Another Italian Recipe: roasted red peppers

I've been eating a lot of eggplant lately and I know I've mentioned this. A few times. I'm not sure it's fair but I'm blaming a recent trip to Italy and all those amazing antipasto plates I enjoyed. These recipes for marinated eggplant antipasto and eggplant Parmesan are some of my favorites for eggplant.

But now, just over the past few weeks, I've also been eating a lot of roasted red peppers. And I think I can blame Italy for this craving as well. It's the olive oil. Marinate anything in good quality, extra-virgin olive oil and I'm hooked. I've even been going so far as reaching over my butter dish for the bottle of olive oil to drizzle some on my morning toast. Crazy right?



This recipe by The Magical Melting Pot for homemade Italian roasted red peppers is a perfect, simple way to enjoy flavourful peppers. The marinade can be saved and used as a salad or pasta dressing and the peppers can make up part of an antipasto plate, be enjoyed with a little cheese, on a sandwich or salad.




Italian Roasted Red Peppers (serves 2-4)

Ingredients
2 large red bell peppers
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground oregano
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions
Slice each pepper in half and clean out the insides. Place onto a baking tray cut side down and roast them in a hot oven under the broiler for about 15 to 20 minutes, until the skins are charred and blackened.

Once they have reached this point, take them out of the oven and place each half into a brown paper bag or something (pot, bowl) that you can place a lid on. Once the peppers have cooled and the skins have loosen, peel away the charred peel and slice into thin strips. Place them in a flat bowl, such as a pasta bowl, so the marinade will completely cover them.

While the peppers are roasting, combine the extra-virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, ground oregano, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.

Pour the dressing over the roasted peppers. Let them marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or longer before serving. When ready to serve, remove the peppers from the marinade and enjoy!

MORE ITALIAN RECIPES--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Marinated Eggplant Antipasto
Bite-sized slices of eggplant, roasted and marinated in good quality olive oil, lemon juice, red chili, garlic and herbs.

Mushroom and Spinach Lasagna
An Italian classic with rich flavours of pasta, sauce, cheese, mushrooms and spinach. Immensely satisfying.

Polpettone
Italian meat loaf or meat balls seared in olive oil and finished in a sauce of caramelized red onions, reduced balsamic vinegar and tomatoes. You won't beleive how good this is until you try it!