ROASTED RED PEPPERS APPETIZER.....simple and deeeelicious !

DID YOU KNOW…

Christopher Columbus tried to start a sweet red peppers import business in the Mediterranean Sea countries? The biz failed because sweet peppers grew easily almost everywhere in his marketing region
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Though Columbus may have discovered and imported the first peppers to Europe, it was the Spanish and Portuguese who are credited with spreading it throughout the world into their wide ranging colonies.

Sweet red peppers, sometimes called bell peppers, come in a variety of colours: red, orange, yellow, brown and purple but all start off green?

The sweetest peppers are red, orange and yellow and they become even sweeter when they are braised?

SELECTING PEPPERS AT YOUR GROCERS

The peppers should be smooth, rich in colour with no wrinkles or soft  spots. Though available almost year round, the best tasting ones are harvested in late summer. Peppers keep well. Just dry them and store them in a plastic bag in your refrigerator.

NUTRITIONAL VALUE

Peppers are high in vitamins A and C as well as fibre and folic acid which helps reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.

ROASTED PEPPERS APPETIZER

serves 6-8 persons
can be frozen for future use

6-8 whole red peppers (yellow and orange can also be used)
1 finely chopped medium sized garlic bud
1 tbls drained capers
1 tbls finely chopped parsley
2-3 tbls virgin olive oil
salt & pepper to taste

ROASTING THE PEPPERS

I have found the barbecue to be my most practical way to char my peppers. It also seems to give the best flavor. But the peppers can be done DIRECTLY on your stove elements, on open flame, in a frying pan, or under the broiler on a pizza pan. The only requirement is that the heat must be very intense in order to burn the skin of the peppers. Experiment to find the method that works best for you. My barbecue method allows you lots of control, least cleaning up.
 

1.  Set barbecue to highest heat and allow the barbecue to heat up fully.

2. When bbq is at its highest temp, place the peppers directly on the grill and close the lid.

3.       3. Roast for about 1 – 1 ½ minutes, rotate the peppers a half turn if they are skin is blackened well. If they are not charred enough, bbq longer. The skin should look burnt black. Then do the half rotation, close the lid and repeat the cooking time. Repeat this process enough times so that the peppers are charred on all sides.

4.     
4.  Place fully charred peppers into a sturdy brown bag and fold the bag closed. This allows the peppers to “pop” their skins loose for easier removal.

5.     

 

5. Take the bag of charred peppers into your kitchen to a work area and work one pepper at a time

6. Remove a pepper from the bag and using a sharp knife, scrape away the skin from the pepper.

7. After all the peppers have been cleaned, work one pepper at a time again. Cut the pepper from stem to base and gently fold it open. Remove the seeds, and the whitish spines from the inner part of the pepper.
Cut away the stem. Cut the pepper into strips each about approximately ½ inch widths.
 

7.
If you are storing for future use, place the strips into clear baggies for the freezer. If you are going to use the peppers within a day, place them on a plate aside.



 8. Repeat the internal cleaning and slicing into strips for the rest of the peppers. These should be put away
    into the freezer.

SERVING THE PEPPERS

        1.  Arrange the pepper strips into a floral pattern on to a white plate.

         2. Drizzle 2-3 tbls virgin olive oil over the strips.
 3.   Sprinkle the parsley and finely chopped garlic over the peppers.

       4.   Sprinkle the capers over the peppers. 
 5.  Salt and pepper to taste and cover with plastic so allow the flavours to   develop and blend.

          If you are not serving for a few hours, refrigerate the peppers.

Serve the peppers with toasted, crusty Italian bread slices.

Buon appetito!

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