Roasted Peppers

There is something special about roasted peppers.  They offer a sweet burst of flavor to any sandwich, salad, or sauce you add them to.  Now, I love snacking on raw peppers, but the flavor that you get with each bite or a roasted pepper is unbeatable!  Luckily, it is super easy to roast peppers and they last for awhile in the fridge, that is, if you don't eat them all in one sitting.

They key to delicious roasted peppers is starting with good quality peppers.  Although my pepper seedlings are not quite ready to produce yet (come on summer!), my local supermarket has been getting in these amazing organic peppers, meaning summer, in all it's produce glory, is right around the corner! Anyway, once you have some good looking peppers wash them well and then slice them in half length wise.  Scoop out the seeds and cut off the stem on top.  Preheat your oven to 375 F.

Line a baking tray with foil and place peppers in it with the outside facing up.  Gently rub olive oil all over the top and generously sprinkle with salt, pepper, and any other seasonings you desire.  I usually add a bit of garlic powder and a touch of cayenne pepper. I never measure the amount of seasonings, but I can guess I use about a teaspoon of olive oil and 1/4 a teaspoon of salt, pepper, and garlic powder. You just need enough oil to thinly cover the peppers and don't be shy with the other seasonings because eventually you are going to be peeling the skin off and throwing it away, so you are going to loose most of what you put on.  Place them in the preheated oven and bake for 35 minutes, or until the top is blistered and the skin peels away easily.

Allow the peppers to cool slightly, then peel the skin off and slice up the pepper flesh.  That's it!  It's so easy there is no excuse to buy roasted peppers from the store ever again.  Also your salads, sandwiches, omelets, sauces, and whatever else you add these peppers to will never be the same (in the best way possible)!  With summer fast approaching, let's start exploring all the various ways to utilize fresh produce starting with these mouthwatering, roasted peppers.


Roasted Peppers

2 large bell peppers (or as many as desired)
olive oil
salt
pepper

Optional Seasonings:
garlic powder
cayenne pepper
dried basil
dried parsley
dried oregano

Directions:
1.  Preheat the oven to 375 F.  Cut the peppers in half (from top to bottom), scrape out the seeds and cut out the stem.

2.  Line a baking tray with foil and place peppers in the tray with the outside facing up.  Gently rub with olive oil and generously sprinkle with salt, pepper, and any other seasonings you want to add.

3.  Bake for 35 minutes, or until the top of the peppers is blistered and the skin peels away easily.  Remove from the oven and allow too cool slightly before peeling the blistered skin off.  Slice the pepper flesh and store in a air-tight container in the fridge for up to a week.