Here's how to make roasted red peppers at home. Either by roasting them in the oven, on a grill, or directly on the flame (gas stovetop). They're a delicious way to flavor your dishes, whether it's a salad, sauce, stew, or so much more. You can also store them in a simple oil and vinegar brine with any additional flavorings you like!
In Greece, we use a local variety of long peppers called Piperies Florinis. Or Florina Peppers, as they're referred to in English. They're very pungent and sweet, making the best roasted red peppers.
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Florina Peppers get harvested at the end of summer to early autumn. At the beginning of summer, when they make their first appearance in the garden, they are of a deep green color. As they ripen, they develop a deep red colour and sweet flavor. While they're still green, we usually use them to make Fried Peppers; they're sweet but not as much.
It will be very difficult to find Florina Peppers outside Greece unless you buy them preserved in brine. However, you can also make roasted red peppers with other varieties. And serve them or preserve them in a Greek-style!
Pepper Variety To use
You can use red bell peppers, red Banana peppers (also known as Hungarian Wax sweet), or red Cubanelle peppers.
How To Roast
To roast red peppers, you can either use your oven, a grill, or your stovetop gas hob. To roast them properly, you need high heat so the skin chars while the flesh softens, yet still meaty.
How To Roast Red Peppers In The Oven: Lay the peppers on a lined sheet pan or use your oven's tray. Drizzle them with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast until charred and softened.
To Roast On A Gas Grill: Heat your grill over medium-high heat. Add the peppers and grill until charred. Flip them often to char evenly.
To Roast Peppers On A Gas Hob: Hold a pepper over the flame with a metal skewer or long pasta fork. Turn as needed until the entire surface is black. In this method, we can let the pepper skin burn completely and turn black all over due to the direct heat; there is no time for the flesh to get overcooked.
How To Skin The Peppers
There are a couple of tricks to easily remove the skin of roasted peppers. For example, you can place the peppers in a bowl (not a plastic one) while they're still hot, and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. The steam will soften the skins, and it will be much easier to remove them.
Additionally, you can pour cold water into the bowl with peppers (similar to blanching). The sudden shift in temperature will cause the skin to separate easily from the flesh.
Lastly, you can rub off the skins under cold running water. It's best to use this method when the skin is completely charred from roasting directly on the flame on a gas hob.
How To Preserve Roasted Peppers
To preserve roasted red peppers, add them to a canning jar and fill the jar with one part vinegar (red wine vinegar or good-quality white vinegar) and three parts oil. There's no need to use olive oil here; a plain vegetable oil, such as sunflower or corn oil, will do. You can serve them with olive oil as a Meze as mentioned below.
You can add extra ingredients to flavor the brine. Such as garlic, bay leaf, pepper corns, a sprig of thyme, or dried oregano.
Serve
Serve them as an appetizer of Meze, drizzled with extra-virgin olive oil, a few drops of red wine vinegar (balsamic vinegar or balsamic glaze is also great here). Also, thinly slice some garlic and toss it on top along with a sprinkle of dried Greek oregano. Pair them with some feta, olives, and of course, crusty bread to soak up all the delicious flavors.
Recipes To Use Them In
You can use your homemade roasted red peppers to make:
- Htipiti (Roasted Red Pepper and Feta Dip)
- Cheese-Stuffed Meatloaf with Feta, Gruyere, and Roasted Red Peppers
- Feta-Stuffed Roasted Red Peppers Baked In The Oven.
Recipe
How To Make Roasted Red Peppers (and preserve them)
Ingredients
- 10-12 large sweet red peppers long or bell peppers (in Greece, we use Florina peppers), the peppers need to be about the same size
To Serve With:
- extra virgin olive oil
- garlic cloves
- red wine vinegar
- dried oregano
To Make The Brine:
- vegetable oil such as sunflower oil, corn oil, etc.
- red wine vinegar
- 1 dried bay leaf
- 1 garlic clove
- 5-6 pepper corns
- glass canning jar
Instructions
To Roast Red Peppers In The Oven:
- Preheat the oven to 230°C / 445°F.
- Clean the peppers by rubbing them with a clean cotton cloth. Slice off the top of the peppers, and hollow out the insides. If using bell peppers, cut them in half lengthwise.
- Line the oven's tray or a sheet pan with parchment paper. Add the peppers (if using bell peppers, the skin side should be looking up), and drizzle lightly with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.
- Roast the peppers for about 30-40 minutes or until they are soft with charred black spots. There is no need to turn the peppers while they roast.
To Roast Red Peppers Using The Gas Grill:
- Preheat grill on medium-high heat.
- Grill the peppers until charred and softened, flipping them as needed.
Skin The Roasted Peppers:
- Place the peppers in a large bowl while they're still hot and cover with plastic wrap. Stand for 20 minutes.
- Gently skin the peppers, pulling the outer skin with your fingers. For easier cleaning, you can pour cold water into the bowl. This will make the skins come out more easily (not recommended if you plan to preserve them in brine for more than a week).
Roast Peppers On The Stovetop:
- You can roast each pepper individually on the stovetop if you have a gas stove.
- Hold each pepper with a metal skewer or pasta fork directly over the flame until the skin gets completely black (in this case, the pepper gets cleaned of its stem and seeds after roasting).
To Serve The Peppers:
- Add as many peppers as you wish to serve, and drizzle them with extra virgin olive oil, a few drops of red wine vinegar, paper-thinly sliced garlic, and dried oregano. They're a great Meze with some crusty bread or grilled pita bread for dipping.
To Preserve The Peppers In Brine:
- Add the roasted peppers to a clean canning jar. Place them without folding them. To do this, hold the jar horizontally and stack the peppers closely together.
- Add the peppercorns, bay leaf, and garlic clove, sliced into 3-4 pieces.
- Pour in one part red wine vinegar and three parts oil. Leave some space at the top of the jar so the lid doesn't touch the brine. Also, ensure the peppers are submerged.
- Store in the fridge for up to a month.
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