I had a collection of multi-colored bell peppers gathering from 2-3 weeks of CSA boxes.I had been planning to pickle them, but tonight decided roasting would be way easier.

Thumbing through a new cookbook, called Vegetable Love, by Barbara Kafka, she suggested roasting the pepper whole.  This had the advantage of absolutely no prep work, so I gave it a shot!  The cookbook was new to me, but I bought it used at Powell’s Books in Portland last month.

I preheated the oven to 500°,  rinsed my peppers in water then placed them on a pizza pan and put them in the oven.  I set the timer for 15 minutes, and at 15 minutes, I used tongs to rotate the peppers 1/4 turn.  Evey 15 minutes I rotated the peppers, until all sides were blackened, about 45 minutes. 

Then I pulled the pan from the oven and covered it with a cloth until the peppers were cool enough to handle.  Actually, I watched the rest of the Sunday Night Football game, and when it was over, I checked, and the peppers were cool enough to handle.  Kind of a chicken and egg thing I guess.

Using a steak knife, working with one pepper at a time, I cut around the stem and pulled the core out of each pepper.  Then I cut each pepper into its natural sections, peeling off the charred skin and turning the section inside out to wipe out the seeds and drain the liquid.  I let all the mess drip onto my pan that had edges, and placed the finshed sections on parchment paper.

I layered the peppers into a jar and floated some olive oil on top, storing the jar in the refrigerator.

I use the roasted peppers on eggs, in sandwiches, or chopped as a garnish on just about anything.

Once, I puréed roasted red peppers and drizzled the sauce over an omelette filled with smoked mozzarella cheese.  That meal was 15 years ago, and I still fantasize about it from time to time!

:p