Roasted Green Pepper Pesto Recipes

ROASTED RED PEPPER PESTO PASTA RECIPE

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Boil the pasta according to the DeLallo package instructions, approximately 10-12 minutes. Drain the pasta and pour back in the pot.
• While the pasta is cooking, chop the walnuts in a food processor. Pour the walnuts into a small bowl then add the roasted red peppers, fresh basil, and garlic to the food processor. Pulse until finely chopped.
• Add the Parmesan cheese, chopped walnuts, olive oil, and 1/2 teaspoon salt to the food processor, Pulse to combine. Salt and pepper to taste.
• Pour the pesto over the cooked and drained pasta and toss to coat. Serve warm.

EASY ROASTED PEPPERS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F (260 degrees C).
• Cut the peppers into quarters. Remove the seeds and the membranes. Roast the peppers until the skin blisters and turns black. Remove from oven and cover with plastic, or a tea towel, or place in a paper bag until cool. The skins should peel away off of the peppers easily when cooled.

ROAST PEPPER PESTO WITH PASTA

Steps:

• Remove the skin from the roasted garlic cloves. In the small bowl of a food processor, whizz the roasted peppers, garlic, cayenne, almonds, Parmesan and oil until it makes a rough pesto consistency. Taste and season.
• Bring a pan of water to the boil and cook the pasta following pack instructions. Drain, reserving a little cooking water. Return the pasta to the pan with the pesto, basil and a little of the cooking water, then heat through. Serve with extra Parmesan, if you like.

HOW TO ROAST BELL PEPPERS

Steps:

• This is my preferred method for roasting peppers, because you can roast several peppers at once. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Brush a baking sheet lightly with olive oil. Lay peppers on their sides, stems pointing sideways.
• Put baking sheet in oven and allow peppers to roast for 20 minutes.
• Remove baking sheet. Using tongs, give the peppers a half turn, then place back in the oven for another 20 minutes.
• Check to make sure peppers have fully roasted. The skin should be charred and soft, and the peppers should look slightly collapsed. If they don't look ready, let them roast for a few more minutes. When they're done, remove baking sheet from oven.
• You can also use your oven broiler to roast the peppers, which is a faster process that chars them more than regular oven roasting. While it goes faster, you also have to watch it carefully, as the peppers will need frequent turning during the process. If you wish to broil the peppers, I suggest placing the rack in the upper third of the oven so there is 8-9 inches between the broiling element and the peppers. That way, the peppers will be able to soften as they char. When they're too close to the broiler, they will char before they're cooked, which means the flesh won't soften and they'll be harder to peel.
• Preheat broiler to high and place the peppers below the broiler.
• Let them roast for 20-25 minutes, giving a quarter-turn every 5 minutes, until the peppers are charred, soft and collapsing. The broiler will char them quite a bit, the skin will be very black and crispy-- don't worry, you're going to peel it off anyway. Remove from the oven.
• Proceed to instructions for "Steaming Your Peppers."
• I typically use this method when I only have one or two peppers to roast. It's messier than the oven method, but it produces a very smoky rich flavor. There are a couple of ways to roast peppers on the stovetop - on a gas flame, or on a grill pan. If roasting directly on a gas stovetop, you may wish to cover parts of your heating element with foil to protect it from spills.
• Turn your gas stovetop flame to medium. Place pepper on the grate directly over the top of the gas flame. Let it roast for 20-25 minutes. Use a pair of tongs to give the pepper a quarter turn every 4-5 minutes.After 20 minutes, use tongs to gently squeeze the pepper. If the pepper is soft and easily yields to the tongs, it is ready. If the pepper still feels somewhat firm, let it continue to roast for a few more minutes until it softens.
• Remove pepper from the stovetop. Proceed to instructions for "Steaming your Peppers."Prepare grill pan according to instructions. My pan requires a bit of water to be placed in the circular chamber. Preheat grill pan over medium heat; brush lightly with oil if it is recommended for your pan. Place pepper on the preheated pan.
• Roast the pepper for 20-30 minutes, giving a quarter turn with a pair of tongs every 5 minutes or so, until the pepper is charred and collapsing. Check water level about halfway through cooking if your grill pan requires it. Skip to instructions for "Steaming Your Peppers."
• I tend to use this method during the summer when we're using our gas grill a lot. Roasting over an open flame produces a great smoky flavor. Be sure to wear a protective oven mitt. Place peppers on the open grill over a medium flame. Let them roast for 15-20 minutes, using tongs to give them a quarter turn every few minutes, until the peppers are charred, soft and collapsing.
• You can also use a kitchen/bruleé torch to char your peppers, but it's a slow process. Using a grill or gas flame is more efficient.
• Once you have roasted your peppers, you will need to steam them. This process will help you peel the tough skin from them more easily. There are a few ways to steam the peppers. I like to place the roasted peppers on a flat, smooth surface like a cutting board, then invert a large bowl over the top of them. The bowl traps the steam inside. Steam for 15 minutes.Alternatively, you can place the peppers in a paper bag and seal the top by rolling it closed. I prefer using the bowl method. Whichever method you choose, steam the peppers for about 15 minutes.
• Once you have roasted your peppers, you will need to seed and peel them. This is kind of a messy process, but it's well worth the effort. Note that some people like to seed their peppers before roasting. When I have tried this in the past, the results are never as good as when I keep the whole pepper intact during roasting-- I recommend roasting the peppers whole and seeding after the roast.
• Slice the pepper vertically from top to bottom and lay the pepper open so it becomes one long strip. Pull the stem from the top of the pepper. The stem and a clump of seeds should loosen easily. Use a towel or paper towel to wipe off any loose seeds that remain inside the pepper.
• Flip the pepper over to reveal the skin side. Strip off the charred skin. If you want a more charred flavor, you can leave a few small blackened bits on the skin.
• Alternatively, you can seed and skin the pepper under running water, which will make it easier to get the pepper flesh clean. I prefer not to do this, because I feel the pepper loses some flavor in the process-- but if you're in a hurry and don't want to mess up your hands too much, it will speed things up.Once you've peeled and seeded your peppers, you'll end up with soft, sweet, tasty pepper flesh.
• Roasted peppers can be used in a variety of recipes, or snacked on as-is dressed with salt and pepper. They can be added to stews and pasta sauces or chopped into salsa. They can even be mixed with fresh basil and olive oil to create a peppery bruschetta. I have many recipe ideas on my website, just search Roasted Bell Peppers for ideas. Enjoy!

