Roasted Red Peppers

I am participating in the Virtual Vegan Potluck, and I have pulled out my fine china and silver for the occasion.  Our gracious organizer is Ann at anunrefinedvegan, and I am bringing Roasted Red Peppers to the table.  Enjoy!

What It Is

I grew up watching my mother and my Nana cook, Italian style, and they did know their way around bell peppers.  Even now, the sound of bell peppers sputtering with onions on the stove and the aroma of them bathed in garlic and olive oil revive mouth-watering childhood memories for me.  In the tradition of grandmothers everywhere, my Nana cooked by “feel” rather than by recipe, and so does my mother.  So what I offer you today is not a strict recipe; rather, it is a guide.  I will hold your hand along the way and then set you free to play with the bells on your own.

Bring It Home

1. Start with some choice red bell peppers (they have a sweeter flavor than green ones).  I used three large beauties for this recipe, and the result was just enough of this luscious, rustic side dish to fill the 500 ml ramekin pictured above.
2. Roast the peppers.  You want a nicely charred skin, and there are several methods for obtaining that:
   1. Over the grill.  This is an ideal method for the summertime.
   2. Over the flame of a gas burner.  This is a “make do” method, and you need to hold the bell by some tongs, turning it constantly, in the manner of roasting marshmallows at a campfire.
   3. The broiler method.  This is the method I used for my dish.  I lined a cookie sheet with tin foil (only for ease of cleanup), and set the oven rack as high as it could go without the peppers touching the heating units.  Then I closed the oven door and worked at the nearby countertop, ever vigilant, tongs at the ready, checking the peppers and turning them as their skin buckled up and turned brownish black.  It took about 3-5 minutes per side, and I turned them about three times each.  I did set the oven timer to make sure I checked them regularly.

   

   They probably could have been even more charred than this.  In fact, they could have been black all over and that would have been fine, because the skin is coming off, anyway.  Which brings us to our next step.
3. Let the peppers cool completely, then peel the skin.  Again, we have several choices!
   1. Simply let them sit there for about 15 minutes, until they are cool enough to handle, then peel them.
   2. Put them in a plastic bag or a bowl covered with plastic and let them steam for about 15 minutes, then peel.
   3. Put them in a brown paper bag, let them sit for about 15 minutes, then give the bag a little shake to help slough away the skin. (This is the way my mother and Nana always did it, so I did it that way too.)
4. Cut or gently pull the top off the peppers and cut them in half.  Drain the liquid from them, core, seed, and pat them dry.  You want just the bells, ma’am, just the bells.
5. Cut the peppers in strips, put them in your serving bowl, and dress them up.

This is your list of ingredients.  Think of it as paints in a palette or notes of a scale, then imagine yourself as an impressionist painter or a jazz musician—or an Italian grandmother—and see what culinary art you create.

• Quality Olive Oil
• Garlic
• Basil
• Parsley
• Italian seasonings
• Sweet vinegar (such as rice vinegar or champagne vinegar)
• Salt and pepper

For my dish, I used 3 tablespoons of olive oil, which works out to be 1 TBSP  per pepper, if you’d like a proportion.  I put one fat clove of garlic through the garlic press and scraped it onto the peppers.  I added three big basil leaves, sliced thin (easily proportioned, again!) and about one heaping tablespoon of chopped parsley.  A little shake of thyme, oregano, and a few grinds of salt and pepper finished the job.  I left out the vinegar (because I don’t really like it), but if you’re adding that, just a splash is all you’ll need.  If you don’t have a sweet vinegar and you want to cut the sharpness of what you have on hand, you could also add a drop of honey (which is another trick that my mother uses from time to time).

You can eat this now or later, chilled or at room temperature.  It will keep for a few days in the fridge, so it’s a terrific make-ahead dish.

I know that your plate is getting full, because you just loaded up with the fine side-dish on the table before mine,  but these peppers don’t take up much room.  So scoot them over a tad, and make space for the delicious side dish on the table after mine.  If you’d like to go around the table again, grab a clean plate and start at the top.

I’d be happy for you to pull up a chair next to me, and we could chat for a while as we enjoy our meal. 😉

• Posted in: Side dishes ♦ Uncategorized
• Tagged: Bell pepper, Cook, Garlic, gluten free, Italian, Italian cuisine, Italian dishes, Olive oil, peppers, Red Peppers, Roasting, vegan, vegetables, vegetarian, Virtual Vegan Potluck