Roasted Red Peppers

Photo by Shadphotos. Flickr

Both red and green peppers are high in vitamin C, making them one of the prize winners, of aiding in one's good health if added to our diets. My mother use to have a large bowl of roasted red peppers in our refrigerator at all times. Our family used her well loved peppers in sandwiches, mixed in salads or eaten as a side dish. Sometimes she used them as a topping over her delicious homemade pizza. Even though red peppers can be a bit expensive to purchase, You'll feel they were worth adding to your grocery list after tasting this rustic Italian vegetable recipe.

Ingredients;

6 large sweet red bell peppers, left whole

Extra virgin olive oil

1 large clove of minced garlic

Salt and pepper to taste

1 tsp chopped fresh parsley

Lower your oven rack to the middle of your oven. Put your oven on broil. Place the whole red peppers onto a baking sheet that's been sprayed with no stick cooking spray. Put the pan in the oven, keeping the oven door cracked opened. As the peppers are roasting, you will need to turn them often to prevent them from burning. Meanwhile, mince your garlic and chop the parsley. Once the peppers are very soft and and their skins are charred (not completely burned,) remove them from the oven and allow them to cool.

When the peppers have cooled, carefully peel their skins off, discard the stem and remove most of the seeds. Slice them length wise. After you are done thinly slicing each pepper, place them in a bowl. Add the extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper, minced garlic, and chopped parsley to the bowl. Stir everything together well. You can serve them immediately, or store them in the refrigerator for future use. Roasted red peppers will keep nicely for about a week. If you're going to use them as a side dish, remove them from the refrigerator about 20 minutes before serving them. When they're eaten as a side dish, they taste better at room temperature. For all other uses, they can be eaten chilled if you desire.