Roasted Pepper Salad

The Washington Post, September 3, 2008

• • Course: Salad, Side Dish
• • Features: Fast

Summary:

This smoky, velvety salad has the color intensity of fall in all its glory, using end-of-season sweet peppers.

Do not refrigerate the prepared peppers, as it will mar their delicate flavor. Leave the salad at room temperature until ready to serve, up to several hours.

4 to 5 servings

Ingredients:

• • 6 large sweet bell peppers, preferably a mix of yellow, orange and red
• • Salt
• • Freshly ground black pepper
• • 1 medium clove garlic, smashed to a paste with a little salt
• • 1 1/2 teaspoons capers, rinsed
• • Red wine vinegar
• • Olive oil
• • 1/4 cup nicoise olives, rinsed, for garnish (brine-cured, oil-packed)
• • Basil leaves, for garnish

Directions:

Roast the peppers over an open flame, either a wood fire or on the stovetop, or under the broiler. Place the peppers as close to the flame as possible so their skins will blacken and blister quickly. Turn the peppers frequently with a pair of tongs so they roast evenly.

Place them on a baking sheet and cool to room temperature. (Some cooks will tell you to cover the just-roasted peppers or put them in a bag, but too much steaming can overcook the flesh.)

Use a large knife to split the cooled peppers top to bottom, then scrape the seeds from the insides. Turn each pepper half over and scrape away the charred skin. Slice the cleaned peppers lengthwise into 1-inch-wide strips and place in a medium serving bowl; discard any charred bits. Season with salt and pepper to taste; toss well. Add the garlic, capers and a teaspoon or two of red wine vinegar to taste. Drizzle lightly with the oil, then gently toss.

Cover the salad loosely and let it sit at room temperature for up to several hours.

Just before serving, taste and adjust the seasoning, then mound the salad on a platter. Garnish with the olives and drizzle with a little of the oil. Decorate with basil leaves.

About Charring Peppers:

Using the oven broiler is a good way to go when there are more than 1 or 2 peppers to char. For this recipe, we lined a large baking sheet with aluminum foil, split the bell peppers through the stems and laid them cut sides down on the baking sheet. We turned the sheet front to back about halfway through the process, and we moved a few halves around for even charring.

When they were all done, we turned off the oven and let them sit until cool enough to handle. The peels came off easily, as did the stems, softened cores and seeds.

Recipe Source:

Adapted from "A Platter of Figs and Other Recipes," by David Tanis (Artisan, 2008).

118 calories, 8g fat, 1g saturated fat, n/a cholesterol, 147mg sodium, 13g carbohydrates, 4g dietary fiber, n/a sugar, 2g protein.