Who knew roasting your own red peppers could be so easy? For years, I bought roasted red peppers in the jar. At first, the recipe dictated the size of the jar, which of course dictated the price. But sometimes I’d get a big jar only to have it start growing mold in the fridge. I hate waste like that! I decided to start roasting my own a while back, and never looked back.
Recently I was at a Cooking with Friends gathering, and one of the recipes called for roasted red peppers. Our host bought the fresh red pepper, leaving the roasting up to us. Several in the group, including the host, had never roasted a red pepper. Sure, everyone’s roasted vegetables in the oven, but not red peppers to the soft and sweet stage. Professor Barbara to the rescue with my mini “roast a pepper” lesson!
Here’s How
Buy fresh red pepper(s) at your local grocer or farm market. Really, you can roast any color you like and in any quantity you want or need! Wash your peppers well and dry them off.
GRILL METHOD:
Heat up your grill to 450-500*. Place your peppers directly on the grate of the grill, right over the flame. Close the lid. Turn your pepper approximately every 5 minutes, until all sides of the pepper are charred black. Remove from grill, place into a paper or plastic bag, and seal the bag. Be careful; bag will get hot! Set on your kitchen counter for 10-15 minutes. Open the bag and carefully remove the peppers. Again, be careful handling as the peppers will still be hot! Run under cold water and peel the charred skin off. It’ll remove very easily. Pull out the stem, and slice open to remove the seeds.
GAS STOVETOP METHOD
Light one gas burner per pepper on medium-high. Place a pepper directly on each burner. Turn your pepper approximately every 5 minutes, until all sides of the pepper are charred. Remove from burner, place into a paper or plastic bag, and seal the bag. The bag will steam the peppers, which makes the skin come off easily. Be careful; bag will get hot! Set on your kitchen counter for 10-15 minutes. Open the bag and carefully remove the peppers. Again, be careful handling as the peppers will still be hot! Run under cold water and peel the charred skin off. It’ll remove very easily. Pull out the stem, and slice open to remove the seeds.
OVEN BROILER METHOD
Move your oven racks to the top position. Turn your oven to Broil-High. Place peppers directly on oven rack, and close oven door, leaving door one quarter open. Turn your pepper approximately every 5 minutes, until all sides of the pepper are charred. Remove from oven, place into a paper or plastic bag, and seal the bag. The bag will steam the peppers, which makes the skin come off easily. Be careful; bag will get hot! Set on your kitchen counter for 10-15 minutes. Open the bag and carefully remove the peppers. Again, be careful handling as the peppers will still be hot! Run under cold water and peel the charred skin off. It’ll remove very easily. Pull out the stem, and slice open to remove the seeds.
STORING
Once your peppers are roasted and peeled, you can store them in a glass jar in the refrigerator. Pack them into your glass jar, then top with a good olive oil, oil quantity ¼” above the peppers. Seal tightly, and keep in refrigerator. From my experience, peppers should be good in your refrigerator up to 3 months. Be sure to check on them before you use though, to ensure they’ve not molded on you!
You can also freeze the peppers once they’re roasted. Cool peppers completely. Place into a freezer-safe container with a good drizzle of olive oil. Place in freezer. Peppers should be good quality frozen about 6 months. Six months to 1 year, they’ll still be good but you might want to use them in sauces as their physical quality will lessen.
