I view homemade roasted peppers as the ultimate condiment; that is to say, you can include roasted peppers in your antipasto, sandwich, as a side with grilled meats, or even include them in your favorite grilled cheese sandwich or omelet. Sound tasty; then stop buying the jarred stuff and make them at home! Here’s the full ingredients list, including the items for dressing your roasted and sliced peppers.
Ingredients:
- bunch of basil (if basil isn’t available then use parsley)
- dried oregano, salt, and pepper to taste
- 1 clove of garlic
- 6-7 sweet red or yellow bell peppers
Process for Roasting, Cleaning, and Dressing Roasted Peppers:
Start by charring the bell peppers over an open flame (in the winter you can accomplish this right on your gas stove top <just place the pepper right on the grate!>, in the summer it’s nice to char right on the barbecue via wood or charcoal briquettes).
You’ll want to cook the peppers until they are fully blackened or singed. Moreover, you’ll want to make sure the peppers are soft to the touch before removing from the heat source; if the pepper is still hard to the touch you’ll need to continue roasting.
Remove the peppers from the heat source and let cool for 5-10 minutes. DO NOT USE WATER to remove the charred skin. Simply use your hands to get rid of the blackened skin, you shouldn’t have a problem with this step if you cooked the peppers long enough (and a little bit of black skin will not kill you). The pepper will still be hot when you begin peeling so resist the urge to use cold water (if you become a serious cook you’ll eventually develop “Nonna hands” and be impervious to hot things in the kitchen <you’ll be able to pick up hot pans without oven mitts and stir soup with your bare hands – just joking on the latter>). You can place the charred peppers in a brown bag once they come off the heat and let them sit for 10-15 minutes .
Next remove the stems and seeds (you will want to remove as many as the seeds as possible). Cut the peppers into long 1/4 inch strips and place in a container that can store in the fridge (with a top).
For the dressing, add the olive oil, basil, dried oregano, salt and pepper, finely chopped garlic and mix well. Let the mixture sit for about an hour and enjoy (the peppers should marinate before consuming). Red peppers store well and they keep in the fridge for well over a week.
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That looks wonderful! And what a great step by step tutorial. Bravo, Vince!