Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Grilled Peppers and Onions


By Paul Briand

This is more about technique, and less about a recipe. It's an alternative to sautéing as way to prepare peppers and onions for addition to your spaghetti sauce and chili or as a topping or side dish.

Don't get me wrong, I love to sauté fresh vegetables using a bit of olive oil, then using them as part of a red sauce or chili. But, if you have the time, grilling the vegetables then cutting them up as an addition to your sauce or chili gives you a crunch and heartiness that really stands out in your recipe.

Here's a recipe I use for grilling peppers and onions, with the addition of some other ingredients that I use as a topping for hamburgers, tacos, burritos or as a side dish with sliced avocado or with guacamole.

To do this recipe you'll need a means to grill -- such as an outdoor grill or even that panini maker you hardly ever use. I use a wonderful grilling skillet, a gift from daughter.

Ingredients
1 sweet onion
1 green bell pepper
1 yellow bell pepper
1 12-ounce jar of roasted red peppers
2 cloves of garlic
2 baby carrots
Lime juice
Cilantro
Black pepper

Directions
1. Peel and cut the onion into quarter inch slices, as you would if you were going to use them as a burger topping;
2. Clear the green and yellow peppers of seeds and membrane and cut into quarters;
3. Over a medium hot grill, sprayed with a little olive oil, grill the onion and peppers, just enough to get a little bit of a char on both sides. They should be just barely limp;
4. Remove to a cutting board and slice into bite size pieces, set aside in a mixing bowl;
5. Add two whole cloves of garlic to the grill and cook 30 seconds on each side (easier with a grilling skillet than your outdoor grill);
6. Remove garlic to cutting board and mince, set aside in mixing bowl;
7. Dice the red peppers from the jar and add to the mixing bowl;
8. Julienne the baby carrots and add to the mixing bowl;
9. Add lime juice, cilantro and pepper to taste and mix together;
10. Let stand for 15 minutes, then serve.
Digg this

No comments: