How to Roast a Pepper

It’s so easy to roast a pepper, and when you do it yourself it tastes so much better than anything you can buy. Although I generally roast sweet red peppers, you can roast any type of pepper (hot or sweet) using the same methods. Roasted peppers are delicious as a pizza topping, in pasta, on bruschetta, in an antipasto platter, or tossed in a salad; they keep for about a week. I usually roast peppers over the flame of a gas burner, but if your stove top is electric, you can also roast peppers on a baking sheet in the oven.

Ingredients

As many peppers of whatever variety that you want to roast.

Recipe

1. Wash and dry the peppers.

2. If you have a gas cook top, place each pepper on a burner grate or use tongs to hold them over the flame. If you cook with electricity, slice each pepper in half lengthwise and remove the core and seeds. Then place each pepper cut-side-down on a baking sheet and broil them close to the flame until their skin is charred. A third option is to preheat your oven to 450 degrees and bake the peppers for about 35 minutes, until the skin is black. Regardless of which method you use, the goal is to char the skin, not the flesh. When the peppers are ready, they should be soft, but not falling apart.

2. With each roasting method, once the skin on your peppers is mostly black, put them in a bowl and cover it with plastic wrap, a dish towel, or a plate. Let the peppers rest for 10-15 minutes.

3. Uncover the peppers and place them charred-side-up on a cutting board. Then gently scrape away the blackened skin. The back side of a knife or spoon works well for this purpose.

4. Discard the charred bits and skin. Then slice the peppers and use as you wish.

Copyright Ellen Arian, Ellen’s Food & Soul

Apricot Upside-Down Cake

This is a recipe I adapted from one published in Gourmet magazine, and it has long been my favorite summer cake. It’s so beautiful and delicious that I return to it year after year when apricots are in season and we want something special and sweet. 

Ingredients

Topping

1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter
¾ cup maple crystals
6-8 medium apricots, halved lengthwise and pitted

Cake

1 cup all-purpose flour
¾ cups whole-wheat pastry flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
¾ cup maple crystals
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon almond extract
2 large eggs at room temperature
¾ cup well-shaken buttermilk

Recipe

1.     Preheat oven to 375 degrees, and have a rimmed baking sheet on hand that you can place on the rack beneath the cake pan to catch any drips.

2.     Prepare the topping. In a 10” cast iron skillet (at least 2” deep), heat the butter over a low heat until the foam subsides. Sprinkle the maple crystals evenly over the melted butter and cook, undisturbed, for 3 minutes. Turn off the heat, and arrange the apricot halves, cut side down, close together and on top of the maple crystals. Resist the temptation to fill the pan to the edges with apricots; you will achieve a nicer result by leaving the outer inch or two of the pan free for cake batter. Depending on the size of your apricots, you may have some halves left over.

3.     Prepare the cake batter. In a small bowl, sift together the flours, baking powder, baking soda and sea salt. Using a mixer and a large bowl, beat together the butter, maple crystals and two extracts until they are light-colored and fluffy, at least five minutes at a medium speed. Add eggs one at a time, scraping the sides and bottom after each addition. Mix on medium speed for a few minutes until the volume has nearly doubled. Using the lowest speed, add the flour mixture in three batches, alternating with the buttermilk. Beat only until combined and finish mixing gently with a rubber spatula.

4.     Spoon the batter over the apricots and spread evenly, though not to the outer edge. Bake the cake in the middle of the oven for about 40 minutes, taking care to place a rimmed baking sheet on the rack beneath the skillet to catch any overflow. When the cake is ready, a toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean.

5.     Let the cake cool in the skillet for at least ten or fifteen minutes, or up to half an hour. Then place the cake back into the oven, which will still be gently warm, for a few minutes to loosen the apricots from the bottom of the pan. Using oven mitts, invert a large plate over the skillet and, keeping the plate and skillet pressed firmly together, invert the cake onto the plate. Gently lift the skillet off the cake and replace any fruit that may be still be stuck on the bottom of the skillet.

6.     Cool and serve.

Copyright Ellen Arian, Ellen’s Food & Soul