I grew up in a global home; Armenian father, Bulgarian mother, living in Jordan in the Middle East! Needless to say, I grew up with my taste buds adapted to several cuisines. I guess this was the start of my fascination with food and discovering the history and stories behind popular dishes.
Peppers, especially red peppers, are a fundamental ingredient in Bulgarian cuisine. Bulgarians enjoy peppers a lot, and there are numerous dishes that my mom used to prepare using peppers. I remember growing-up, red peppers weren’t readily available in Amman as they are nowadays. So when we went to visit Bulgaria during the summer, red peppers was a delicacy that we heavily indulged in.
Well into my teens, colored bell peppers (yellow and red) started showing up in grocery stores around Amman, and we were finally able to enjoy some of our favorite Bulgarian dishes year-round. Roasted Peppers Salad being a regular one.
Traditionally, Bulgarian Roasted Peppers Salad is prepared with the long red peppers, not with bell peppers. But this roasted peppers salad is delicious using red and yellow bell peppers. You can also add a few green peppers, the combination of colored peppers makes it an eye-catching salad. Just be careful not to use many green peppers as their taste is a bit bitter!
The traditional way to prepare roasted peppers salad is to grill the peppers from all sides until there are black patches throughout the skin. This gives the peppers a nice smoked/ grilled flavor! But you can also prepare the salad by roasting the peppers in the oven.
Roasted peppers salad, is not only delicious but quite easy to prepare, especially if you roast the peppers in the oven instead of grilling them. To top that, it keeps well in the fridge for days. better yet, the longer it marinates, the better it gets as the flavors soak in better. So when I prepare this salad, I usually double or triple the portions and we can enjoy it throughout the week.
If you have a party or event, roasted peppers salad is a great addition. It is a big hit with the guests with its appealing colors and yummy taste! Plus you can prepare it a day or two in advance freeing you on the day of the event. Just store it in a glass airtight container in the fridge and forget about it until the day of your event. Just make sure you remember to serve it!!
Roasted Peppers Salad Recipe
Prep time: 20 min Cook time: 40 minIngredients
3 red bell peppers
3 yellow bell peppers
5 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon oil (sunflower or olive)
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
3/4 teaspoon salt (adjust to taste)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
How to make roasted peppers salad:
- The first step is to grill or roast the peppers. you can do that either on an outside grill, or use your oven. If you are roasting your peppers using your oven your can do it two ways. You can either roast them on the oven-top using a roasting plate or iron skillet; just heat the skillet and place the peppers on it and rotate every few minutes until the outer skin is roasted and covered with black patches. Second way is to place the peppers in an aluminum pan (don’t cover the peppers), and bake them in the oven for 30-40 minutes (turning mid-way).
Note: it is very important to remember that once the peppers are roasted they need to be tightly covered and left to cool. This helps the skin to separate from the flesh which makes it easy to peel the skin afterwards. So if you are roasting your peppers on an outside grill or oven top, as soon as they are done, place in a pan and cover the pan with a lid and set aside. If your are roasting your peppers in the oven, as soon as they are done, tightly cover the pan with aluminum foil. THIS STEP IS VERY IMPORTANT, if you forget it, you will have difficulty peeling the skin off.
- Once the peppers have cooled, peel the skin.
- After peeling the peppers, remove and discard the stem and seeds of the roasted peppers.
- Slice the peppers into stripes. Place in glass dish.
- Chop the garlic into thin slices.
- Add the garlic, vinegar, oil, ground black pepper and salt to the sliced peppers. Mix well.
- Seal the glass dish and store in the fridge for a minimum of 2 hours. The more the salad sits, the better the flavors.
- Before serving, garnish with the chopped parsley.
Enjoy your roasted pepper salad dipped with warm pita bread, or any other kind of freshly baked bread.
Hope you enjoyed today’s easy salad recipe: Roasted Peppers Salad. a traditional Bulgarian dish that reminds me of my mother and her wonderful food!
What is your favorite salad?
اضغط الرابط لقراءة وصفة الفلفل الحلو المشوي باللغة العربية
