How to Roast a Pepper


In the oven

I have mixed emotions about peppers. They are beautiful to look at and pair nicely with a lot of ingredients, but I must admit, I’m not a fan of raw peppers. Occasionally I’ll enjoy their crunch in a salad or on a sandwich but I rarely buy them unless my goal is to roast them into sweet pepper heaven. I may not like them raw and I may not have a preference for green peppers, but roasted peppers are amazing. The most amazing thing about them is that they are easy to make. So stop buying roasted peppers in jars and get a bottle of wine instead and roast them yourself. There are many methods to roasting peppers, such as burning the skin over a gas range using tongs or in a dry cast-iron skillet. I prefer the oven method because I can get other stuff done while they are roasting and the end result is still awesome.


10 minute rest

I’ll just chat myself through this recipe because it’s not the most structured process, so the recipe won’t be either. Ready? Buy some peppers. Maybe the farmer’s market has a farmer with a surplus or you have an overflowing garden or there’s a sale. Buy more than you think you can eat because we’ll preserve some for later so you can use them in quick dinners when you don’t have the time to roast and you won’t be tempted to get that store bought fancy stuff. Wash and dry the peppers. Preheat your oven anywhere between 375 deg F and 450 deg F, depending on how smoky you want them to taste. You can also do this under the broiler if you put the rack up close to the boil element. Put your peppers on the pan, pan in the oven. Now open a bottle of wine or start your rice or whatever you feel like doing.

Check on your peppers every 5 minutes or so and if they are getting nice and burnt, turn them over with some tongs until all of the skin is burnt and blistery looking. Once the whole pepper is thoroughly browned or roasted to your liking, put the peppers in a bowl and cover it with whatever you’ve got to make a seal. I use plastic wrap but if you have a bowl or pan with a lid, you can use that too. Set your timer for 10 minutes and pour yourself another glass of wine.


The process

Now comes the labor. Uncover your peppers and have another bowl ready with a strainer on top of it. Start peeling the skin off the pepper using your fingers or the back of a paring knife, letting any of the juices go into the bowl and the seeds and skins go into the strainer. Once the skin is removed, take off the stem and de-seed as well as you can. Cut the peppers however you like them. I prefer strips.


Roasted, peeled and ready to eat

Store the peeled, seeded peppers in their own juices in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. I like to pack some peppers into a jar with olive oil, salt, roasted garlic and a little balsamic vinegar and spread it on bread. Roasted peppers make a good addition to tomato sauces, pizzas and pretty much anything. To preserve anything you think you won’t eat in a week, spread the peppers on a sheet pan and put in the freezer for an hour. Once they have hardened a little, peel them off the sheet pan, ziplock it and keep it in the freezer for those handy moments when your dinner needs a little pizzazz. Enjoy and know that you are getting plenty of Vitamin C, A and K, fiber and plenty of antioxidant for preventing cancer. Interestingly enough, all peppers contain a substance that causes your body to increase it’s heat production and oxygen consumption for 20 minutes after eating, meaning you burn more calories after eating peppers than other foods.

8 Responses to “How to Roast a Pepper”

  1. Chelsea Says:

    Wow, I can’t believe I’ve never seen your blog! I love it!!! As for roasting peppers, I can’t believe anyone buys roasted peppers, it’s just as easy as roasting garlic! I think roasting poblanos is my favorite :)

  2. Amy Says:

    I too, am not a fan of raw or green peppers, but roasted? I love them! Your photos are beautiful. The farmers’ markets here have the best organic peppers for a fraction of the price you’d pay at the store. Yay!

  3. Jeni Treehugger Says:

    ACE!
    I am guilty of buying tinned Peppers and I hate myself for it! I’d never thought of roasting them and then freezing them – though I have frozen Peppers before. You’re blog makes it sound so easy and you’ve made me want to do this!
    :)

  4. Jennifer Says:

    I admire you for roasting peppers. I passed up a recipe just the other day because it called for roast peppers and I didn’t have any and I was too lazy to roast the peppers I had. Thanks for this tutorial!

  5. Ali Says:

    I’m with you, raw or unpeeled peppers make me sick, but roasted I love them. I just pickled some this weekend-I’m running out of freezer space so decided to go the canning route. I can’t wait to see how they taste.

  6. kimmykokonut Says:

    Chelsea: Welcome, fellow pepper roasterer.

    Amy: Glad I’m not alone in the raw pepper dislike category.

    Jeni: I’ve bought roasted peppers before, don’t feel guilty. Now that I freeze them, I’m not tempted anymore.

    Jennifer: Good luck roasting your own!

    Ali: I’m curious how the canning turns out, let me know.

  7. KimmyKokonut » Blog Archive » What’s in MY freezer? Says:

    [...] Homemade roasted peppers [...]

  8. Helen Says:

    I am so happy to have found your website. One that takes the full appreciation of food(and peppers) and the ability to enjoy it while you are doing it.

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