For lack of tomatoes...

A couple of months ago I threw a BBQ for some friends who had recently been married. I knew burrata cheese (which I have a feeling will be the star of my next post) had to be on the menu, but tomatoes weren't really looking very good yet and I wasn't about to pair the greatest cheese ever with something sub-standard! There happened to be some lovely, local (early) red bell peppers at my organic market and I figured they'd make a nice substitute. Little did I know just how amazing a marriage burrata cheese and roasted red peppers make! The sweet, smooth, depth of the roasted pepper perfectly compliments the creamy, slightly salty mildness of the cheese. Piled on top of crusty bread or good crackers or simply eaten with a fork, this stuff is daaaaaaaaaaaaamnnnn gooooooooooooooooooooooood.



Roasted Red Peppers

several red bell peppers, whole

Preheat oven anywhere from 400 to 450 degrees F.

Lay peppers in a baking dish/pan. Roast anywhere from 30-45 min (depending on your oven), turning occasionally so all sides brown fairly evenly. Remove from the oven when the skin is well charred and bubbling/loosened from the rest of the pepper. The peppers will be quite soft.





Place peppers in a paper bag (or any other closed vessel, tupperware, a covered bowl, etc.) and roll shut to let them steam. Let peppers sit in bag for at least 10 minutes. Remove one pepper and test; the outer skin should peel away easily from the flesh (if this doesn't happen, leave them in the bag awhile longer). I usually get a bowl of cold water (which also helps cool them enough to handle, if they're still hot) and submerge the pepper, pulling away the skin and seeds. Cut away any firmer parts of the flesh that didn't cook as much or won't separate from the skin. Slice pepper into whatever size pieces you want (I usually leave them in fairly large strips).



Sprinkle with olive oil, coarse sea salt, and balsamic vinegar. Throw on some chopped parsley or basil, if you like. Eat them as they are, use them on pizza, in pasta or salads...these things are LOADED with flavor and make any dish better! I store mine in the fridge - drizzled with olive oil and layered in a covered dish - and use them all week.

Enjoy!