-protein swap : Cottage cheese provides a clean, protein-packed base that replaces heavy fats without sacrificing richness. Silky texture : Blending the batter thoroughly ensures a velvety smooth consistency that rivals any NY-style cake. Savory-approved : Simple, foolproof assembly that requires no pastry-chef precision to get a perfect bake every time.
One of the great pleasures of my career is spending time each year working as a Culinary Educator aboard a cruise ship alongside my wife. She teaches baking & pastry while I focus on savory cooking and culinary techniques. Our travels take us to fascinating ports around the world, providing opportunities to explore local markets and study regional cuisines. I have a particular affection for the Mediterranean and always make it a point to seek out local variations of pesto, one of the world's great culinary treasures. One evening aboard ship, the pasta station served rigatoni with a choice of pesto, marinara, or Alfredo sauce. The cook prepared each order by reheating the pasta in hot water and then finishing it briefly in a sauté pan with the selected sauce. I watched in disbelief as he prepared to heat the pesto exactly the same way. "Horror!" flashed through my mind. Pesto is not a cooked sauce. Heating it aggressively dulls the fresh basil aroma, darkens its vibrant color, and diminishes the delicate flavors of basil, garlic, pine nuts, and extra virgin olive oil that make pesto so special. I may have startled the cook when I quickly called out, "Please don't cook my pesto!" Instead, I asked him to simply toss the hot rigatoni with the pesto off the heat, allowing the warmth of the pasta to gently release the fragrance and flavor of the basil. The result was exactly as pesto was intended to be enjoyed—fresh, vibrant, aromatic, and unmistakably Mediterranean.
As chefs, we spend years mastering sauté work. I remember my early days working the sauté station for lunch in a French restaurant in NYC. We served over one hundred guests in an hour-and the food was excellent — a dozen hot pans on the flat top, stocks simmering, mise en place of freshly chopped herbs, minced shallots, butter for mounting into sauces à la minute. There is rhythm to good sauté cooking. You learn quickly that great sauté work is not about rushing — it is about organization and control .