Roasted Peppers

Open flame method: turn on a burner to medium high heat and place the pepper on the grate above the flame. Make sure that the pepper isn’t directly on the flame as it won’t allow even roasting. As the skin of the pepper starts to bubble and blacken rotate it until all the skin is the same color, black and charred… and don’t worry, you won’t ruin the flesh. When it’s done roasting place it in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. This is when steam gets in between the flesh and skin allowing them to separate. (this takes between 10 to 15 minutes).

The next step is to take it out and pull the stems out. Place the pepper on a flat work surface and pull the skin off with your fingers. Split the pepper open with a pairing knife and use the back side to scrape out the pith and seeds. A big big big no no is to rinse the pepper under water. It might help wash away some of the skin, seeds and pith but it also rinses away the flavor! Ok your all done!

Oven method: turn on your oven to 500 degrees. Line a baking pan with parchment paper (the reason you do this is to save a lot of clean up later), place the peppers on the pan and put in the hot oven. Some folks brush with oil but it really doesn’t matter. Watch the pepper and pull when it becomes black and bubbly. Repeat the steps above.

One of my favorites is a grilled chicken sandwich with roast red peppers, basil, mayo, a squeeze of fresh lemon and thinly sliced red onions.