How To Fire Roast Bell Peppers Recipes

HOW TO ROAST BELL PEPPERS

Steps:

• This is my preferred method for roasting peppers, because you can roast several peppers at once. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Brush a baking sheet lightly with olive oil. Lay peppers on their sides, stems pointing sideways.
• Put baking sheet in oven and allow peppers to roast for 20 minutes.
• Remove baking sheet. Using tongs, give the peppers a half turn, then place back in the oven for another 20 minutes.
• Check to make sure peppers have fully roasted. The skin should be charred and soft, and the peppers should look slightly collapsed. If they don't look ready, let them roast for a few more minutes. When they're done, remove baking sheet from oven.
• You can also use your oven broiler to roast the peppers, which is a faster process that chars them more than regular oven roasting. While it goes faster, you also have to watch it carefully, as the peppers will need frequent turning during the process. If you wish to broil the peppers, I suggest placing the rack in the upper third of the oven so there is 8-9 inches between the broiling element and the peppers. That way, the peppers will be able to soften as they char. When they're too close to the broiler, they will char before they're cooked, which means the flesh won't soften and they'll be harder to peel.
• Preheat broiler to high and place the peppers below the broiler.
• Let them roast for 20-25 minutes, giving a quarter-turn every 5 minutes, until the peppers are charred, soft and collapsing. The broiler will char them quite a bit, the skin will be very black and crispy-- don't worry, you're going to peel it off anyway. Remove from the oven.
• Proceed to instructions for "Steaming Your Peppers."
• I typically use this method when I only have one or two peppers to roast. It's messier than the oven method, but it produces a very smoky rich flavor. There are a couple of ways to roast peppers on the stovetop - on a gas flame, or on a grill pan. If roasting directly on a gas stovetop, you may wish to cover parts of your heating element with foil to protect it from spills.
• Turn your gas stovetop flame to medium. Place pepper on the grate directly over the top of the gas flame. Let it roast for 20-25 minutes. Use a pair of tongs to give the pepper a quarter turn every 4-5 minutes.After 20 minutes, use tongs to gently squeeze the pepper. If the pepper is soft and easily yields to the tongs, it is ready. If the pepper still feels somewhat firm, let it continue to roast for a few more minutes until it softens.
• Remove pepper from the stovetop. Proceed to instructions for "Steaming your Peppers."Prepare grill pan according to instructions. My pan requires a bit of water to be placed in the circular chamber. Preheat grill pan over medium heat; brush lightly with oil if it is recommended for your pan. Place pepper on the preheated pan.
• Roast the pepper for 20-30 minutes, giving a quarter turn with a pair of tongs every 5 minutes or so, until the pepper is charred and collapsing. Check water level about halfway through cooking if your grill pan requires it. Skip to instructions for "Steaming Your Peppers."
• I tend to use this method during the summer when we're using our gas grill a lot. Roasting over an open flame produces a great smoky flavor. Be sure to wear a protective oven mitt. Place peppers on the open grill over a medium flame. Let them roast for 15-20 minutes, using tongs to give them a quarter turn every few minutes, until the peppers are charred, soft and collapsing.
• You can also use a kitchen/bruleé torch to char your peppers, but it's a slow process. Using a grill or gas flame is more efficient.
• Once you have roasted your peppers, you will need to steam them. This process will help you peel the tough skin from them more easily. There are a few ways to steam the peppers. I like to place the roasted peppers on a flat, smooth surface like a cutting board, then invert a large bowl over the top of them. The bowl traps the steam inside. Steam for 15 minutes.Alternatively, you can place the peppers in a paper bag and seal the top by rolling it closed. I prefer using the bowl method. Whichever method you choose, steam the peppers for about 15 minutes.
• Once you have roasted your peppers, you will need to seed and peel them. This is kind of a messy process, but it's well worth the effort. Note that some people like to seed their peppers before roasting. When I have tried this in the past, the results are never as good as when I keep the whole pepper intact during roasting-- I recommend roasting the peppers whole and seeding after the roast.
• Slice the pepper vertically from top to bottom and lay the pepper open so it becomes one long strip. Pull the stem from the top of the pepper. The stem and a clump of seeds should loosen easily. Use a towel or paper towel to wipe off any loose seeds that remain inside the pepper.
• Flip the pepper over to reveal the skin side. Strip off the charred skin. If you want a more charred flavor, you can leave a few small blackened bits on the skin.
• Alternatively, you can seed and skin the pepper under running water, which will make it easier to get the pepper flesh clean. I prefer not to do this, because I feel the pepper loses some flavor in the process-- but if you're in a hurry and don't want to mess up your hands too much, it will speed things up.Once you've peeled and seeded your peppers, you'll end up with soft, sweet, tasty pepper flesh.
• Roasted peppers can be used in a variety of recipes, or snacked on as-is dressed with salt and pepper. They can be added to stews and pasta sauces or chopped into salsa. They can even be mixed with fresh basil and olive oil to create a peppery bruschetta. I have many recipe ideas on my website, just search Roasted Bell Peppers for ideas. Enjoy!

