How to Make Roasted Red Peppers

A simple tutorial on how to roast sweet red bell peppers at home.

Re-post of original from 1/7/13 (90 views 1 +1) updated pictures, edited for content and grammar, pinnable image, tweetables, other post/recipe links.
I love roasted red peppers.  I put them on homemade pizzas, sandwiches, in sauces and eat them by themselves.

Roasted Peppers make a great addition to meals & antipasti.  [Tweet this]

Roasted red bell peppers are expensive to buy so I make them myself.  It's messy, but the results are amazing.

Roasted Red Peppers are inexpensive when homemade.  [Tweet this]

This tutorial is for people, like me, who do not have gas stoves (apparently you can char the pepper skins directly over the flame).

Start with whole, clean red bell peppers.

 

You can roast just 1 or as many that will fit on your baking sheet.  Place them in the oven as close to the broiler as possible and broil for a few minutes until the skin chars, flip the peppers and repeat on all sides.  (I used my toaster oven because my regular oven broiler has been broken for a while.  It worked wonderfully and I set the timer to the dark toast picture and it was the perfect time.)

As the peppers char they will blacken, the blacker and more burnt looking the skin the better (this adds great flavor and makes the skins easier to peel off).  Take out of the oven and immediately place the hot peppers into a zipper bag  and seal (sometimes I use a Tupperware).  Allow peppers to sit and steam for at least 1 hour until they are cool enough to handle.

Now for the messy part.  Using your hands and a knife or fork, pull off the stem and squeeze out the seeds.  Then begin to peel the charred skin off the peppers (the knife or fork helps pull up the skin so you can get your fingers under it to peel).

Once peeled, cut or slice the pepper into pieces of desired size or leave whole and place into a jar or Tupperware.  Cover with olive oil and store in the refrigerator or use right away.  I have kept these in the fridge for up to a week, but they will probably be eaten long before that.

Enjoy.

Use Roasted Red Peppers in these recipes:

Roasted Pepper  Salsa

Bruschetta and Antipasto

Simple Pasta  Sauce

Linked to:  2 Cup, Treasure Box, Lou Lou Girls, Tickle My Tastebuds, Wake Up, Full Plate, FunSummerFinds, Pretty Pintastic, Best of the Weekend

Follow Joy Bee's board Joybee Whats for Dinner blog posts on Pinterest.

Read more ...

Simple Pasta Sauce

A simple tomato pasta sauce with many variations.

I do not like to buy pasta sauce.  I have in the past and there is nothing wrong with it, but it is so easy to make your own sauce with whatever you want in it.  I also believe that this method is a bit less expensive. All you have to do is open a couple of cans.

I know that most people use stewed whole tomatoes (canned) to make pasta sauce, but I use canned, diced tomatoes.  There are so many other uses for diced tomatoes, besides pasta, that I always have them in my pantry (and when you buy them in bulk they are very inexpensive).  I also use tomato paste in my sauce for the same reasons.  As you can see in the ingredients I don't really measure the spices I just throw in what smells good and what I like.  This recipe is easily alterable and you can modify it to your tastes.  If you are interested in a simple pasta sauce for when you make pasta for dinner, read on.

Ingredients:

1-2 Tbsp olive oil
1 14oz can diced tomatoes
1 6oz can tomato paste
1 palm full garlic powder (1-2 Tbsp)
1 palm full dried minced onions (about 1/4 cup)
1 palm full dried bail (1-2 Tbsp)
several shakes dried oregano (1/4-1/2 tsp)
several shakes dried Thyme (1/4-1/2 tsp)
red pepper flakes, to taste
2 cups frozen chopped spinach (optional)
1 cup garbanzo beans (optional)
1/2 cup red wine
1 cup water
Salt and pepper to taste

In a medium to large sauce pan, over medium heat, drizzle in the olive oil.  Then add the tomatoes, paste, and spices.

Next, add the spinach and beans (if using); then, pour in the red wine.  Stir until well mixed and add the water until the sauce becomes the consistency you want (you can omit the wine and just use more water, or use a chicken or vegetable broth). Add a sprinkle of salt and pepper to taste.

When sauce begins to simmer lower the heat and allow to simmer for about 30 minutes.

Pour or spoon over favorite pasta, makes about 4-6 servings.  I added spinach and garbanzo beans to this sauce but you can omit them and/or add your own extras (the serving size will change with additions or subtractions).

Variations:

Meat sauce:  Brown ground beef, chicken, or Italian sausage and drain before adding the tomatoes and spices.
Roasted Garlic Sauce:  Add some roasted garlic, as much as you like (I would add a whole bulb)
Roasted Red Pepper Sauce:  Add a roasted red pepper or two, diced or pureed.
Vegetable Sauce:  Add diced zucchini and/or eggplant, cook them in the olive oil until tender before adding every thing else.

These are just a few variations.  The ideas are endless just be creative or use what you have on hand.  Enjoy.

Read more ...

Greek Pizza

Well, my version of a Greek pizza which is leftover pita topped with tomatoes, red bell peppers, eggplant, and feta.  A delicious meal.

I had some pitas and some feta left over from when I made Tabouli and Greek Salad.  Whenever I have leftover cheese I always think pizza.  I love pizza, usually I make my own pizza dough, but since I had pitas too, I decided to make pita pizzas with a Greek flare.  The eggplant, peppers and tomatoes were easy and inexpensive to obtain.  I was not happy with using plain fresh vegetables, which would have been fine, I wanted to bring out more flavor by roasting them.  I dried the tomatoes in the oven at a low temperature for many hours until they became dehydrated (I did this a few days before I made the pizzas).  I will eventually post exactly how I did this, but store bought sun-dried tomatoes would work just fine.  I also roasted the red bell peppers, again details for another post.  You can also buy roasted red peppers at the store, I just find it cheaper to do myself.  Lastly I roasted the sliced eggplant, seasoned with a little olive oil and salt and pepper, under the broiler for a few minutes until soft and browned.

Here is my recipe.

Ingredients:

4 Pitas
1/4 cup Feta
1/4-1/3 cup Mozzarella
2 roasted red bell peppers
1 small eggplant, sliced and roasted
12 cherry tomatoes, halved and dried
1 head of roasted garlic mashed with 1 tsp olive oil



First I brushed the pitas with roasted garlic/olive oil mixture.  Then I layered about 5 pieces of tomato, 3 strips of pepper and 2-3 slices of eggplant.  Lastly I topped each pizza with a little mozzarella and feta.  The pizzas were then baked in a 475 degree oven for about 5-8 minutes until the cheese was melted and browned.  Made 4 small pizzas, enough for 2 people.

These pizzas were absolutely delicious. The flavors all complemented each other nicely, and they were incredibly filling.  One thing I might add would be an olive tapenade instead of the roasted garlic for the pizza sauce.  It was great the way it was, but if I had a tapenade around I bet it would be even better.  If anyone tries this let me know how it turns out.  Enjoy.

Read more ...