Roasted Pepper Salad
The parent dish of this salad is peperonata. It must be sixty plus years since Elizabeth David’s ‘A Book of Mediterranean Food’ was published in the UK and brought it to our notice. I do think we’ve got over the grief of not being a misplaced mediterranean country now, but peperonata remains a lovely part of my summer. It’s that silky mix of sweet peppers, onions and tomatoes. Sometimes with garlic, basil and, I read the other day, potatoes …
Really lovely – and I make it and use it in all kinds of sacrilegious non antipasto situations.
Here, the same ingredients become something different. Rather than stew everything together over a low heat for 40 minutes or so, I’m roasting my peppers and onions. It’s super easy to make and, like the French-Style Potato Salad, sits perfectly happily in the sunshine.
If you want to make it ahead, it will only taste better if it’s been allowed to sit in the fridge overnight. It makes a good side dish for a barbecue or buffet and the leftovers are fantastic in a wrap. (Try it with hummus.) I love it in a baked potato with or without cheddar. And, if I’m still trying convince you to give it a try, it freezes brilliantly.
It begins with lots of good things. This is the recipe in which to make use of the bowls of small peppers you find at the market or bagged together at the supermarket. If they are particularly small, simply add an extra pepper or two in. As far as colour goes, I like a sunshine mix but it really doesn’t matter.
Cut off the top and the bottom. Then run your knife along the remaining pepper strip, removing the seeds and the pith.
And slice into 5mm strips.
If presentation were my main concern I’d probably use the ends for something else, but it isn’t – and I don’t. Slice them up.
A bowl of summer sunshine. I’ve used 6 medium sized peppers here.
Then, top and tail the onions. Peel and slice into 5mm crescents. 1 onion for every 3 peppers. Roughly. It really isn’t an exact science.
Don’t be horrified at how much garlic is going in this. Once it has been roasted it’s sweet and mellow.
2 whole bulbs of garlic went into my salad. 1 bulb for every onion. Roughly. Peel and cut in half if the clove is particularly enormous.
Place everything into a big bowl. Add 4 teaspoons of dried oregano, 2 teaspoons of ground cumin, a grinding of peppercorns and a drizzle of olive oil.
Then spread out onto baking trays. You want the vegetables to roast rather than steam, so don’t overfill the baking trays. Cook at 200ºC/Gas Mark 6/400ºF for 15 minutes. (Aga Roasting Oven: fourth set of runners for 10 minutes.)
Meanwhile, prepare the tomatoes. 6 tomatoes. De-seed.
And cut into cubes.
When the initial cooking time is up, add the chopped tomatoes. Give everything a stir and return to the oven for a further 15 minutes. (Aga: 10 minutes).
Squeeze the juice from a lemon. (I used a microplane grater to remove the zest first. You don’t need it for this, but it freezes. I made ‘rock cakes’.)
Place all the roasted vegetables into a big bowl and add the juice of the lemon. Give everything a stir and let it all cool.
Just before serving, roughly chop a large bunch of parsley and add that to the salad. Basil is a nice alternative.
Eat.
Roasted Pepper Salad
Serves 8
- 6 medium-sized peppers in a mix of colours, de-seeded and sliced into 5mm strips
- 3 onions, peeled and sliced into 5mm crescents
- 2 bulbs of garlic, separated into cloves and peeled
- 4 tablespoons of olive oil
- 3 teaspoons of oregano
- 2 teaspoons of ground cumin
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 6 tomatoes, de-seeded and cut into cubes
- juice of 1 lemon
- large bunch of chopped parsley
Pre-heat the oven to 200ºC/Gas Mark 6/400ºF.
Place the pepper strips, the onion crescents and the peeled garlic cloves into a big bowl. Add the oregano, ground cumin, freshly ground black pepper and olive oil. Mix everything together.
Lay everything out in a shallow layer on baking sheets and cook for 15 minutes. (Aga: Roasting Oven fourth set of runners – 10 minutes.)
Add the chopped tomatoes and give everything a stir. Return to the oven and cook for a further 15 minutes. (Aga: Roasting Oven fourth set of runners – 10 minutes.)
Transfer everything into a bowl and add the juice of a lemon. Allow the salad to cool. Just before serving add a large bunch of roughly chopped parsley. Stir.
Eat.