Let’s Talk About: Roasted Red Peppers
What I love about roasted anything is that it makes the “healthy option” delicious.
This recipe comes from Christine, my friend Emilie’s mother. On a recent visit to their home in the countryside – I will admit – I went a little crazy for the freshly roasted red peppers in oil she served as a side for dinner the first night. After learning how I missed my American breakfasts of eggs and bacon (a breakfast salée) the next morning, Christine (ever the consumate hostess) made sure that I sat down to a French upgrade of the classic breakfast - eggs, Jambon de Bayonne, and, most important to my mind: roasted red peppers.
Christine’s scrumptious peppers
That weekend Christine showed me the simple steps to this easy recipe and sent me home with a jar of peppers in oil.
Since then, it has been a “go-to” nibble for me. If you keep them in olive oil in the fridge they will last a week or so – but honestly – I have never tested those limits. I am not known for my self control…
The following is a slight adaptation of Christine’s recipe. Please note that while I offer proposed ratios of seasonings etc. – you should play with whatever herbs you have to hand and as your taste tends. Just keep in mind that when it comes to red peppers – less is more as the sweet peppers are the highlight all on their own.
Still Life of Deconstructed Pre-Roasted Red Peppers
Preheat oven to 200° C / 400° F
Select 3-4 Bell Peppers (note from the ever aesthetically oriented Christine – be sure to have a mix of red and yellow peppers as it is more visually pleasing).
Slice up the Bell Peppers, first by slicing off the top of the pepper, cutting out and discard the stem. Quarter the remaining body of the pepper – slicing it into strips. I prefer to have medium to smaller strips.
Lay out the peppers on your grilling pan or oven dish, with the skins resting on pan (ie: so the inside faces up. This differs from most other recipes I have seen – which instruct having the skins up – the purpose in those cases being to charr the outer skin. But this misses the opportunity of letting the oil and seasoning sink into the interior – so I am team #skinsdown. Insofar as possible avoid having the slices touch each other.
Drizzle liberally with extra virgin oil.
Season with parsley, rosemary, thyme, pepper and salt. I use fresh parsley and rosemary, (slicing it fine) and dried thyme. Rosemary is a strong herb so I only use a few ‘sprigs’, mincing it finely before scattering it on the peppers.
Put it in the oven for about 20 minutes or until they are soft and charred or blistered (cooking time may vary slightly depending on the size of the slices of pepper).
Let cool and then serve.
To “preserve” the red peppers for later, pile them up in a clean jar or container and cover with olive oil. Don’t forget, when you have finished the peppers and are left with the olive oil to reuse the now-infused olive oil in your next salad dressing!)
So - now you have roasted red peppers. Now what? They are delicious on their own – but one of my favorite ways to eat them is as an open faced baguette sandwich. It is simple – and I love the contrast between the sweet, salty smokiness of the red pepper and the cool creaminess of the chèvre. It is great for a quick lunch – or for a classy “apero”.
Ingredients Needed
Baguette
Chevre
Roasted red peppers
Chives
Olive Oil (the tiniest) drizzle
A sprinkling of Maldon Salt
Fresh Dill
The core concept of this sandwich is the roasted red pepper – cold (creamy, slightly tangy) goat cheese, and good bread. Take that foundation and adapt and play with it based on your own taste and what is in your pantry.
Slice the baguette into the sizes of servings desired. For an apero, I’d cut the baguette into at least 4ths. Then slice each tranche open lengthwise. Unless the baguette is just out of the oven (and thus perfection) – pop it into the over or toaster to let it toast slightly so that it has the slightest roughness or crunch.
Let the bread cool before slathering generously with goat cheese or chèvre. For this I used a particularly creamy and spreadable Chèvre that was almost like a whipped cream cheese. It also works excellently with slices of thicker chèvre.
Cover with roasted red peppers and top with sliced chives and a sprinkling of fresh dill.
Smallest dabbling of good extra virgin olive over the open faced sandwich and sprinkle with Maldon finishing salt and black pepper to taste.
bon appétit
