A recipe you can burn: Roasted Bell Peppers

It turns out I love recipes that ask you to burn things. (Well, technically 'char', but whatever). Let's be honest, baking is an ordeal. You want to pull those cookies out just before they are done so they can finish on the sheet, but then they don't look done, so you put them back in the oven for a minute, and pull them out again, and... the cookies are overdone. And these are just cookies! Don't get me started on cake.

So, the fact that this recipe for roasted peppers asks you to burn, okay 'char', the peppers delights me to no end.

Also delightful about this: at the end of it, you have roasted peppers. So many possibilities for these gems. One of my favorites: on pizza. Emmanuelle and I actually made these peppers for a pizza topping in January.
Another marvelous use: as bruschetta. While people may be accustomed to regular tomato bruschetta, wait til they have this. And with tomato season waning, a non-tomato bruschetta alternative is most welcome. See below for the recipe.

More uses: in a sandwich, on a salad, pureed in a soup, as a soup garnish, over any sort of meat, in pasta, as a snack by themselves. This go round, I made 5 peppers so I could have enough to freeze. We'll see if they make it that long.

The recipe, while a little bit time consuming, is very easy. And, I think, worth it. These are so much better than jarred peppers you buy in the store.

First, lay your peppers on a baking sheet. How pretty are these?
Put them in the oven until they are burnt.
Take them out of the oven, put them in a bowl, and cover the bowl with foil. You let that sit for 30 minutes.
See that steam? It loosens the skin on the peppers and allows you to peel it right off. Trust me, you don't want to rush this part. If you do, not only are the skins awfully difficult to get off, you'll burn your fingers. It hurts.

Now, they are ready to go.

So, peel them.
Seed them.
A trash bowl is excellent in circumstances such as these.
(I actually rarely cook anything without a trash bowl. Just put a bowl next to your cooking area and throw all your seeds, peels, egg shells, et cetera in it. Try it; you will never go back.)

This is what the pepper will look like when it is peeled and seeded.
Cut them into strips. This is fun.
Toss them with olive oil, salt, and pepper. If you want, and I highly recommend it, give the peppers a splash of balsamic. Seriously, I am fairly certain roasted peppers are in love with balsamic. The flavor combination is fantastic and the acid cuts everything really nicely.
Now, you have a pile of gorgeous peppers on your hands to use as you will.

Basic Roasted Peppers (adapted from Ina Garten)
Ingredients:
1-5 bell peppers, preferably orange and red (the yellow ones tend to burn quicker)

Preheat the oven to 500. Place peppers on sheet (do not overlap). Bake 30-40 minutes, turning twice until completely charred and skins are loose. Remove from pan into a bowl. Cover with aluminum foil for 30 minutes. Seed, peel, and cut into strips.

Toss them with extra virgin olive oil, salt, and pepper. If you want (and why wouldn't you?), given them a splash of balsamic vinegar. Or add some variation of the mix found in the following bruschetta recipe.

Roasted Pepper Bruschetta (adapted from Ina Garten)
4 roasted bell peppers
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 Tablespoon balsamic
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 Tablespoons capers (optional)
Julienned basil (optional)

For the crostini:
Thin slices (1/4-1/3 inch) of baguette, ciabatta, or other rustic bread
Extra virgin olive oil
Garlic cloves, halved (optional)

After peppers have been seeded, peeled, and cut into stripss, add the remaining ingredients. Refrigerate for a few hours before serving.

For the crostini, preheat the oven to 375. Arrange your slices of bread on a baking sheet, don't overlap. Drizzle olive oil over the bread. Toast in the oven about 7-8 minutes, until the bread is slightly golden. Remove and, if you want, rub each slice 3 or 4 times with a garlic clove. The heat from the bread will cause the garlic clove to melt and cover the bread with its delicious oil. These can be made a day ahead and stored in an air tight container.

This bruschetta is fabulous plain, but if you want to jazz it up, try serving it with some gorgonzola or goat cheese.

