by Nicole M. Myers

Created on: January 15, 2009   Last Updated: January 28, 2009

The smooth, smokey taste of roasted peppers is a delicious, healthy way to add flavor and color to any dish. The jars that you find in grocery stores are many times filled with oil, artificial flavor enhancers and tons of salt. They are great in a pinch, but once you see how easy it is to do it at home, and taste the bright flavor of a warm freshly roasted pepper, I can guarantee you'll never reach for a jar again.

The simplest way to roast a peppers, I find is on a gas stove. For this method you'll need a gas stove on medium high, rinsed and dried peppers, long cooking tongs, and a brown paper bag (Grocery store paper bags are perfect for this). You can use this method with both hot and sweet peppers. The choice is yours.

There isn't a need to do any more prep on the peppers than just a quick rinse to remove dirt, trim the woody stem off, and to pat them dry. Turn your flame on medium high. Next place your peppers on the burner, and just let them roast on that one side until the skin is completely black. You'll hear some popping and sizzling, but thats normal. When that side is done, do the same with the other sides of the peppers, including the bottom and top.

Once all sides of the pepper are black, and it feels a little soft, take it off of the burner and place it in a brown paper bag. Roll the top down on the bag to close it. The paper bag lets the freshly roasted peppers sweat, which makes the skins easier to peel off. Let them hang out in the bag for about 10-15 minutes and until you can touch them with your hands safely.

Now its time to peel the skins off. Take the peppers from the bag and just start rubbing them. You can do this in a paper towel to so you don't get char all over your hands. I don't recommend rinsing them while you're doing this, because I find the color and flavor gets washed down the drain, instead of staying in the pepper. Once the charred skin is mostly off, all thats left to do is cut into the peppers, remove the stem and seeds, and enjoy.

This is just one method for roasting peppers. You can also use an outdoor grill, or an oven. With the oven you won't get as much of a smokey flavor, because you won't be charring the skin, but you will still get a wonderful product.

Roasted peppers can be used in a variety of ways from salads, salad dressings, chutneys, jam, sauces, soups, or just eat them as they are. They are delicious warm or cold, liquified or chunky, either way you can't loose. Roasting your own peppers whether they are hot or sweet, is such a simple way to bring that extra element to your food, you won't ever want to buy an oily jar again.

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