FIRE ROASTED RED BELL PEPPERS (PIMENTO) RECIPE

Steps:

• Prep. There are two ways to prep the pepper: 1) Slice the peppers in half or quarters lengthwise, strip out the seeds, ribs, and stems, and rinse them. There is less waste with this method, but the pepper has a natural curve and won't lay flat. 2) Lop off the stem end and a bit off the other end, cut through on one side top to bottom, and then run your knife along the inside wall to remove the seeds and ribs. With this method you get a long strip of pepper that can lay flat.
• Char. Place the pepper, skin side down, on a hot grill or over a gas stovetop burner, a little less than Warp 10, or place them skin side up on a pan under a broiler. Keep the heat on until the skin blisters and blackens, about 10 minutes, depending on your grill. For thick walled peppers you can flip them over for a few minutes until they are cooked through and limp, but don't burn the meaty side.
• Steam. After charring, a lot of recipes say to seal them in a paper bag so steam can loosen the skin, but those bags are often dirty and who knows what is in the glue, so I just place them in a bowl and cover it with a plate.
• After about 15 minutes, when they cool enough to handle, strip off as much of the skin as possible with your fingers, or lay them skin up and gently scrape off the skin with a knife. Discard the skin. Don't worry if a few bits of skin remain.
• Use or freeze. You can use them immediately or freeze them for months. Just put them in a zipper bag, drizzle in a little olive oil, squeeze out as much of the air as possible, zip it tight, squish them around so they are more or less coated in oil, write the date on the bag, and in the freezer they go.
• Optional. Smoke 'em. Instead of grilling the peppers, put them in your smoker until they are soft and pliable and you can strip off the skins. If they don't come off easily, toss them on the hot grill until they are charred.

HOW TO FIRE ROAST BELL PEPPERS

Steps:

• Begin by washing and drying the peppers.
• To roast two or more at a time, the oven is easiest. Place on a rack in a broiler pan or baking sheet about 2-inches from the heat.
• Leave under the broiler until they blacken and blister, turning from side to side to roast evenly. (This can take from 15 to 25 minutes). They are done when completely charred on all sides.
• Remove from broiler and place peppers in a brown paper bag; close tightly for about 15 minutes or until cool enough to handle.
• Remove peppers and peel off the skin using your fingers or the back of a knife.
• Remove stem and seeds.
• To roast on a barbecue grill or gas burner, place the pepper on a long handled fork or hold with tongs as close to the heat as possible.
• Rotate from sisde to side to roast evenly and proceed as above, cooking and turning as the skin blackens.
• To roast cut-up peppers, wash and seed peppers, cut into quarters and place skin side up on a rack in a broiler pan or baking sheet. Proceed as above.

ROASTED RED BELL PEPPERS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 450F degrees.
• Wash peppers and cut in half.
• Remove seeds and stems.
• Place upside down (skin side up) on a cookie sheet coated with olive oil spray.
• Bake for 10-15 minutes or so, until skin of pepper is seriously black.
• Make sure there are no sparks or actively burning ashes on the peppers and place peppers in a brown bag for about 10-15 minutes. This steams the peppers so the skins easily peel off. Rinsing peppers takes away all the roasted flavor, so don't let me catch you doing that.
• Let cool so you can touch them.
• Skin will peel off easily.
• Cut halves into strips, or however you need them to be cut.
• Now you know how to roast a red pepper!
• Good for: Chicken, cheese sauces, tomato sauces, topped on foccacia bread, or a million other things!
• You can also roast a pepper by placing it directly on the burner of a gas stove (NOT ELECTRIC!) turning with tongs every few minutes till skin is black. Continue with paper bag step.