peperone

Peppers of any kind, bell or corni (horn-shaped). Italians especially like them roasted and put up sott' olio or sott' aceto as an antipasti. Peperoni ripieni, or imbottiti, or al forno will be stuffed; gratinati are stuffed too, then rolled in breadcrumbs and baked.

Hot peppers or chilies are peperoncini.

Four peppers are in the Slow Food Presidium:

peperone corno di bue di Carmagnola: long yellow and red sweet peppers from Carmagnola in Piedmont; popular grilled, fried in olive oil or with a bagna cauda.

peperone di Capriglio: another Piedmontese pepper, small round and red or yellow, produced in the hills of Capriglio d’Asti.

peperone di Senise: from Basilicata, these fairly mild peppers are reminiscent of the Basque piments d'Espelette. Long and red, they are strung up in the sun to dry, then fried in olive oil, until they puff up into crispy flakes (peperoni cruschi, or pipi arruschkati) and eaten as a snack or added to pasta or other dishes. Also popular in Calabria.

peperone quadrato della Motta: fragrant red or yellow squarish pepper grown in Motto, near Costigliole d'Asti. Also good in a bagna cauda.

Americans accustomed to ordering a pepperoni pizza may get a pile of peppers instead of their beloved spicy little salame—this was invented by Italian-Americans in the early 20th century, and still hasn't made it back over the Atlantic. Perhaps the nearest equivalent is salsiccia Napoletana piccante.