Marinated Roasted Bell Peppers

There is really not much to it.  You take colorful bell peppers at the peak of their ripeness.  You line them up on a baking tray and broil them until blistered and lightly charred.  Then you let them cool.  The magic begins right after the peppers are cooled off.  The scorched skin readily peels right off revealing soft, slithery, silky, pungent, decadent, deeply colored flesh dripping with aromatic, slightly oily juice.  It’s ready to eat as is, even with seeds,  or to be used as an ingredient in your dish.  But if you want to give it something extra, you want to marinate it.  Marinade is quite basic, but it does wonders for the peppers.  It will keep in the fridge for a long time.

Marinated pepper is a wonder-condiment.  It’ll go well with fish, meat and poultry.  It’ll serve as an excellent vodka chaser, as an appetite builder, as a quick snack, and if you cut it into stripes, it’ll do great in salads.  Marinated pepper will crown your Feta or goat cheese sandwich.  And of course, last but not least thing to consider — it looks great and never loses color.

Below are the basic ingredients for the marinade. I am only giving the starting measurements, which means, it’s at least how much you should use, because everyone has their own idea of how spicy or how sweet or sour the marinade should be.  The rule of thumb is — marinade should be about as sweet as it is sour, and have a slightly stronger salt level than you want your peppers to be.  So experiment away. Add more of this or that until your marinade reaches the levels of deliciousness that will please only you.

Marinated Roasted Bell Peppers

• mixed color fresh ripe bell peppers, whole with seeds, or cut into thirds and seeded
• boiled water – 6 cups
• olive oil – 1/3 cup
• white vinegar – 1/3 cup
• sugar – 2-3 tbsp
• salt – 1- 1/2 tsp
• freshly ground black pepper 1/2 tsp
• whole allspice, cracked – 5-6 pieces
• garlic, minced – 3-4 large cloves
• herb of your choice, I use dill – coarsely chopped, about 2 tbsp

Line a baking tray with foil.  Heat the oven to 400F or turn broiler to high setting.

Drizzle peppers very lightly with oil if desire.  If you cut your peppers, line them up on the tray cut side down.

Put the tray high up in the oven, but not closest to the broiler. You want them charred but not too soon.  If you are using whole peppers, check on them and turn once when one side is done. See picture for charring sample.

Peppers are done when they look slightly charred and well wilted.  They may release some juices, which is normal.

Remove the tray from the oven, cover with a sheet of foil and let cool until manageable.

Prepare the marinade.  In a sauce pan mix the remaining ingredients. Bring them to a boil, remove from heat. Taste, taste, taste, and adjust to your liking.

Carefully peel and discard peppers’ scorched skin.  Place peppers into a large jar or a non-reactive bowl. Pour marinade over to coat completely.  Let them naturally cool in marinade, then place in a fridge for at least 1 hour.