Roasted Peppers Italian Style

Roasted Peppers are very tasty, when combined with garlic and olive oil, they are magic. In many Italian-American households roasting peppers is a long-held family tradition; Vito’s Mom was no exception and we got to enjoy them many times as part of an antipasto before a holiday meal and sometimes along with lunch or in Grilled Italian Sausage and Peppers Two Ways.

Traditionally, the peppers were roasted individually over a gas burner, until the skin had blistered and blackened.  The whole now-blackened peppers were placed in a paper bag to sweat and then the skin and seeds removed using your “asbestos hands” which can handle any hot foods; a unique biological “trait” which Vito’s Mom and he shared and I (Jan) do not.  This first time I made them, I had forgotten that the peppers needed to be roasted whole, I cut them up and seeded them, so the first batch was made with skin and without the need of “asbestos hands”. We brought some to Vito’s Mom, who gave here wholehearted approval. From then on, the recipe below was used. During most visits to Vito’s Mom in Florida, I roasted peppers for her as they were a fave of hers, enjoyed with a nice piece of crispy bread. Enjoy!

Prep Time: 15 minutes, Total Time: 30 minutes. Serves: 4

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Ingredients:

• 2 Green Bell Peppers
• 2 Red Bell Peppers
• 2 Yellow or Orange Bell Peppers
• 4 Garlic cloves, peeled and trimmed
• 1/3 cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 3 Tbs finely chopped flat-leaf Parsley
• ¼ tsp coarse Sea Salt

Preparation:

1. Wash the peppers
2. Slice the top off each pepper about ½-inch from the shoulder and remove the stem, leaving the top “doughnut” circle intact.
3. Remove the seeds and pith and cut the pepper in to large sections; let the rib where the seeds were attached represents the center of each section.
4. Heat the grill to a medium high heat. This can also be done indoors on a griddle or gas burner, but it will create some smoke.
5. Grill with the flesh-side down/skin-side up until they start to soften or char, then turn the peppers over. Pay close attention as the skin-side down grills fast. You do not want the skin to completely blacken. Remove the peppers from the grill and set aside in a large bowl to cool.
6. When the peppers are cool enough to handle, slice the peppers in the ¼-inch wide strips and return to the same bowl.
7. Cut the garlic cloves into wafer-thin slices.
8. Add the garlic, parsley extra virgin olive oil, and sea salt to the bowl with the sliced peppers and stir to mix. Set aside for 15 minutes to allow the flavors to mix and develop prior to consuming.
9. Serve Roasted Peppers as part of an antipasto or with lunch. To store, place in an airtight container, cover with a thin layer of extra virgin olive oil, place a cover on the container and refrigerate. The garlic will mellow after 24 hours.  Roasted Peppers will store up to 7 days refrigerated, if they last that long.