table talk / By Simona Carini

Glorious Bells

Two recipes for oven-roasted peppers

(Sept. 27, 2007)  The Farmers’ Market is always a feast for the eyes, and some days the feast includes fireworks. Lately I have been admiring the pyrotechnic display of peppers. Stalls are overflowing with specimens of different colors, shapes and sizes. Looking at this bounty, I feel like a child in front of an amazing array of (vegetable) candies, overwhelmed by the range of options.

The numerous members of the species Capsicum annuum are grouped into two broad categories: hot and sweet peppers. The latter lack capsaicin, the compound that gives pungency to hot peppers. Bell peppers are the most common sweet peppers. They can be green (when unripe), red, purple, yellow or orange. Bell peppers are the ultimate versatile vegetable: Whether they are used raw, roasted, stewed or fried, they always perform well. They lend themselves to accompanying meat or fish, and can be used to prepare pasta sauces. Having given up meat over 10 years ago, I make them accompany tofu. Bell peppers can be stuffed or can be an ingredient in stuffing. They are not only flavorful but colorful, and so they please both the palate and the eye. (I will get to the nose in just a paragraph.)

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My favorite cooking method for fresh-from-the-market bell peppers is roasting: I love peperoni arrosto . I believe that each person has his or her own personal way of roasting peppers. If you have your tried-and-true technique, by all means use it. Some people prefer to do it over a flame: Earlier this year Bob Doran described his method in this column (“Table Talk,” Jan. 11). I don’t have a gas range, so I roast them in the oven. I like the appetizing smell bell peppers give out while they roast. It thrills my nose.

The baking option comes with different possible combinations of temperature and time. Mine is to place four whole bell peppers resting on their sides in a baking pan lined with foil and roast them at 375 degrees F for about 40 minutes. Every 10 minutes I make the peppers do a quarter turn on their longitudinal axis. As the roasting proceeds, the skins darken and blister. The actual cooking time varies — size and thickness of the bell peppers are important variables — so I frequently check the their progress.

Once they are roasted to my satisfaction, I place the peppers inside a paper bag with a plate underneath, since they will ooze some liquid. Alternatively, you can place them in a bowl and cover it tightly. This step makes the skinning process easier. Once the peppers are cool, I pick up each pepper, open it, remove the core and seeds and slip off the skin. In the process, I break the pepper into wide strips, which I then spread on a serving plate.

A short detour: During my most recent visit to the farmers’ market, I purchased two flat sweet peppers, enchanted by their peculiar shape. I roasted them with two bell peppers. Because of the shape, the flat peppers can only be in a vertical position, so while they were in the oven I made them alternatively stand up and be upside-down. They were meaty and tasty and contributed quite nicely to the final dish.

Back on the main road and to the seasoning: I mince two cloves of garlic and mix them with half a tablespoon of minced fresh oregano and a tablespoon of minced fresh parsley, then distribute the mixture over the pepper strips. I sprinkle some salt and freshly-ground black pepper and finish off the dish with a thread of olive oil. I let the roasted peppers rest for an hour or so, serving them at room temperature. If I need to store them in the fridge, I take them out early enough before serving time to allow them to regain room temperature, because I don’t like them fridge-cold.

The seasoning for my roasted peppers, minus the oregano, is an old friend. The addition of oregano was suggested to me by a recipe displayed on a website dedicated to Italian author Andrea Camilleri. His most famous novels (some are available in English translation) narrate the adventures of a gourmet Sicilian police inspector and contain a lot of culinary references that lately have been a source of inspiration.

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