my jerusalem kitchen

The other day, my friend was roasting peppers, eggplant, zucchini and onions and it sent me back to being in middle school, sitting on friend’s porch, eating Shabbat leftovers, and pouring roasted peppers on challah bread into our mouths as we giggled our little tushies off. I had to make some. So, I made two kinds: one that marinated in basil, olive oil, lemon, thyme and salt and the other that marinated in pomegranate syrup, lemon juice and honey. It was fun to try something new, but these are also delicious with just oil, thyme and a little salt. Also, while all sorts of colors look pretty, it was significantly more time-consuming to peel the peppers that were not red, while the red peppers peeled in seconds. If time is an issue for you, you’ll want to factor that in. And if you are squeamish about germs, forget it all together. Just looking at a roasted pepper you know someone’s hands have been ALL over it!

What you need:

2 red peppers

1 yellow pepper

1 orange pepper

bowl #1

2-3 tblsp oil of your choosing

a handful of basil; chopped into long threads (described below)

salt to taste

1/2 tsp dried thyme (or fresh would be fine)

1-2 tblsp lemon

bowl #2:

1/3 cup pomegranate syrup

1/3 cup water

1 tsp oil of your choosing

1 tsp lemon

What to do:

Preheat your oven to 500 F. Slice peppers on all four sides, throw them into a bowl and toss some of them with some oil, thyme and salt and toss the others with just oil (these will be used for the pomegranate marinade). Then, lay them skin-side up on parchment paper on a tray like this:

While these roast, prepare your marinades in two bowls. Roast the peppers until their tops are black, or about 35-40 minutes. They should look like this, or even a little darker:

Next, you’ll want to throw them directly into a paper or plastic bag, or into a bowl and cover it with cling wrap. We’re going to steam them for about 15 minutes to get the skins a little looser and peel away like this:

Once you’ve peeled all your peppers, you can take the fleshy parts that you’re saving and slice them the long way into strips. Be ware though, this is messy business, folks.

Then you can put them in the marinade(s) of your choosing for about 15 minutes. Cut the basil into strips by stacking all the leaves, rolling from one side over to the next and then begin cutting. Store peppers in a jar or ziplock (with some oil) and save to put on salads, serve as an appetizer or put inside a goat cheese, spinach and challah bread sandwich like this: 

I promise we’ll do challa bread soon, too, like next Friday morning when I make it for Shabbat dinner. Enjoy!