Fire Roasted Red Peppers Preserved

Roasting the peppers

Every fall, baskets of peppers appear at all of the Italian markets in town.  I first began roasting peppers with my friend Cathy on the roof of a building on Queen Street in the eighties.  Cathy had been introduced to roasting peppers by a friend from one of those Mediterranean countries that have such great food traditions, and suggested we try preserving roasted peppers.  The first year we made our best guess, and by the second year we had the process down, and began including our friend Sean in what became an fall ritual for a number of years.

I had an old Weber barbecue that we would load up with charcoal and then spend the evening roasting peppers and drinking wine.  At the end of a long night we would have a counter full of bottles of red peppers that we would split up and use for the winter.

Fire Roasted Peppers in Olive Oil

I now make the peppers in the country over coals from an open fire.

1 case of red peppers
1 litre of olive oil
6 organic lemons
24 - 250 mm preserving bottles
lots of old newspaper

Build a fire a couple of hours before you are ready to start.  Build a deep bed of coals.  Keep at least one log on the edge of the fire so that there is a constant source of new coals to complete the job.

Place grill close to the coals. Arrange peppers on the grill, making sure that there is room around each pepper.  Allow the skins to become black and then rotate the peppers, so that all sides of the pepper are black.

Remove peppers from the grill, and wrap groups of 4 to 6 pepper in newspaper to allow to sweat.

Meanwhile, sterilize bottles.

Wash lemons and cut into sections.  Place one section in each of the sterilized bottles.

Peel the blackened skin off the peppers and remove the core and seeds.  Discard skins and seeds.  Tear peppers into strips and pack into the sterilized bottles to about a half inch from the top.

Fill bottles with olive oil to about a !/4 inch from the top.  Tap bottles on counter, and run sterilized knife around perimeter of bottles to dislodge any air bubbles.  Seal jars and process for 15 minutes.

Because the peppers are preserved in olive oil, the oil is fabulous to use as well.

Dinner Under the Cherry Blossoms

My Cherry Tree before Dinner

Spring is such a great time of the year, the asparagus is sending up their first shoots in my country garden, the ramps are out in the woods, and my cherry tree is in full bloom in the city.  The tree covers most of my yard, providing a spectacular umbrella over the table.  It is like a beautiful cloud that comes and goes quickly, lasting barely more than a week, dropping petals like confetti from the skies.

To celebrate the arrival of the flowers, I invited some friends for Sunday dinner under the tree.  I grilled asparagus, portebello mushrooms, peppers, heritage cherry tomatoes, new potatoes, chicken and sausage as well as sautéing some wild leeks I had brought from the country.  For desert, we grilled figs and served with ice cream.

Grilled Potatoes, Asparagus, Ramps, Portabello Mushrooms, and Tomatoes

Grilled Asparagus

a bunch of asparagus

good sea salt, I used sel gris 

Heat grill to hot,  I hold my hand over the grill and if I can count higher than 3 it is not hot enough.  Lay asparagus out on grill perpendicular to the grill.  Cook for about a minute or until asparagus starts to brown, roll asparagus to other side and repeat.  Remove asparagus and arrange on serving plate.  Sprinkle with coarse salt, and serve hot or at room temperature. 

Grilled Asparagus

Grilled Portebello Mushrooms

3 large portebello mushroom caps

3 tablespoons of olive oil

1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar, 

1 tablespoon of old style mustard, with grains

1 clove of garlic, finely chopped

Make a dressing with the olive oil, balsamic and mustard, garlic.  Brush dressing on both sides of mushroom caps.  Heat grill to medium, hold hand to about 5.  Place caps skin side down on the grill and grill until the juices start to run inside the cap, being careful not to burn the underside.  It takes a few minutes.  Flip the cap and grill for another minute,  and then flip again and re baste with the dressing.  Cook for a minute or two more and remove from grill. 

I like to cut the mushrooms into wedges and serve at room temperature. 

Grilled Peppers

Grilled peppers about to be wrapped in news paper

a selection of red, yellow and orange peppers

2 tablespoons of olive oil

juice of a lemon

seasonal herbs

Place whole peppers on a hot grill.  Char skins of peppers, on all sides.  Remove and wrap in newspaper until cool.  Gently peel the charred skin off the peppers, tear the peppers open and remove core and seeds.  Tear remainder of pepper into strips and place in bowl.  Add olive oil, juice of lemon, and some fresh herbs, and serve room temperature. 

Grilled Heirloom Cherry Tomatoes

Grilled Heirloom Cherry Tomatoes

3 cups of heirloom cherry tomatoes, or a mixture of red and yellow cherry tomatoes

2 tablespoons of olive oil

1/4 cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1 sprig of basil, leaves coarsely torn

Wash and dry tomatoes.  Coat with olive oil and place in barbecue basket.  Over medium heat grill  tomatoes, shaking often.  When tomatoes begin to split and get a bit of colour, remove and place in a bowl.  Add basil and half of cheese.  Toss.  Add remainder of cheese to top of tomatoes.

Grilled New Potatoes

1 quart of small new potatoes

3 tablespoons of olive oil

2 teaspoons of coarse sea salt

4 sprigs of fresh thyme, stems removed

Par boil potatoes on stove.  Drain, add  1/2 of olive oil, fresh thyme, and coarse salt, and toss well.  put in grill basket and place over hot grill.  Toss occasionally, until the skins of the potatoes are nicely roasted.   Remove and place in bowl.  Stir in the remainder of olive oil, salt and thyme.  Serve either hot or at room temperature. 

Red-Hot Salsa

Red -Hot Salsa

This fall, I had a bounty of tomatoes and peppers as the first frost approached. I made three different types of salsas with the tomatoes and peppers, and I have finally tasted the Red-Hot Salsa this weekend. After a couple of months of mellowing, this year's, Red-Hot is particularly good I think, because it was a very hot and sunny summer, resulting in fabulous tomatoes and peppers.  I used a combination of the brandywine, beefsteak and plum tomatoes, with the scotch bonnet, chili, and jalapeño hot peppers, that I grew in my garden this summer.   

Brandywine Tomato on the Vine

• 6 cups of chopped red tomatoes
• 4 cups of a selection of red, orange and yellow sweet peppers, chopped
• 2 cups of chopped onions
• 4 cloves of minced garlic
• 2 cups of cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup of finely chopped hot peppers with the seeds removed (be sure to wear rubber gloves and keep hands away from face)
• 1/4 cup of sugar
• 1 tablespoon of salt
• 2 tablespoons of  Spanish hot smokey paprika
• 3 tablespoon of chopped  fresh oregano
• 1/4 cup of chopped fresh flat leafed parsley

Put all of the ingredients, except the parsley, into a large heavy enamelled or stainless steel pot.  Bring to a boil, stirring often.  Reduce  the heat and simmer for about an hour, stirring often.  When the salsa is thick enough, a tablespoon of the salsa dropped on a cold plate will flow slowly when tilted. Stir in the parsley and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Place the salsa in preserving bottles, remove air bubbles, screw lids on tightly and process  1 cup jars for 15 minutes, and 20 minutes for 2 cup jars.  This makes about 8 cups of salsa.  

If you can wait, the salsa tastes better after it has had a chance to mellow for a month or two.