Green and Red Pepper Salad |
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Prep Time: 10 Minutes Cook Time: 35 Minutes |
Ready In: 45 Minutes Servings: 4 |
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Peppers grown in abundance throughout the Mediterranean. This salad from Tunisia and Morroco uses them to their best advantage with roasting - a preparation that heightens their natural sweetness. You can serve this as a first course salad or the centerpiece of a lunch or light dinner. Ingredients:
2 large green peppers, halved and seeded |
2 large red peppers, halved and seeded |
1 tablespoon olive oil |
2 tablespoons sweet onions or 2 tablespoons yellow onions, finely chopped |
1 1/4 cups ripe tomatoes, peeled seeded and cut into a 1/4 inch dice |
1/2 teaspoon salt (to taste) |
1 teaspoon cumin |
1/4 teaspoon cayenne |
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil |
1/2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar |
1 pinch salt |
fresh ground black pepper |
Directions:
1. Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Place the peppers cut-side down on a baking sheet with a lip or a baking pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Turn peppers over and bake for an additional 5 minutes. Repeat previous step two more times. Total baking time is 25 minutes.
3. Remove tray from oven and cover with a clean dishtowel for 10 minutes. The peppers should be soft and tender and you can easily slip off the skins.
4. Cut the green peppers into a 1/4 inch dice. Slice the red pepper halves in half (now they will be quarters) and reserve.
5. Add 1 tablespoon of oil to a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add onions and stir for a minute, then add garlic and stir for 30 seconds. Add the green peppers, lower the heat a bit and cook for 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, cumin and cayenne and mix well. Cook an additional 6 minutes looking for the mixture to loose some of its moisture.
6. Combine the ingredients for the dressing in a small bowl and whisk.
7. To assemble your salad, arrange the red pepper quarters on a serving platter - a la spokes on a wheel or flower petals. Its fine if the overlap a bit. Drizzle dressing over the red peppers. Spoon the green pepper-tomato mixture into the center - allowing some to casually spill over.
8. Alternately, you can arrange this on single serving platters with 2 red pepper quarters in a V-shape and the green pepper-tomato mixture placed where the two strips join together.
9. This salad can be served chilled or at room temperature.
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