If you’ve been reading Simply Sugar & Gluten-Free for a while, you know I’m a teacher at heart. I subscribe to the school of thought that one should share everything she knows in hopes of helping someone else. This is why I love writing tutorials…it takes away the guess work.
Pepper Roasting
Pepper roasting isn’t really a secret or difficult to do. I learned how to roast peppers when I worked for a huge catering company while in college.
There are several different methods – here I use a grill but you can just as easily use your oven broiler or the flame on your gas stove.
Before we get into pepper roasting, though, let’s talk about why you’d want to roast one in the first place.
Roasting:
- intensifies the pepper’s flavor
- imparts a smokiness
- softens the flesh
- makes it ever so easy to remove the paper-thin skin.
Roasted peppers can be used in:
- hummus
- salads
- salsas
- coulis
- antipasto
- pasta sauce
- veggie dishes
- soups
- and more!
Let’s roast a pepper…
Here I used hatch chili peppers because it was recently Hatch Chili Pepper season in Texas, celebrated with a big Hatch Festival at my favorite grocery store. You can roast any pepper using this method, though – bell peppers, jalapenos, serranos, adobes to name a few.
Washed peppers, ready to go on a grill, preheated on high.
Put the peppers on your grill and close the cover. Let them roast for 3 – 5 minutes before turning. (If using a broiler, place peppers on a foil lined pan in the top of the oven but not touching the broiler. To use your gas stove top, set the peppers on the metal grate and turn the flame high enough so it’s close to but not touching the pepper.)
They’re ready to turn when they’re charred.
Once peppers have charred on all sides, place in a glass or non-reactive bowl.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the peppers steam. This step makes taking the skin off simple. Leave them alone until they’re easy to handle. (You can also steam peppers by placing them in a brown paper bag and rolling the bag shut tightly.)
Peel the peppers. Take all the skin off. Remove the seeds by pulling the stem. Most of the seeds will come out this way. Then, open the pepper up and remove any remaining seeds. Running them under cold water makes quick work of this.
Charred. Peeled. Seeded.
And simply delicious.
I chopped my hatch peppers in small pieces, wrapped them in two tablespoon size portions, and popped them in the freezer so they’re ready when I need them. You can also roasted peppers refrigerated in a jar.
Some Roasted Pepper Recipes…
- Muhummara – similar to hummus, only with roasted peppers from The Mommy Bowl
- Roasted Red Bell Pepper Hummus from ATX Gluten-Free
- Roasted Red Bell Pepper Potato Soup from Simply Recipes
Do you have a great roasted pepper recipe or a favorite way to use them? Leave a link or tell me how in the comments below.
This post is linked to Real Food Wednesdays, Gluten-Free Wednesdays, Pennywise Platter, and Hearth & Soul.
