Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a heavy-bottomed frying pan and sauté the cleaned and thinly sliced onion with the chopped chilli pepper. Wash and clean the bell peppers, remove their internal membranes and seeds, and cut them into pieces. Add them to the pan where the onion is, along with a good pinch of salt, ½ a tablespoon of sugar and ½ a glass of water; stir and cook for a few minutes. In the meanwhile, cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces and coat them with cornflour. Remove the pieces of pepper from the pan (setting them aside in a bowl), pour in 3 tablespoons of olive oil and add the pieces of chicken. Brown for a few minutes, season with salt and add 3 tablespoons of Balsamico Bianco. Put the pieces of pepper back in the pan, add the Piccantissima, a tablespoon of sugar and a glass of water, stir and cook for 15 minutes. After this time adjust the sweet-and-sour flavour, according to taste, using the remaining Balsamico Bianco and sugar. Arrange everything on a serving dish, sprinkle with the toasted sesame seeds and .... serve immediately!

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The recipe for “Piccantissima“

Ingredients for approx. 500 g:

1 kg fresh, ripe tomatoes

8 tbsp extra virgin olive oil with hot chilli pepper

1 red bell pepper (approx. 160 g)

1 green or yellow bell pepper (approx. 160 g)

80 g yellow onion, peeled (approx. half an onion)

50 g approx. fresh Cayenne peppers, coarsely chopped (or approx. 10 g dried)

2 tsp salt (10 g)

1 tsp wine vinegar (or Balsamico Bianco)

1 sprig of parsley

1 pinch of sugar (optional)

Wash the vegetables and parsley under running water and then pat them dry. Clean the bell peppers, removing the stalks, the seeds and white membranes inside, then cut them into very small pieces. Finely chop the onion and sauté it in a heavy-bottomed frying pan with the pieces of bell pepper, the chopped chillies and the chilli oil. Cut the tomatoes into small pieces and chop the parsley. When the onion is golden-brown and the bell peppers begin to soften, add all the remaining ingredients to the pan. If the tomatoes aren’t very ripe, “sweeten” them with a pinch of sugar (or use Balsamico Bianco, which is sweeter than wine vinegar). Mix thoroughly and let the “Piccantissima” cook over a low heat – stirring frequently – until everything is well cooked (roughly 20 to 25 minutes). If you prefer a creamier sauce, blend it slightly. Taste and, if necessary, season with salt and chilli pepper.