Red Peppers

Red Peppers ****
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Small amounts of cooked sweet red peppers have been a usual addition through the years in appetizers, salads, sandwiches, side dishes, omelets, and more. They are an ingredient in many fish, meat, and poultry dishes. They also form the basis for a variety of red pepper sauces. Thus it is easy to bring small, but frequent, amounts of this healthy vegetable into daily cooking.
They can also be the basis for a vegetable ragout, although this is relatively rare. (For an exception, a favorite in our household, see Colache.)

A technique is given below for roasting red peppers in the toaster oven.
Click for a LAMP salad with corn, red peppers, and black beans.

In the main section of Special Flavors, red peppers, raw or roasted, appear in the following recipes, among others. Appetizers With Thickened Yogurt Chicken with red peppers, ham, and onions (Pollo Chilondron, a great favorite in our household) Scallops over Pasta (Variation) Sauces Salads

For a discussion of red peppers, probably more lengthy than you want, see Collection, Vegetables, Peppers

Roasted Red Peppers

Peppers are generally roasted to cook them and remove the skin. Small quantities are easily roasted in a toaster oven. They may also be bought in jars, although it is difficult to find a brand that provides them free of vinegar or other flavorings.
I have found it easy to maintain a nearly constant supply of roasted red peppers, as they will keep them in the refrigerator four days or so.

Roasted Red Pepper
TOASTER OVEN METHOD

Sweet red bell pepper, 1 or 2
Toaster oven

     Split the pepper lengthwise and take out stem, seeds, and pods. To avoid a cleaning operation afterwards, place aluminum foil on the toaster oven pan. Place the red pepper halves, skin side up, on the foil.
     (If you are lucky enough to own an insulated tray, you can skip the foil.)
     Pick a setting on the toaster oven, say medium, and put through a cycle. When the oven turns off, let the pepper rest in the heat for any amount of time, but at least a couple of minutes.
     Repeat cycles until the skin is black and wrinkled and may be peeled. The pepper should be sweet and tender.
     Transfer to a plate, to catch juices.
     (As a refinement, some people use a paper bag or a lid to further cook the peppers.)
     Peel when cool. Or, refrigerate and peel when used.
     Once peeled do not rinse, as you would wash away delicious juices.