ROASTED RED PEPPERS WITH PESTO AND GOAT CHEESE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 4oo degrees.
• Slice mini bell peppers in half and remove stem and seeds. Place in a large bowl (or large ziplock bag) and toss with pesto, olive oil and balsamic vinegar until peppers are completely covered.
• Line up peppers on a baking sheet and place into oven. Bake for 15 minutes.
• Take peppers out and carefully add crumbled goat cheese to insides of pepper halves.
• Place back into oven and bake for another 3-5 minutes or until goat cheese is melted.
• Optional: sprinkle chopped fresh oregano over peppers before serving.

ROASTED GREEN PEPPER PESTO

Steps:

• Cut peppers into quarters and spray lightly with olive oil. Roast under a high broiler for 8 minutes, or until blackened. Place in a paper bag and leave for 5 minutes. Peel.
• Meanwhile, seed and roughly chop hot peppers. Roughly chop garlic.
• Place roasted peppers, hot peppers, garlic and lemon juice in food processor and blend.
• Slowly pour in olive oil while the processor is running, until pesto is desired consistancy. Salt and pepper to taste and slather onto crackers with goat cheese.

RED PEPPER PESTO

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spread pine nuts on a baking sheet and bake until fragrant, about 5 minutes. Remove and let cool.
• Place peppers directly over the trivet of a gas-stove burner over high heat, or on a grill. Just as each section turns puffy and black, turn pepper with tongs to prevent overcooking. (If you don't have a gas stove, place peppers on a baking pan, and broil in the oven, turning as each side becomes charred.) Transfer peppers to a large bowl, and cover immediately with plastic wrap. Let peppers sweat until they are cool enough to handle, about 15 minutes; then transfer to a work surface. Peel off the blackened skin and discard.
• Coarsely chop peppers and transfer to a food processor. Add pine nuts. With machine running, add olive oil in a steady stream. Continue processing, scraping down the sides as needed until pureed. Season with salt and pepper.