The food world is all a buzz with many varieties of peppers, but we must not forget the good old Bell Pepper! Their beautiful shape and shiny exterior combined with their crunchiness and mild tangy taste make a great addition to many recipes or to just slice and eat raw! Bell peppers can be green, red, yellow, orange, brown (sometimes called chocolate peppers), or purple, depending on the variety & the stage of ripeness. Most are sold in the green stage--fully developed, but not ripe. As they ripen on the vine, most bell peppers turn red and become sweeter. Bell peppers are in the same genus as hot peppers but they have a recessive gene that eliminates their capsaicin, the substance that creates the hot pepper’s fire. Green peppers are less sweet and slightly more bitter than yellow, orange, purple or red peppers. The taste of ripe peppers can also vary with growing conditions and storage treatment; the sweetest are allowed to ripen fully on the plant in full sunshine. When the fruit harvested green and left to ripened in storage they are less sweet.
Bell peppers are a great source of vitamin C. Green bell peppers, by weight, have 2 times the vitamin C of oranges, and red bell peppers have 3 times the amount! They are also high in vitamin A, in addition they have B vitamins, calcium, iron, phosphorous, niacin, & beta-carotene (red peppers have 10x the amount as green), and lots of fiber. One 3½ ounce red pepper contains the recommended daily allowance of beta carotene and more than 3 times the recommended daily allowance for vitamin C!
While bell peppers are available all year, they are most abundant August - September. When buying choose firm, heavy, smooth-skinned peppers that are dry (free of moisture). Store wrapped in paper towel in the crisper section of the refrigerator for 1 week or more.
The ways to use bell peppers are limitless! They can be cooked using almost any method - sautéing, grilling, roasting, stir-frying, broiling, baking, etc. They are wonderful in salads and perfect for crudités platters where they add terrific color and texture to the platter ( they also make a colorful container for your crudité’s dip, just cut off the top and spoon in the dip). They can be stuffed and baked, pureed into a sauce, finely chopped into salsas and chutneys, or dried & ground into a powder. Once pureed or dried and ground, they can be incorporated in many preparations such as pasta and bread dough, vegetable dishes, risotto or rice pilaf, mayonnaise, vinaigrettes, etc. To dry bell peppers, remove the seeds and stem, cut into strips and place them into a 200 degree oven overnight. When dry, grind them in a spice grinder. For most recipes, the various colors of bell peppers are interchangeable (just keep in mind that reds and yellows are sweeter than green peppers).
A Few Preparation Tips:
Dicing:
Here is a link to a great “how to” video from Chef Ming – the best easier technique we have found to core and dice a bell pepper!
Roasted Peppers Rule:
Roasted red peppers are so delicious and easy to make – they upgrade almost anything you are making. Make sure you always have a batch in the frig, making them is simple or use one of the resources in our vegetable section to purchase a few jars – a pantry essential!
They can be roasted in the oven or grilled and the end result is the same. Once the charred skin is removed, a firm, crisp bell pepper has been transformed into a soft, intensely flavored sweet pepper.
If you are making only one or two, twirling the whole pepper over an open flame (fire roasting) can be entertaining, but to roast a batch it is much simpler to put them in sections flat on a baking sheet or grill (cooking time is about 6-10 mins). When the skins are blackened, you can put the peppers in a brown bag (or bowl with lid) to steam, or just let them sit until they’re cool enough to handle and peel off the skins. Once you've roasted them, don't rinse to remove the charred skin or you'll wash much of the flavor down the drain. Instead, after peeling off as much skin as possible with a paring knife, rub or blot away any remaining black patches with a paper towel.
Ideas for those roasted peppers sitting in the fridge? Put them on a crusty piece of bread with goat cheese for lunch, make a quick bruschetta, slice them into omelets, pasta dishes - top burgers or grilled chicken, turkey sandwiches, Italian combo’s, great with panini’s – mix them into vinaigrettes or soups, make a quick classic Caprese salad (tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, roasted peppers and basil), or just toss them into a good quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil to make a delicious dip for crusty bread, or use this flavored oil as a wonderful condiment to be drizzled on cheeses, soups, etc.
Chef Silvia Shares a recipe...
PENNE WITH ROASTED VEGETABLES
Makes 4 servings
Vegetable spray
1 firm medium-sized eggplant, cut in 1/4-inch horizontal slices
1 firm medium-sized zucchini, cut in 1/4-inch horizontal slices
2 large red bell peppers, cut in 1/2-inch slices
2 large carrots, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 large yellow onion, cut in 1/2-inch circles
1 fennel bulb, sliced 1/2 inch thick
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 pound penne pasta
1/4 cup vegetable or chicken broth
Pinch of red pepper flakes
1 medium clove garlic, minced
3 cups Marinara Sauce
3 or 4 basil leaves, slivered
While the pasta water comes to a boil, roast the vegetables. Spray a large baking sheet with a vegetable spray, such as Pam. After the eggplant, zucchini, bell peppers, carrots, onion, and fennel are sliced, put as many varieties as possible on the baking sheet in a single layer, sprinkle the vegetables with the salt and pepper, and put the sheet under the broiler, about 4 to 5 inches from the source of the heat. Check the tray after 1 minute and turn any slices that have turned brown.
As the vegetables brown on both sides and soften, remove them and pile them on a large platter, with each variety in its own pile. Replace each empty spot on the baking sheet with a new pile of raw vegetables. When all the vegetables have been roasted and transferred to a platter, cover the platter with plastic wrap (this will soften them further and keep them warm) and set aside.
Cook the pasta according to package directions in a large pot of boiling, salted water. While the pasta cooks, put the broth and the red pepper flakes in a large nonstick skillet over high heat and cook for 30 seconds. Sauté the garlic for about 30 seconds, or just until it begins to turn golden. Add the Marinara Sauce and cook for about 2 minutes, until the sauce begins to boil. Remove from the heat and season with salt and pepper.
To serve, drain the pasta and transfer it to a large bowl. Toss with half the sauce, put the pasta on individual serving plates, and top with the remaining sauce. Top the pasta servings with each variety of the roasted vegetables until the surface of the pasta is completely covered. Garnish with the basil.
Recipe from SIMPLY SAUTÉ by SILVIA BIANCO
