Roast Pepper and Aubergine Stack with Pesto and Roast Cherry Tomatoes | Rebel Recipes (2024)

FAQs

How do you roast a pepper and why would you roast them? ›

Traditionally, roasted peppers are cooked directly on a gas hob. This method is particularly useful if you're looking to achieve a smokier, charred flavour. Put whole peppers directly on the flame of a gas hob and cook for 10-15 mins, turning often, until completely charred.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Brush both sides of eggplant slices with oil, and place in a single layer on two or more baking sheets. Bake until undersides are golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes, then turn and bake until other sides are lightly browned.

Place peppers cut-side down on parchment paper. (Alternatively, rub a small amount of olive oil on the sheet tray.) Place pan in the oven for about 30 to 40 minutes, until the skin is blistery and charred. Don't be impatient here: If the skin isn't blistery enough, the peppers will be difficult to peel.

Some say don't. It's a waste of time, and it discards important nutrients others claim a peeled bell pepper or tomato tastes better. I find peeling releases the flavor faster and improves the taste in most sauces and, facilitates digestion. Peeling isn't all that difficult.

Older recipes call for salting eggplant to draw out the bitter juices, but today's eggplants are less bitter (unless very large), so salting is largely unnecessary. It will, however, help the spongy flesh absorb less oil and crisp up like a dream.

If you are worried that the eggplant might be bitter, slice or cube it, then salt it liberally and allow it to drain for an hour or so before cooking. Putting salt on the eggplant triggers osmosis, which draws out excess moisture and the bitterness along with it.

The skin is not very digestible. Roasting also improves the flavor of the flesh. What since when? Also, the process evaporates some of the water in the peppers, making the flavor more concentrated.

Roasting bell peppers adds a sweet, slightly smoky flavor. You can buy roasted peppers in a jar, but it's so easy to do from scratch and the flavors are so much better. More delicious.

This is because you have removed most of the moisture, which is water, which tastes of nothing much at all.. Capsaicin is a natural substance found in chile peppers and this is where the hotness originates from. High heat, like from grilling, destroys some of it and has the effect of lowering the “temperature.”

Peppers may be either roasted or grilled, the choice being a matter of personal preference : roasting is longer, but yields peppers that are more fully cooked hence easier to digest and to purée than if they are grilled. Grilling is quicker and yields firmer peppers.