Roasting Peppers
By:
Allrecipes Staff
Enjoy the succulent sweetness of a freshly roasted pepper prepared at home.
Roasting peppers at home is remarkably easy. The whole process takes less than 40 minutes, uses very few kitchen tools, and is nearly foolproof. Both sweet and hot peppers can be roasted in this manner.

1. We have opted to roast two sweet bell peppers, one red and one green. We recommend using two teaspoons of vegetable oil for each pepper. Avoid extra-virgin olive oil as its smoke point is low and will burn when broiled. Preheat your oven's broiler.

2. Coat each pepper evenly with oil. A pastry brush is a useful tool to use when coating the peppers, but fingers will work in a pinch if a pastry brush is not on hand. Make sure to coat inside the folds of each pepper.

3. Arrange the peppers on a baking sheet and place the baking sheet on the highest rack in your oven.

4. Keep a watchful eye on the peppers to ensure that they do not become too scorched. When dark splotches begin to appear on the peppers, remove the baking sheet from the oven and carefully turn each pepper over.

5. The peppers will be very hot, so use tongs or some other kitchen utensil to do this. Once all of the peppers are turned, return the sheet to the oven.

6. When the tops of the peppers begin to darken again, remove them from the oven and place them into a bowl large enough to accommodate all of the peppers. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, making sure that it is sealed all the way around. It is important that the peppers are in an air-tight container for this step of the process in order for them to be steamed. The trapped hot peppers generate the steam necessary to loosen their skins.

7. Once the peppers are cool enough to handle (probably about 15 to 20 minutes), pull the stems out of each pepper.

8. Hold one end of the pepper down on a flat surface and gently peel the skin off of each pepper. The skin should slide off fairly easily.

9. Lift each pepper up and hold it with one hand, while using your other hand to squeeze down the pepper's length. The bulk of the seeds and pulp should drop out the bottom when this motion is completed.

10. With the backside of the knife, slit open the side of each pepper and spread them out (ribbed side up) on your work surface. With the dull side of your knife, scrape off any of the ribs or membrane that remains in the pepper.

11. Use these juicy, tender peppers to enliven sandwiches, spice up Mexican dishes, add to an antipasto platter, or toss with a crisp salad.
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