How to: Roast Red Peppers

Ingredients

• 3-6 red bell peppers
• 1-2 teaspoons olive oil (or other high-heat stable oil like vegetable, canola, peanut)

Instructions

1. Regardless of the method used, coat the outside of each pepper with about a teaspoon of oil. Smear it evenly over the surface.
2. --- Gas Burner Method ---
3. Turn a gas burner to high heat.
4. Place an oiled pepper directly on top of the burner.
5. Allow the pepper to blacken on one side. Use tongs to turn the pepper and let it blacken on all sides until completely charred.
6. The pepper will spray juice, which can burn and be difficult to clean.
7. Once blackened, place the hot pepper in a heatproof container with a lid (a bowl with a plate inverted on top works). This traps steam to help loosen the skin.
8. Let the pepper sit in the covered container for about 15 minutes, or until cool enough to handle.
9. Once cooled, rub or peel off the blackened skin. It should come off easily. If the skin is difficult to remove, the pepper may not have been blackened enough.
10. Ensure peppers are cool enough to handle to avoid burns from trapped juice.
11. Remove the stem, pull out the core, and scrape out the seeds from the inside.
12. Slice the roasted pepper flesh as desired.
13. --- Broiler Method ---
14. Preheat your oven's broiler.
15. Adjust the oven rack so the peppers will be a few inches from the broiler element.
16. Place the oiled peppers on a baking sheet lined with foil.
17. Cook the peppers under the broiler until well blackened on one side. This may take around 8 minutes per side, but will vary based on broiler distance and pepper temperature.
18. Use tongs to turn the peppers and continue broiling until all sides are blackened. Check progress every few minutes.
19. Place the blackened peppers in a covered dish until cooled, similar to the gas burner method.
20. Once cooled, the skin should peel off easily in large sheets.
21. Remove all skin, stem, core, and seeds as described in the gas burner method.
22. --- Freezing Roasted Red Peppers ---
23. After removing the stem, core, and seeds, you can leave the peppers whole or slice them.
24. Divide the peppers into single-serving portions using small bags.
25. Place these individual portions into a larger freezer-grade storage bag to prevent air exposure and freezer burn.
26. Store in the freezer for up to 4-6 months. Use within this timeframe to prevent drying out.