Peperonata with Chicken

I like to think that I’m pretty calm and laid back most of the time. Sure, there are times I lose it and get cross, but generally I’m pretty calm and light hearted.

I don’t have much patience when it comes to other people’s driving though. I don’t understand why some people find it so difficult to park, or check their mirrors or just drive in general.

Driving is very simple, you need to be aware of what’s going on around you and remember that the car will only do what you tell it to do. It’s not a person and it doesn’t have its own mind. This is one of the best pieces of advice my Dad gave me before I passed my test.

So it makes me very cross when you pull out in front of me in a non-existent gap and then amble along at 20mph on a 60 road. What’s the point? Why couldn’t you just wait until there was a sufficient gap and then pull out safely?!

This happened to me yesterday. I had been at Uni all day, had a very long afternoon stuck in front of a computer screen doing CAD from some student from last years drawings, which are awful. She has missing walls, doors, there are random columns and the ring beam doesn’t line up with the columns. I’ve probably lost you now, but anyway CAD is annoying at the best of times because it frequently doesn’t do as I tell it and matters are made much worse when we are given drawings by someone incompetent.

Anyway, I just wanted to get home. It was 16:45 and traffic was already bad, so I really didn’t need this arse thinking he could fit into the gap of a smart car when he had a much bigger car. I also had to emergency brake, which hurt my knee so I shouted some very rude things at him.

In light of this I’d like to offer a polite reminder to other drivers: Look what you’re doing, don’t pull out when there isn’t space, learn to park, stop cutting people up, switching lanes and any other irritating bad habits. The roads would be a much nicer place if it wasn’t full of a*****es. Rant over.

I finally got home and decided I needed comfort food, so I made this peperonata. Until recently I had gone off peppers, but now I think they’re yummy again. This turned out great, it was delicious. It’s really simple and once you’ve added all the ingredients you can just leave it bubbling away happily for about 30 minutes 🙂

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Serves 2

Ingredients:

> 1tbsp olive oil
> 1 onion, sliced thinly
> 1 garlic clove, sliced thinly
> 3 peppers, de-seeded and cut into thin strips
> 1 chicken breast, cut into 1/2 inch cubes.
> 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
> 1/2 tsp sugar
> Salt and pepper to taste
> Chopped fresh basil (optional)

Method:

> Place the oil in a large saucepan or wok on a medium heat.
> Once the oil is hot, place the garlic into your wok/saucepan and fry for about 30 seconds.

> Add in the onions.
> Fry off for about a minute. Add in your peppers.
> Cook down for 12 minutes until all the vegetables are soft and browned.

> Add in your chicken.
> Brown the chicken for a few minutes.

> Add in the tin of chopped tomatoes and coat everything. Add in the sugar and season to taste.

> Bring to the boil and then turn down to simmer for 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally. After 25-30 minutes the tinned tomatoes should have reduced and the chicken and peppers will be incredibly soft. Chop some basil and sprinkle on top if you like.
> Serve immediately with some grated parmesan.