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Piedmontese peppers

From The Good Cook, Simon Hopkinson

8-12 ripe plum tomatoes
4 red peppers, stalks left on (for decoration), cut lengthways in half, seeds removed
4 garlic cloves, sliced
5-6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 large canned anchovies, cut in half lengthways
small handful fresh basil

Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5.

Pour boiling water over the plum tomatoes, leave for 10 seconds; remove from the water, refresh in a bowl of cold water & peel off the skins.

Place the halved peppers into an ovenproof dish (preferably one that will be nice enough to present later), cut-side up.

Place the garlic inside the peppers and then fit the tomatoes inside too, pushing them gently into the space. Add a small pinch of salt and a grinding of freshly ground black pepper. Spoon over the olive oil and then place into the oven. Bake for about 45 minutes to one hour, turning the heat down a little if you notice any excessive scorching of the peppers.

Once they are nicely softened and have slightly collapsed, remove the peppers from the oven. Criss-cross each pepper half with an anchovy, baste with the oily juices and allow to cool to room temperature.

Top with basil leaves and serve.