Discovering the Magic of Bell Pepper: Sautéed Bottle Gourd with Sardines
Lately, I've been trying extra hard to cook healthier meals for my family.
It's necessary, especially now that I'm more aware of what we eat and how it affects our bodies.
At the same time, I have to be realistic.
Healthy food should not break the budget, especially for families like ours who are learning to live within our means.
On one of my market trips, I saw bottle gourd (upo) being sold for just 20 pesos/$0.339.
For its partner, I bought sardines at the grocery, also worth 20 pesos/$0.339.
In total, it's just 40 pesos/$0.678.
Ingredients
• Bottle gourd (upo) - about 2 cups / 1 medium-sized
• Sardines in tomato sauce - 1 small can (155 g)
• Tomato - 1 small
• Red onion - 1 small
• Garlic - 3 cloves
• Red bell pepper - 1/2 small
• Cooking oil - 1 tbsp
• Salt
• Ground black pepper - a pinch
• Water - 1/2 cup
Step-by-step process
• After preparing all the ingredients, in a pan, heat 1 tablespoon of cooking oil. Add the minced garlic, chopped onion, chopped tomato, and the sliced red bell pepper. Sauté it until fragrant, or until it becomes soft.
• After that, add the sardines together with their tomato sauce. Be careful not to break the fish too much. Let it simmer for a minute so the flavors blend.
• Add about 1/2 cup of water, just enough to loosen the sauce and allow the vegetables to cook properly.
• Then, add the sliced bottle gourd, salt, and a pinch of ground black pepper.
• Next, gently mix it, and cover the pan for 5-7 minutes, or until the upo is tender but slightly crisp.
And that's it...
Presenting Sauteed Bottle Gourd With Sardines!!
Taste Test
The moment I tasted the dish, I honestly didn't expect that the bell pepper would make it special.
That small addition changed everything.
It gives the dish a richer taste, almost like I was eating something with meat in it.
Who would have thought this was only a 40-peso meal?
It didn't taste cheap at all. 😍
This was the first time I truly appreciated bell pepper in a dish.
It became an ingredient that elevated the entire meal.
That's why I love experimenting in the kitchen, it leads me to a rewarding discoveries.
Until my next cooking experience...
Thanks for the visit! Have a lovely day. Buh-bye. 💗🌸
All images used in this post are my own unless stated otherwise.