Box-of-garden-vegetables, Round Two: Ratatouille

There is nothing quite like hearing a knock on your door, opening the door, and finding a box full of vegetables on your doorstep. You want to know why? Because this garden...

...gets packed in a box in the garden and sent to me.
(for more pictures of the garden, look at the end of this post)

This is the second box of vegetables my father has sent me. It doesn't get much better than this. He packs the box in the garden, drops it off at the post-office, and a few days later I have fresh corn, peppers, squash, zucchini, eggplant, okra, onions, shallot, cucumber, and radishes.

With the box in hand, my mind started racing through recipes and my fingers started thumbing through the 'vegetable' section of my Joy of Cooking. I settled on a recipe for Ratataouille Provencal.

This hearty, stew-like dish is packed with flavor. First, you have all the wonderful veggies: eggplant, squash/zucchini, peppers, onions, garlic, and tomatoes. Then you have some wonderful herbs: thyme, bay leaf, and basil. This dish could easily have turned into a disaster of mush-y, indistinguishable vegetable-like pieces. Fortunately, this recipe made it possible for the vegetables to marry together, and yet retain their individual flavors and shapes. What a perfect way to showcase these lovely, fresh Matherne-garden vegetables.

The prep:
Get the veggies out. And revel in how beautiful the are.
I started with the eggplant and squash. And, yes, I used a scale to weigh 1 pound of each and a ruler to cut 1-inch chunks. Here's the Japanese eggplant, slender and more tender than regular globe eggplant.


And the squash. I threw in a little zucchini for good measure.
Next, these lovely peppers. This time, I went ruler-free.

Then the onions. If they are sent to you from the garden, be sure to clean them well.


Mince up the garlic.

Gather your basil.

And you are ready to start cooking. Get some oil heating in your Dutch oven.

You start with the eggplant and the squash. You use high heat at this point, because you want to get a golden crust on the eggplant and squash, without overcooking them. They start like this:
And, once they are golden like this:
... remove them to a plate.

Reduce the heat to medium-high, add a bit more oil, and toss in your onions.

Once they are softened, add the peppers and garlic.
Let those cook until just tender.

Then for the tomatoes. I decided to drain a can instead of peeling my own.

Now, you add in the tomatoes, thyme, and bay leaf.

Cover and let that marry for about 5 minutes. Then add the eggplant and squash back in.

Cover that and let that marry for another 20 minutes or so. The timing is important on this because you don't want the vegetables to turn to mush. You want everything to still have body and be distinct. Remove the lid and throw in a handful of chopped basil.


Spoon that into your serving bowl. Garnish with some basil and a little grated parmesan.

Serve that with a side of corn on the cobb, and you have one fantastic way to use vegetables that were delivered by the mailman.


Ratataouille Provencal (adapted from Joy of Cooking)
Ingredients:
1/4 c, plus 2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium eggplant (about 1 pound), peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
1 pound zucchini (or squash), cut into 1-inch chunks
1 1/2 cups sliced onions
2 large bell peppers, cut into 1-inch squares
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups peeled, seeded, chopped fresh tomatoes or one 14-oz can diced tomatoes, drained
2 to 3 sprigs of fresh thyme or 1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper
1/4 cup chopped basil

Directions:
Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven over high heat. Add eggplant and squash. Cook, stirring until golden and just tender, about 10-12 minutes. Remove the vegetables to a plate and reduce the heat to medium-high. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and onions. Cook until the onions are slightly softened. Add bell peppers and garlic cloves. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the peppers are just tender but not browned, about 8 to 12 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add tomatoes, thyme, and the bay leaf. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook for 5 minutes. Add the eggplant and zucchini and cook until everything is tender, about 20 minutes more. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Stir in basil.

Serve garnished with basil and parmesan cheese.

Use this Ratatouille as a side dish, over meat, on a hummus sandwich, or on a salad.

More pictures of the garden and its delights:
Peppers,
Japanese eggplants,

turnips,onions,
squash,

zucchinis, cucumbers,
and rows of corn...