by Clare Callow

Created on: January 13, 2009   Last Updated: October 28, 2010

Roasting red peppers is an excellent way to bring out the deliciously sweet flavour of these sometimes bitter vegetables. If you have never attempted it before, the process of roasting a red or bell pepper, taking it from a crunchy salad vegetable to a tasty, chewy treat may seem daunting, but never fear: it is actually very simple.

People will give you all sorts of recipes for roasting peppers, from coating them in oil to cleaning and segmenting them, but there is no need for such shenanigans. The best way I have found is to simply sit them whole in the oven. This method was shown to me by a chef and, like many of the tricks offered by those of that trade, it demystified a seemingly complicated process.

The 'whole in the oven' method is exactly what it sounds like: rinse the peppers (if they aren't already spotless) and sit them on their sides in the oven. Sit a pan on the rack below if you want to catch any possible drips, as caramelised pepper juice is terrible to clean up. Let them roast in a medium oven until they have collapsed and the skin has turned dark brown. Remove them from the oven and sit them in a covered bowl until they are quite cool, then (this is the messy bit) remove the skin, seeds and membrane using your fingers. The best way to begin this, I have found, is to remove the stalk carefully, which will bring most of the seeds with it, then scoop out the remaining seeds before removing the skin (which, depending on how well your pepper has been cooked, can sometimes come off just like a glove marvellous). If you get frustrated with the seeds do not give in to temptation and wash them out, as this will ruin the pepper's lovely sweet taste.

If you cannot cope with the mess of the above method, the next best way for roasting is to cut the peppers in half lengthways, remove the seeds and membrane, then place them face down on a piece of baking paper covering a piece of foil. Roll up the foil so that it is nestled around the peppers before placing them in the oven. This will keep the juices from steaming away, keeping the peppers lovely and moist and preserving their flavor.

As you will see, it is not at all necessary to use oil or oven spray when roasting peppers as the vegetable provides exactly what it needs all by itself. However, the roasted, skinned pepper pieces benefit no end from a little olive oil, particularly if you are planning to eat them as antipasto. Peppers immersed in a jar of olive oil will also keep fresh for quite a long time provided they are not exposed to air.

Used as an ingredient, roasted peppers have no end of uses. Slice them into a plain tomato-based pasta sauce for a zesty twist, or roll them inside lamb fillets. One of my favorites is to mix finely-diced roasted pepper through some cream cheese for a deliciously simple dip. Better still, if you have stored roasted pepper pieces in oil, just mix peppers and oil through some pasta, throw in some snow peas and you have a wonderfully fresh salad.

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