Marinated Skinned Bell Peppers
I love summer vegetables grown in the Netherlands. They are almost always uniformly good in quality: they taste good, looks good and have long shelf-lives! That’s because Dutch summer vegetables, such as bell peppers, tomatoes, cucumber and eggplants, are grown in high-tech smart greenhouses under the strict supervision of climate-control systems.
Yes, I agree that they are a little different than those sun-kissed, farmer-caressed vegetables oh-so-ripe-and-sweet, at least “feeling-wise”. But when it comes to efficiency and practicality, Dutch growers are the best, and their passion to get everything right for their crops is nothing short of the love and care “traditional” farmers shower their produce with!
Since my town is surrounded by greenhouses, I’m blessed with an abundant supply of summer vegetables. Today, I’ll show you my favorite way to eat bell peppers: skinned and marinated in vinegar and oil.
Bell peppers are full of vitamin C (Red ones contain twice more vitamin C than green ones), sweet, crunchy and juicy. Most often, I simply cut them in thin strips and nibble them away raw as an appetizer or a snack. But sometimes, I want to give bell peppers an extra hand, so that they can show what they’ve got.
To be honest, skinning the bell peppers is not my favorite activity. It’s simple, but it’s just so messy! I personally hate the process of blackening the skin because the whole kitchen smells like charcoal afterwards! So, I only make this dish on a sunny day when I can open all doors and windows as wide as possible to constantly ventilate the space. (Cooking outside is by far the best way to char the bell peppers if you have the means to do so!)
Once the skin of bell peppers is blackened – totally burned and blistered – all around on the stove (it always takes longer than you think!), put them in a large bowl while still hot and seal the bowl with a cling wrap. Leave the bowl untouched for 15 minutes or longer until the peppers wilt a little and cool down enough to handle with bare hands. I never rush this stage because my experience says the longer the wait, the easier the rest of the process.
Now comes the messiest part. Run your fingers over the charred skin of the bell peppers. It should come off without any effort. Keep rinsing your hands with water while doing this, though, because you don’t want charred skin rubbed into the soft juicy flesh of the bell peppers. The slight smokiness is nice, but the char itself is downright unhealthy. I wash the skinned bell peppers only once, briefly, with clean water at the end of the process to prevent the sweet-smoky flavor from washing away too much.
Congratulations, the messiest part of the process is finally over! The bell peppers are now roasted and skinned, so you can do whatever you want with them. I cut them open, remove the stems and seeds, and cut the flesh in strips. Add some vinegar, sugar, olive oil, salt and pepper and let it marinate for 30 minutes or longer in the fridge. I also add thyme for an extra Mediterranean flavor.
Imagine eating these marinated bell peppers with crackers or bread, with a small slice of Pecorino cheese and basil on top… Ahhh, BLISS! They are also great for simple oil-based pasta dishes. To me, this is the most delicious way of eating bell peppers, and THAT is the reason why I make this year after year despite the messy process!
Marinated Skinned Bell Peppers
Equipment
- a grill
- a large bowl
Ingredients
- 2 bell peppers not green ones
- 1 tbsp vinegar
- 1/2 tbsp sugar
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2-3 sprigs thyme
- a pinch of salt and pepper
Instructions
- Burn the skin of bell peppers by putting them on top of a stove. Blacken them all around. It will take time, so be patient.
- Put the blackened bell peppers in a large bowl while still hot and seal the bowl with a cling wrap. Leave it for 15 minutes or longer.
- When you see bell peppers wilted a little and cooled down, remove the cling wrap. Make sure the peppers are cool enough to touch with bare hands! (If not, wait longer.) Run your fingers over the blackened skin. It should come off easily. Keep rinsing your hands while doing this so that the char will not stick to the flesh. Wash the skinned bell peppers once, briefly, with clean water to get rid of all the leftover char.
- Remove the stems and seeds.
- Cut into strips. Add vinegar, sugar, olive oil, thyme and a pinch of salt & pepper. Let them marinate in the fridge for 30 minutes or longer.
