Roasted Pepper Salads

There are many versions of roasted pepper salad and many ways to roast peppers. I learned the method in the Roasted Multi-coloured Roasted Pepper Salad recipe from Patrick and the recipe is Patrick's too. Patrick's looked considerably more professional than mine. This method is very easy and the dish is very popular with students and guests.



The second recipe, Roasted Red Peppers with Olives and Capers, is also really easy and a great taste combination.

The leftovers of both salads also taste great alone and you can add them to a cheese sandwich too.

1. Patrick's Multi-coloured Roasted Pepper Salad

Select 3 or 4 different colours of sweet peppers --- red, yellow, orange, and green. Make sure the outside is perfect and each pepper has an intact stem, because you need to keep the peppers whole to keep all the liquid inside them.

Ingredients:
4-8 sweet peppers of various colours, with skin and stems intact
1-2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) (the good stuff)
Sea salt
Freshly ground pepper

Instructions:
Wash the whole peppers gently and put them on a baking sheet covered in foil in a 450 degree F oven (middle rack) for 30-50 minutes depending on the size of the peppers.
Keep turning them gently every 5 or 10 minutes using oven mitts, taking care not to burst them and lose the liquid inside. They don't need to brown or turn black.

Once they are completely collapsed in on themselves they will look like this. The red peppers on the left are the ideal, the yellow and orange peppers are not quite collapsed.

Lift the peppers carefully into a large bowl using oven mitts, taking care not to burst them and lose the liquid inside. I also use wooden tongs to handle the hot peppers.


Cool the peppers. I am usually too impatient to wait and just start the next step.
Carefully pull out the stems trying to extract the core and seeds intact with the stems, discard the stems, core and seeds, leaving the liquid with the peppers in the bowl. Pull the remaining seeds and the skins off the peppers.
Cut the peppers in 1-inch strips length-wise and lay the strips on a platter, alternating the colours.
Pour the liquid from the bowl over the peppers. Use a strainer if there are seeds in the liquid.
Drizzle with a little EVOO.
Season with a little salt and pepper.
Serve hot or cold.

2. Roasted Red Pepper Salad with Olives and Capers

Ingredients:
4-6 red peppers
Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
Sea salt
Freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives
2 Tbsp. capers, drained

Instructions:
Wash the peppers.
Take each whole pepper and lay it down on the cutting board lengthwise and cut 1-2 inch strips off, just missing the stem, core and seeds, turning the pepper as you go. You should end up with 5 or 6 strips of pepper, and the stem, core and seeds in a separate piece.
Discard stem, core and seeds. Rinse any seeds off the pepper strips.
Put the pepper strips on a baking sheet covered in foil.
Drizzle generously with EVOO, season with salt and pepper and toss.
Spread the peppers out on the baking sheet.
Roast at 450 degrees F. for 20-30 minutes or until cooked.
Put the roasted pepper strips into a bowl. Don't bother to skin them.
Add the kalamata olives and capers.
Add more EVOO (the good stuff).