20 Ways to Use Roasted Peppers

October 9, 2009  •  Technique, Vegetables

Last weekend I drove up to Fort Collins to have lunch with my son who is a senior – yikes! – at CSU. I don’t brag about my kids much on this blog, but it just so happens that this week is Homecoming Week at CSU and my son is in charge of all of the Homecoming activities for the Greek community on campus. I figured I’d get a rundown of his plans before the activities began, and I stopped at the Fort Collins Farmers’ Market on the way into town and picked up a big pile of red, orange and yellow peppers from the Monroe Organic Farm stand.
Monroe happens to be my CSA as well, so I was thrilled to be able to support them more through the market. My parents were with me and my mom just happened to ask, “What do you do with all of these peppers you roast?” which got me thinking that perhaps a summary post of what to do with roasted peppers might be useful.

If you haven’t roasted peppers before or need a refresher, check out my post on how to roast peppers first. As an aside, red, yellow and orange roasted peppers have a subtle flavor difference, but you can pretty much use them interchangeably in all of these recipes. I store the roasted peppers in small plastic bags in the freezer. And note that many of these recipes call for raw peppers, but you can substitute roasted peppers. Read on for all of these great ideas for using them!
1. Roasted red pepper tart (quiche) with feta cheese and pine nuts – you can add other vegetables as you like to this – leeks, onions, or fennel would also be good.
2. Roasted red pepper soup, or yellow, or orange, or a combination – this soup freezes well too.
3. Add roasted peppers to rice to make a more interesting side dish.
4. Add finely diced roasted peppers to cooked lentils – serve hot or make a lentil salad and serve cold.
5. This looks like a plain dinner salad with chicken, but adding roasted peppers would really give it some zip.
6. I love pizza on the grill – and roasted peppers with some basil and mozzarella make a great topping either with some pizza sauce or not.
7. Alternatively, my daughter came up with the idea of enhancing the simple, thin crusted, margherita pizzas from Costco, and her favorite additions are some pesto and roasted red peppers, plus a little extra cheese over it all.
8. Roasted peppers can be stirred into virtually any pasta dish. Here’s a recipe for this creamy pasta primavera – I made it using summer vegetables but it will work just as well with fall vegetables including roasted peppers.
9. You can also add red peppers to your basic marinara or red sauce recipe, or just chop them up and add them to a jar of sauce to make it a little more special.
10. Add roasted peppers to vegetable or chicken quesadillas.
11. Layer roasted peppers with diced tomatoes and Italian sausage, top with cheese, and bake until bubbly.
12. Add roasted peppers to just about any chili recipe.
13. Stir roasted peppers into scrambled eggs, or fold into omelets.
14. Make romesco sauce, and use it as a dip for shrimp or a topping for chicken or pasta.
15. Use roasted peppers in Thai curry dishes like Thai Basil Chicken with Green Curry or Thai Curry Tilapia.
16. Make a simple crostini topping by combining equal parts diced tomatoes and diced peppers, then adding a clove of minced garlic, some chopped capers, some extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and some salt and pepper.
17. Add roasted peppers to sandwiches instead of tomatoes.
18. Make roasted pepper and mozzarella bites (from The Italian Dish food blog, which I think is great!)
19. Serve roasted peppers alongside other roasted vegetables for a classic antipasti spread.
20.Simply toss roasted peppers with some garlic and basil and serve as a side dish.

Comments

5 Comments  •  Comments Feed

  1. Katie says:

    WOW – it all looks delicious. I can't wait try out some of these ideas.

  2. The Italian Dish says:

    Wow, Michele – what a rundown of ways to use roasted peppers. That was great – and thanks for including me. We roast peppers all the time. It's so easy and delicous.

  3. Gina says:

    Great tips! On a whim I picked up a bunch of peppers at the farmers market because they looked pretty. Then I am like, what the heck to do I do with these things? Now I know! Thanks for your help (and pictures!)

  4. Glenda says:

    Thanks for all the ideas. I bought a jar of roasted peppers at Costco because I loved the jar. I’m looking forward to using them now.

  5. grant says:

    thanks for this – exactly what I was looking for 🙂

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