Roasted Bell Peppers
Roasted bell peppers are a basic and versatile ingredient that can elevate so many dishes from good to fantastic, be it a summertime salad, veggie panini, or a tasty pizza. They’re great in dips, sauces, stews, and salads. Roasted bell peppers work in dishes from all over the world, from Mediterranean to Latin American to North African to American.
Roasting breaks down the natural sugars and enhances the sweetness of your peppers. It also gives the flesh a lovely smooth, pulpy texture. Roasting takes time in the oven, but with a few tips, it’s a relatively easy and straightforward process. Here I roasted red peppers, but any bell pepper will work!
The steps to make roasted bell peppers:
- Oil and lay on a baking sheet
- Roast until the flesh is soft and the skin is charred
- Remove from the oven and immediately cover the peppers
- Remove the skins and chop as desired
Removing the skin
The most painful part is generally removing the skin after roasting, but I have a couple tips to help you out. You want to remove the skin because it takes on a not-so-nice papery texture after roasting. To help the skin detach easily from the flesh, the trick is to cover the peppers immediately after they come out of the oven so that the steam from the hot peppers will loosen their skin. Wait about 10 minutes while the peppers cool down and the skin will detach much more easily. It is also important that the skin is well cooked. Blistered and blackened is ok! If some parts of the pepper skin remain less cooked, they will be harder to slip off.
Using and storing
You can either use the roasted peppers immediately or store in the fridge for two days. Roasted peppers also freeze very well for up to three months.
Try out these roasted bell peppers in my flavorful Spanish rice or in this Tunisian-inspired chickpea salad. They also are the starting point for this delectable roasted red pepper and tomato tart.
Roasted Bell Peppers
Ingredients
- 3 large bell peppers
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 220 °C (430 °F).
- Prepare the peppers: Cut the bell peppers in two. Cut out the stem. Remove veins and seeds. Flatten the pepper halves with your hand.
- Using your hands, rub a thin layer of oil all over the peppers.
- Place on a rimmed baking sheet, skin-side up. For easy clean-up, you may line the pan with heavy-duty aluminum foil.
- Bake on convection mode at 220 °C for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the peppers look shriveled and the skins blackened and blistering.
- Remove from the oven, and immediately cover the tray with a sheet of aluminum foil (or plastic wrap if heat resistant).
- Let the peppers cool down for about 10 minutes. During this time the steam will loosen the skins.
- Remove the pepper skins by hand. The peppers are now roasted and ready to use.
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