sweet peppers from napoli papaccelle
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Papaccelle are a Slow Food-protected member of the pepper family typical of the Cilento area of Campania. For his Papaccelle, producer Franco Vastola has recreated his wife’s special recipe: he steams the peppers with a drop of high quality white wine vinegar, and jars them along with a few olives, garlic, anchovies, a pinch of sugar, and farmer-made velvety real extra virgin olive oil. The result is the perfect balance of the sweetness of the peppers, the acidity of the vinegar, and the richness of the oil. 
What's perhaps most striking about Papaccelle peppers is the way Franco has managed to preserve the tenderness of the peppers, retaining a pleasant, almost ‘al dente’ chewiness that allows the peppers to stand on their own as a flavorful side dish. Franco likes to pair his peppers with the traditional dishes of his region’s cuisine, including pork roast and baccalà, but they will shine alongside any cut of meat or fish. Or, enjoy them on their own as an antipasto, perhaps with a thick slice of country sourdough to savor every drop of the delicious olive oil.
Franco first fell in love with Papaccelle for their distinctively intense aroma; sweeter and more fragrant than ordinary bell peppers, they are also more digestible. The small, ribbed, slightly flattened-looking peppers are harvested by hand from the beginning of September to the end of October. Because of their intense colors – bright yellow shading to green, or deep red shading to orange - they could be confused for hot peppers, were it not for their strikingly sweet flesh. Along with the Slow Food Presidium, Franco has worked to recover the original seeds of this rare pepper, and follow strict environmental standards in their production. Thanks to their efforts, Papaccelle have returned to the markets of Naples, as have the traditional pickled peppers, the key ingredient in the Neapolitan Christmas dish known as “insalata di rinforzo.”

Sweet Peppers Papaccelle: Critics' Choice

“Literally I can’t live without these. The best sweet peppers I’ve had in my life."
Danielle Glantz, Pastaio Via Corta
"These pair incredibly well with a variety of meats and fish, on some good bread, or just on their own on an antipasti platter."
Pasta Sorrentino
"These peppers only grow in Campania, the sweet flavor comes from that volcanic soil. When I first tasted them, I knew right away.....this was it. Pair with antipasti or the traditional sausage and peppers!"
Danielle Glantz, Pastaio Via Corta
"Francesco Vastola is an artist, his art is preserving and promoting the good things our earth has to offer, to tell the story of a territory."
Cook_Inc
"The flavor of the pepper, balanced with acidity, a hint of anchovy, and that delicious extra virgin olive oil are something for sandwiches, sausages, eggs, + pasta dishes!” 
Danielle Glantz, Pastaio Via Corta
"Every Cilentano I met expressed that fertility in a new and beautiful way, whether it was former architecture student Francesco Vastola at the Maida company, who grows his own tomatoes, peppers, field greens, and artichokes and then presents them sott’olio (under olive oil) in fantastically artful jars."
Paul Greenberg
"The flavors of Cilento preserved in glass jars with extra virgin olive oil, without added preservatives or additives. This is Maida, the organic farm of Francesco and Fabrizio Vastola, father and son."
Corriere della Sera
"Every vegetable is placed in the jars by hand, one by one. They look like a work of art."
Cibo Today
"Without the addition of chemical preservatives or additives, in the utmost respect of ancient recipes."
Cook_Inc
"Here, in Parco Nazionale del Cilento, the Vastola family upholds age-old preserving traditions, using local produce, tried-and-tested processing methods, and carefully selected raw ingredients."
Gambero Rosso
"Francesco Vastola’s love for his land is tangible. You can feel it when he shows you his fields in Paestum, Salerno, right next to the Magna Graecia ruins."
Cibo Today
"Here, ancient and forgotten products are revived—delicacies that this small company exports worldwide and that are often found among the ingredients of Michelin-starred chefs' dishes."
Corriere della Sera
"Its vegetables in oil, spreads, sauces and natural jams are all free of preservatives and additives."
Gambero Rosso
"Maida farm is located in Paestum, in Cilento, and is specialized in preserving local produce. Sott’oli, preserves, tomato sauces crafted artisanally using products that are a symbol of biodiversity."
Cibo Today
"Cilento, where the Mediterranean Diet was born. Cilento is a precious land where no family is without a small piece of land to cultivate. "
La cucina Italiana
"In front of the greek temples of Paestum takes place the rediscovery of local produce through the production of excellent preserves, jams, and sott’oli."
Cibo Today
"Franco from Maida, he and his family are behind the best sott’olio in all of Italy. Why? Because it’s produce they grow, processed by hand, cooked by his wife and then jarred."
Danielle Glantz, Pastaio Via Corta
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