Kitchen 101 Plus: Roasting Peppers

I've realized with the latest recipe for Green Chile Cheese Pillows that there are some kitchen "skills" that some of you may not be familiar with. So, I'm starting a new section on the blog that I'll call Kitchen 101 Plus. It's not Kitchen 101 because it's not going to be the absolute basics like how to boil an egg, but the intermediate kind of skills you can add to your repertoire to make your meals even more beautiful. But don't worry...none of them are too difficult.

Let's first tackle how to roast peppers. You can use these techniques on any kind of peppers from chiles to red or green bell pepper. And you can do it in the oven, on the grill, or if you're feeling adventurous, over an open flame. (I usually go with the grill method.)

Here's the how-to.

Coat each pepper with a tablespoon or so of oil.

Grill: Put onto a hot grill and turn as you see black scorch marks appear on the peppers. To get them well-roasted should take a total of ten minutes or so. (NOTE: It is important that the peppers get good and black to make them easier to peel. No worries. When the skin is removed, all the black parts will disappear.)

Broiler: Place peppers on a baking sheet and put under broiler. Watch for dark splotches, remove baking sheet from oven and turn with tongs. Continue until all sides of the peppers are blackened.

Open flame: Working carefully over a gas burner, hold pepper with tongs and turn over flame until thoroughly blackened. (Not only is this probably the most dangerous method, it's also, quite frankly, not the most effective method either. I'd suggest you just save this technique for marshmallows when you're camping.)

Place hot peppers into a heavy-duty zip top bag and seal. As the peppers cool, the skins will steam themselves loose.

Once the peppers are cool enough to handle (probably about 15 to 20 minutes), pull the stems out of each pepper. Place the pepper on a flat surface and gently peel the skin of off each pepper.
Slit the peppers open and, with the dull side of a kitchen knife, scrape out the pulp, ribs and seeds and discard.

Slice or chop as needed. While you're at it, make extras and freeze to pop out at a moment's notice. Chiles can enliven lots of dishes and roasted red peppers make an elegant addition to sandwiches, salads, or antipasto platters.

Get adventurous and try it!