How to Roost Red Bell Peppers

It’s just a matter of whether you have a gas burner or a grill to work with, or just a regular broiler, roasting red peppers. The name is a bit misleading, as these peppers are truly charred more than roasted, but the end point is the same: separating the tough skin from the silky flesh of the peppers. The twist makes it easy to remove the skin, and the heat of the process softens the peppers, making them soft and tender.

Two methods are described below. For additional step-by-step photo instructions, see “How to Cook Baked Eggplant and How to Bake Bread.” .

What you need

Red, orange or yellow peppers

How to do it

Remove the sticky residue from the peppers and rinse them in cool water. Pat them dry thoroughly.

Broiler method :

Cut out the stem of each pepper and cut in half lengthwise. Remove the stem and core and discard all seeds and white membrane. Once the skin is up, use your hand to gently flatten each pepper bun. You may want to cut off the gills to flatten them. Stack all the peppers and place them in a single layer on the baking paper(s), skin side down. (I like to sand the baking sheet(s) for easy cleanup.) Heat the broiler. Place the peppers under the broiler and cook until the skin is almost completely hardened. You may need to rotate and flip the panorama a few times to evenly char them. Watch them carefully if you want the skin to rub, you don’t want to burn all the pepper. If some of the biscuits are working much faster than others, remove them and finish cooking while still in the pan. Once you’ve lined the baking sheet(s) with foil, simply slide the foil off and place the peppers on. Otherwise, cover the peppers with foil or let them sit. Covering them will steam the pepper and soften them further; leaving them uncovered will result in a stronger roasted pepper – the choice is yours. Either way, let the peppers sit for 10 to 15 minutes to allow the skin to release a little more of the peppers. (Note that some recipes state that you need to cover and “steam” to peel the tops of the peppers; I’ve tested this and it’s the sitting time that makes peeling easier, not the time it takes to peel them, whether they’re covered or not). After the peppers sit, just peel the black leather – it should slide right off. You can do this with running cool water to get a little mess.

Live Flame method :

Place whole peppers on a grill or gas burner and cook, turning as necessary, until they are collected. Set the peppers aside. For softer peppers; For stronger peppers, leave uncovered (see above). Let the peppers sit for 10 to 15 minutes. Pull out the stem and core, as well as all the seeds, and rinse each peppercorn thinly from the skin. You can also pull them into chunks if you prefer. Make it very easy on yourself and do it all under running water if you like.

But if you roast them, serve the roasted and peeled peppers again at room temperature or use them in a recipe. Or store the olive oil coated roasted peppers covered and refrigerated for a few days. Roasted peppers freeze beautifully – place them in double resealable bags and freeze for up to 6 months.