5 Easy Steps to Make Delicious Roasted Red Peppers

5-Easy-Steps-to-Make-Roasted-Red-Peppers

There’s something so very special about roasted red peppers. The roasting intensifies the sweet taste and adds a slight smokey taste to them. Growing up in an Italian household, there was always an abundance of homemade foods made when the ingredients were in season, usually in huge batches and that stored well for months. Roasted Red Peppers fit this perfectly.

Roasted peppers are superb on their own, on pizzas, mixed with sauces and most deliciously, in a traditional marinated oil, served on a fresh piece of crusty bread.

When Sweet red peppers are in season and prices are low, it’s the perfect time to buy large quantities, roll up your sleeves and get roasting. Although you can use red bell peppers, we prefer using sweet Shepherd Red Peppers. They are longer/larger, typically have fewer seeds and are slightly sweeter. During the right time of the season, cases of these types of peppers can be quite inexpensive. This year, I paid $9 for a case of approx 11lbs. Staying true to our Italian traditions, I bought 3 cases and got ready for some bulk roasting.

I also bought a case of eggplants but that is for another post.

I will disclose our family recipe that has been used for hundreds of years. Maybe not hundreds, but trust me – it’s a long time. I will break it down into 5 easy steps. I made 3 cases of peppers, but the process is the same if you decide to roast only 1 pepper.

The Recipe will make a delicious roasted red pepper in a marinated oil. If you only want the roasted pepper, omit all ingredients (except the peppers of course) and disregard most of step 4. It explains using the oven to roast them, but you could also use the BBQ if you wish.

Recipe

Ingredients:
Sweet Red Peppers (preferably Shepherd)
Olive Oil
Fresh Garlic (chopped)
Salt
Black Pepper
Dried Oregano

Adjust quantities of ingredients depending on how many peppers and to your preferred taste.

Instructions:

1. Clean and Cut
Preheat oven to 450F. Wash and dry peppers. Cut off stems, cut in half lengthwise and remove seeds.

2. Roast time
Lay peppers skin side up on parchment paper lined pans. Place in oven for 10 mins or so. Monitor closely. You want the pepper skin to start blackening, but you don’t want the peppers to burn through. (Peppers shown in the picture are not yet ready)

3. Peel it!
Remove from oven and allow to cool for a few minutes before placing them in a bowl. Cover for about 15 minutes and then start peeling the skin off each pepper. Tear the pepper into thin strips and place in a separate bowl. (Discard the skin)

4. Season and Storage
Assuming you made more than 1 pepper, set aside an amount of pepper strips that you will consume within a week or two (if applicable) and place in a smaller bowl. Into the peppers, add Olive Oil, Garlic, Salt, Pepper, Oregano and stir to combine. Place into refrigerator until ready to consume. (Hold back on olive oil, since the peppers will continue to create their own tasty liquid for a bit).
For the remaining peppers, you can store them (unseasoned) in small batches placed into ziplock bags and can be stored in the freezer until needed.

5. Enjoy
This step is really easy. Enjoy these amazingly delicious roasted red peppers on fresh bread or in any recipe that calls for them.