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3. Mash the garlic cloves with a heavy knife handle, crushing them just enough to split them and to loosen the peel, which you will remove and discard.

4. Choose a serving dish that can accommodate the peppers 4 layers deep. Line the bottom with one layer. Over it place 4 or 5 anchovy fillets. Add a pinch of salt, a liberal grinding of black pepper, a light sprinkling of oregano, a few capers, and 1 garlic clove. Repeat the procedure until you have used all the ingredients. Over them pour the olive oil, adding more if necessary to cover the top layer of peppers.

5. Let the peppers marinate for at least 2 hours before serving. If you are serving them the same day, do not refrigerate them. If serving them a day or more than that, cover tightly with plastic film, and keep in the refrigerator until an hour or two before serving, allowing the dish to return to room temperature before bringing it to the table. If keeping it over a day, after 24 hours remove and discard the garlic cloves.

Note Red and yellow peppers alone, roasted and skinned as described above, lightly salted, laid flat in a deep dish, and covered with extra virgin olive oil make a sensationally delicious appetizer. It would look most appealing on a buffet table, or take an important place in an assortment of dishes for a light lunch.

Roasted Eggplant with Peppers and Cucumber

WHAT MAKES THIS one of the freshest and most interesting ways to serve eggplant is the play of textures and flavors—the luscious softness of the roasted eggplant flesh against the crisp raw pepper, and the pungent eggplant flavor subsiding next to the cool, refreshing notes of the cucumber. It can be served as a salad appetizer, or as a spread on a thick slice of toast, or as a vegetable dish to accompany grilled meat.

For 6 servings

1½ pounds eggplant

½ teaspoon garlic chopped very fine

½ cup sweet red bell pepper, diced into ⅓-inch cubes

¼ cup yellow bell pepper, diced like the red pepper

½ cup cucumber, diced like the bell pepper

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill

Salt

1. Wash the eggplant and roast it over a charcoal grill or a gas burner or in the broiler of an oven. (See Roasting the peppers.) When the skin on the side next to the flame is blackened and the eggplant has become soft, turn it with a pair of tongs. When all the skin is charred and the entire eggplant is soft and looks as though it had deflated in the heat, remove from the fire and set aside to cool off.

2. When you can handle the eggplant comfortably, pick off as much of the skin as you can. If a few very small bits remain attached to the flesh it doesn’t matter.

3. Cut the flesh into strips less than 1 inch wide. If there are many blackish seeds, remove them. Put the strips in a colander or a large strainer set over a deep dish to allow all excess liquid to drain away for at least 30 minutes.

4. When you see no more liquid being shed, transfer the chopped eggplant to a mixing bowl and toss with all the remaining ingredients, except for the salt. Add salt just when ready to serve.

Marinated Carrot Sticks

For 4 servings

¼ pound carrots

1 garlic clove

¼ teaspoon dried oregano

Salt

Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

Extra virgin olive oil

1. Peel the carrots, cut them into 2-inch lengths, and cook them in boiling salted water for about 10 minutes. The exact cooking time will vary depending on the thickness, youth, and freshness of the carrots. For this recipe, they must be cooked until tender, but firm because the marinade will soften them further. To cook them uniformly, put the thickest pieces into the water a few moments before the thin, tapered ones.

2. Drain and cut the carrots lengthwise into sticks about ¼ inch thick. Place in a small, but deep serving dish.

3. Mash the garlic clove with a heavy knife handle, crushing it