Peter Piper may have picked a peck of pickled peppers, but Pete Aiello prefers his in their glorious prepickled state.The owner and general manager of Gilroy, Calif.’s Uesugi Farms likes his glossy green and red peppers stuffed, sliced into salads or basted with olive oil and tossed on a grill. And he should know.We may think of California as the land of artichokes, avocados and strawberries, but the state also leads the nation in bell pepper production, with nearly 9 million cubic tons. That’s a lot of stuffed peppers.Growing the “perfect pepper,” says Aiello, is a lot like raising a large family. It’s a matter of supplying plenty of “elbow grease and tender loving care” every single day. But the work starts paying off when the plant reaches full size, because you can harvest emerald green peppers from the same plant for the next five months — or let them linger on the shrub until the sun turns them a sweet, rosy red.The bell-shaped pepper adds bright color and flavor to cuisines as varied as savory Persian and Mediterranean dishes to fiery South American fare. It’s no wonder that they pop up in virtually every cookbook, including a slew of just-published tomes. So, we’ve taken a page of inspiration from four of the newest cookbooks, which give California’s most mellow pepper its time in the sun.You can hide those glorious bells in fajitas or drown them in chili, but why not give them a starring role at the dinner table, says Robert Irvine, who hosts Food Network’s “Dinner: Impossible” — a reality show that sends its chef scrambling to prepare meals in such unlikely venues as an aircraft carrier and an ice hotel. In his newest cookbook, “Impossible to Easy” (William Morrow, $29.99, 294 pages), Irvine suggests tossing diced bell and serrano peppers with tequila-simmered shrimp and linguine for a “playful dish” that’s as easy as it is beautiful.Annie Bell, author of the new “Gorgeous Vegetables” (Kyle Books, $19.95, 192 pages), layers roasted red peppers with tomatoes, pesto and goat cheese for a gratin that tastes equally good hot, cold or at room temperature. Not a chevre devotee? Use mozzarella instead.Roasted vegetables, she writes, are “one of the great basics of the kitchen,” equally at home on the white tablecloth-draped dinner table, or tucked into a sandwich. And a little leftover gratin would be marvelous on ciabatta bread.Italian cooking guru Lidia Bastianich goes old school in her “Lidia Cooks from the Heart of Italy” (Alfred A. Knopf, $35, 414 pages), and stuffs hers with dried porcini, bread crumbs and Parmigiano-Reggiano. Bastinich uses the same mixture to stuff medium zucchini, small tomatoes and sweet Vidalia onions, then serves them on a large platter, family-style. Best of all, she says, they can be served piping hot or at room temperature, as an hors d’oeuvre, a side dish or the main event. They make a great breakfast treat too, topped with a poached or fried egg.And San Francisco food writer Fran Gage, author of “The New American Olive Oil” (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, $29.95, 224 pages), uses red peppers in Spanish romescu sauce, Persian muhammara and that classic French picnic sandwich, Pan Bagnat.The latter is best eaten on a beach in Nice, she says, so you can rinse your hands in the Mediterranean Sea between bites. But then, that’s probably true of most things.

ROASTED PEPPER, GOAT CHEESE AND PESTO GRATIN—Yield: 4-6 servings

8 red peppers4 tomatoes3 tablespoons olive oil, dividedSea salt, black pepper7 ounces goat cheese, rind removed, thinly sliced4 tablespoons pesto

Procedure:1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place peppers on oven rack and roast 20 minutes. Transfer peppers to plastic bag, wrap well and let cool several hours or overnight.2. Skin peppers, discarding core and seeds. Cut peppers into wide strips.3. Bring pan of water to a rolling boil. Fill a bowl with cold water. Cut a cone from top of each tomato to remove core. Plunge tomatoes into boiling water for 20 seconds, then into cold water. Slip off skins and slice tomatoes.4. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Drizzle 1 tablespoon oil into 12-inch oval gratin dish or similar shallow, ovenproof pan. Arrange half the peppers in bottom of pan and season them. Lay half the goat cheese over peppers, then the sliced tomatoes. Drizzle with half the pesto. Lay remaining peppers in place, season them, and scatter with remaining cheese. Drizzle with remaining pesto and remaining oil. Bake 25-30 minutes.5. Let peppers cool half an hour or so and serve, warm or at room temperature.

Annie Bell, “Gorgeous Vegetables”

LINGUINE SERRANO WITH TEQUILA, PEPPERS AND SHRIMP—Yield: 6-8 servings

2 pounds linguine2 pounds medium shrimp, deveined1 tablespoon grapeseed oil1 cup seafood stock1 shallot, minced1 serrano pepper, seeded and thinly sliced1 each red, yellow and green bell pepper, seeded and very finely diced2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, minced, divided1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes2 cups tequila2 teaspoons Old Bay seasoningSalt, pepper to taste

Procedure:1. Bring large pot of water to boil for linguine. Peel shrimp, reserving shells and tails.2. In large sauté pan, heat oil over medium heat. Add shrimp shells and tails and cook 2 minutes, or until they turn pink. Add stock. Simmer until liquid is reduced by half. Strain into a bowl, discarding shells.3. In same pan, sauté shallot until translucent. Add serrano and bell peppers, 1 tablespoon cilantro and crushed red pepper flakes; cook until peppers begin to soften, about 3 minutes. Add tequila and reserved seafood stock; cook until sauce is reduced by half, about 10 minutes over medium-high heat.4. Meanwhile, cook the linguine and drain well.5. Season shrimp with Old Bay, salt and pepper; stir into sauce. Cook until shrimp turn just barely pink, then remove from heat and let stand until shrimp are opaque. Fold cooked linguine into sauce, coating well. Garnish with remaining cilantro.

Robert Irvine, “Impossible to Easy”

PAN BAGNAT—Yield: 4 servings

4 round rolls or a baguette cut into 6-inch pieces6 tablespoons medium or robust extra-virgin olive oil3 ounces tuna8 anchovy fillets, rinsed and patted dry1 small onion, peeled and thinly sliced2 red bell peppers, charred with skin, ribs and seeds removed1/2 cup pitted Nicoise-style olives, rinsed and patted dry

Procedure:1. Cut bread in half lengthwise. Pull out some of the inside crumbs to make more room for filling. Brush or drizzle olive oil evenly over all the inner surfaces.2. Layer filling ingredients on bottom halves, and cover with the tops.3. Tightly wrap sandwiches in plastic wrap for at least three hours at a cool room temperature before serving, or in refrigerator overnight. Serve at room temperature.

Fran Gage, “The New American Olive Oil”

Toss diced bell and serrano peppers with tequila-simmered shrimp and linguine for a “playful dish” that’s as easy as it is beautiful. Photo by MCCLATCHY