How to Roast Peppers

by Shauna Sever — April 28, 2008

Roasted peppers add a slightly sweet, complex layer of flavor to all kinds of great dishes. You can find jarred roasted red peppers in most supermarkets these days, but other colors of bell peppers, along with the hotter varieties of peppers, have incredible flavor when roasted too. With warmer weather on the way and peppers of all kind rolling into the markets, here's a few easy steps for making your own roasted peppers.

1. Peppers are best roasted over a fire, like a gas or charcoal grill or even a gas burner on your stove. But you can also use a broiler. Whatever your heat source, crank it up to high.

2. If you will be roasting over a fire source, you can leave the peppers whole. If you are using a broiler, cut the peppers in half and remove the stem, veins, and seeds and place in a baking pan. Either way, coat the peppers lightly with oil.

3. Place the pepper directly in the flame of the burner (or as close to the heat source as possible) and rotate the pepper often with metal tongs as the peppers' skin blister and blacken, and remove the pepper from the heat or from under the broiler when it has blackened on all sides.

4. Place the peppers in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap to allow the steam for 15 to 20 minutes to loosen the blackened skins.

5. Scrape off the skins with your fingers, using a small, sharp knife for any stubborn bits of skin. For whole peppers, remove and discard the seeds, stem, and inner ribs before using. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.