Danger's How To: Oven Roasted Bell Peppers

Roasted bell peppers are most often purchased in a jar when a recipe calls for them. Fine, but you are missing out on an amazing experience by not making them yourself. The smell and taste of freshly roasted peppers is amazing, and it takes so little effort.

Since some upcoming recipes will include roasted peppers, here's a quick how-to for doing it yourself in your oven.



Ingredients: 

Bell peppers (2-3 makes for a good cookie sheet full, all colors work great) 
Olive Oil
Spice Mix:
     - salt, pepper, garlic powder; oregano, basil, rosemary or other 
       dried spices you'd like

Preheat your oven to 200 C/425F and prepare a cookie sheet or roasting tray by lining it with baking paper or aluminum foil.

Cut the peppers in half, remove stem and seeds (and even splay the bottoms so you can lay them out flat), and rub both sides with olive oil.

Mix your spices together in a small bowl - you can really use any combination of spices you like, but the salt/pepper/garlic pepper ought to be a solid base.

Coat both sides of the pepper with your spice mixture. Place the peppers skin side up on the cookie sheet and place in the oven. Roast in the oven for about 35-45 minutes. You want the skins to char and turn black, and the peppers to be completely soft. (you can turn them halfway through the process to get the underside)

Okay, time for the secret trick - remove the peppers from the oven, and allow to cool inside of a small paper bag lined with aluminum foil. This will allow the moisture to circulate and 'steam' the peppers, and intensify the flavor, as well as make the skins easier to peel off. Once cool, remove from the bag and peel off the skins.

That's it! Amazing, fresh roasted peppers with tons more flavor than those you get in a jar. The kitchen will smell amazing, too!