roasting peppers is incredibly simple, though not entirely easy or without commitment. i find it best to make a worthy effort and roast as many as possible at a time. since the oven is hot anyway, i will often roast beets (covered in the main part of the oven) & eggplants (under the broiler) along with the peppers. i’ll admit to running out of time (or steam) a few times and leaving the roasted peppers skins and all in the fridge for a few days till i could get to skinning them. the trick here is to steam the peppers; a sealed paper bag or a pot with a lid work equally well. once this is done, the skin will easily peel off. green peppers work as well as red for roasting, but this particular recipe is fantastic when paired with good cheese and hearty bread.
10-15 fleshy red peppers
1-3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 of a lemon
good sea salt
nice olive oil
chili powder, optional
pint mason jar
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. arrange the red peppers on the sheet with their sides touching and place under a hot broiler. our broiler is in a drawer on the bottom of the oven, i close this and check on the peppers every few minutes. as each pepper blackens and blisters, give it a turn. once the peppers have been turned in a circle and charred on all sides, carefully remove them and immediately place in a paper bag or pot and seal either by scrunching down the top of the paper bag or putting a tight fitting lid on the pot. leave the peppers to steam 10-20 minutes.
Skin, seed, stem and quarter the peppers, and place in a bowl without their juices. add the minced garlic, squeeze in the lemon, a pinch or two of salt and chili powder. add just enough olive oil to coat the peppers and gently mix. taste the seasonings here and adjust with a little more salt if necessary. transfer to the mason jar, leaving about 1/2" space between the peppers and the top of the jar and cover with oil before securing with a lid. transfer to the refrigerator or cold storage and let mellow a week before serving. allow the peppers to come to room temperature before serving.