Oven-roasted bell peppers are a simple side dish, easy to make in the oven. In fact, this is more than just a side dish. Roasted peppers are an excellent ingredient to many other recipes. Roasting brings out the sweetness of the peppers while also giving the crunchy vegetable a much softer bite.
My favourite part about oven-roasted bell peppers will have to be the fact that the skin is removed. This makes peppers a lot easier to digest. I love bell peppers – especially the sweet red ones – but they’re always a bit tough on my stomach. And it’s the skin to blame, as it is particularly difficult to break down. But once you get rid of it, you can enjoy bell peppers without the unpleasant consequences.
What you will need
The ingredient list in this recipe is very simple: you just need fresh bell peppers! That’s pretty much it. In their most simple version, you will not need anything else. For storing you will need some olive oil, just read on for further instructions.
My favourite is by far red bell pepper, but I also like to have some yellow here and there, so I usually do one each, or 2 red and 1 yellow. I tend to not choose green pepper as it’s less sweet, but if you like it you can obviously use green, the procedure will be the same.
We’re 2 in this household so 3 bell peppers is more than enough, but if you need to feed a crowd you can just double or triple the amount, fitting as many bell peppers as you can on your oven tray. That’s the only limit, but you can always work in batches if you need to make more.
How to oven-roast bell peppers
Cut off as many tinfoil sheets as you have peppers, in this case 3. Place a bell pepper in the centre of each foil and lay them on an oven tray. Lightly crumple the sheets bending the edges upwards. This is to catch any potential leakage from the peppers and keep the oven tray clean.
Place the tray in the middle section of the oven and roast at 200°C for 45 minutes, turning the peppers every 15 minutes. This will expose all the sides of the peppers, giving them a nice char all over.
When the time is up, take the tray out of the oven and wrap each bell pepper closed in its tinfoil sheet. Let rest for 30 minutes. This will keep the steam inside: steaming is very useful for easiest removal of the skin, so don’t hurry and skip this step.
Unwrap the roasted peppers, which should now have cooled enough to be easy to handle, and transfer to a plate. Let tinfoil sheets dry (they should be almost clean) and recycle.
To clean lift each bell pepper and keep upside down, with the stem facing downwards. Gently remove the stem by pulling it out with the other hand, this way most of the seeds and some juice will also flow out. Rip open the bell pepper and proceed to brush off the seeds and gently pull away the skin. It should come off very easily.
You can use oven-roasted bell peppers in large slices as they are, or cut them into strips, depending on the recipe where you want to use them. I personally prefer to cut them into strips, but if you’re making for example my roasted pepper soup it won’t really matter because the soup will be blended.
How to store roasted bell peppers
If you are not going to eat your oven-roasted bell peppers straight away, you can store them in the fridge for up to 10 days. This is very convenient if you’re planning to use them later but don’t want to have too many tasks on the day you need to serve them. You just make them ahead.
First off, squeeze any juice from the discarded skins and seed clusters and pour through a sieve. Pour some of this roasting juice on the bottom of a jar and add some olive oil. Proceed to place pepper strips pressing them against the jar in order to squeeze out any air. Pour in more roasting juice and olive oil and proceed filling the jar. Top with olive oil – this is what will keep the roasted peppers fresh.
If you notice an air bubble on the side of the jar, make sure to remove it or it may cause mold. Slide a toothpick along the side of the jar until you reach the air bubble, then gently push the peppers inward creating an escape channel for the bubble. When the air bubble has escaped, push back the peppers against the side of the jar.
How to use oven-roasted bell peppers
Roasted bell peppers are a fantastic side dish alone. In Piemonte where I’m from it’s very common to serve them with garlic and olive oil, a simple but flavourful side dish. You can also mix in a few anchovies – this actually reminds of another traditional recipe, bagna cauda, the perfect match to roasted peppers.
But there is actually so much more you can do with them. You can add them to pasta – both a proper warm pasta dish or a pasta salad. In fact, oven-roasted bell peppers are great in any salad, really.
And how about pizza? Perfect pizza topping ingredient, whether it is a vegetarian pizza or one with meat.
But you can also use these homemade roasted peppers to make roasted pepper soup with goat cheese or these red pepper flans with pecorino sauce.
Did you like this recipe? Please leave a comment below. If you want to make oven-roasted bell peppers next time you buy some you can pin the recipe to Pinterest!
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Roasted Bell Peppers in Oil
Ingredients
- 3 bell peppers
- olive oil for preserving
Instructions
- Place each bell pepper in the centre of a tinfoil sheet - one per pepper - and lay them on an oven tray. Lightly crumple the sheets bending the edges upwards.
- Place the tray in the centre of the oven and roast at 200°C for 45 minutes, turning the peppers every 15 minutes to give them a nice char all over.
- Take the tray out of the oven and wrap each bell pepper closed in its tinfoil sheet. Let rest for 30 minutes. This traps the steam inside for easy removal of the skin.
- Unwrap the cooled peppers and transfer to a plate. Lift each bell pepper keeping it upside down, stem facing downwards. Gently remove the stem by pulling it out with the other hand - most of the seeds and some juice will also flow out. Rip open the bell pepper and brush off the seeds, then gently pull away the skin.
To preserve in oil
- Squeeze any juice from the discarded skins and seed clusters and pour through a sieve. Pour some of this roasting juice into a jar with some olive oil. Slice the roasted peppers into thin strips and place pepper strips inside the jar pressing them against the sides in order to squeeze out any air. Pour in more roasting juice and olive oil and proceed filling the jar. Top with olive oil - this is what will keep the roasted peppers fresh. Store refrigerated for up to 2 weeks, topping up with more olive oil every time you consume some, so that the peppers are always covered in oil.
