When peppers are on sale, it must be time for pizza! We got 8 big red ones and proceeded to roast them.
There are two rules to this: (1) it won’t work on an electric stove, so don’t even try (you can, however, roast them on a barbecue grill); (2) do not do this right after you have just cleaned your range.
Begin by putting each pepper above a medium-high flame. I was able to group two or three together on each burner. (I am really enjoying our “new” stove with the extra long burner in the middle. The pancake griddle that fits over it is seeing a lot of action). Using long tongs, turn peppers often. (I finally found the perfect application for my huge tongs with the silicone coated tips). You will begin to see the burn pattern from the flames and can turn them accordingly. The object is to blacken as much of the skin as you possibly can.
As each pepper is done, place it into something with a cover. I often see recipes that suggest putting them in a plastic bag, but this goes against all my beliefs regarding hot food storage.
When they are cool enough to handle, hold them under running water while slipping off the skins and scooping out the innards. If there is some black skin still attached, don’t worry. Since washing them does not remove any of the flavor, I suggest this approach rather than the (very messy) dry method. The water will also wash away the seeds nicely.
Pat dry and then use in any recipe calling for roasted peppers. Or make something up. At this point, your peppers are just like pimientos or the ones you buy in a jar with some fancy Italian label. They can be stored for a short time if covered with oil – or just pickle them!
P.S. the pizza crust is from the King Arthur Flour cookbook, with no variations other than using all spelt flour in place of the regular flour. It worked just fine!
Wow! I love that first picture. And that pizza looks absolutely delicious!