Bell Peppers Galore!

[eggs]

Hi,
I have about 15 green and red bell peppers in my fridge...can anyone think of any recipes that will use up most/all of them?

[sparkalina]

Every sunday I chop a TON of peppers and onions and sautee them in olive oil. When cool, place them in a ziploc or tupperware, and keep them in the fridge for the whole week. You won't believe how often you will reach for them!

filling for an omlette
scrambeled in with egg beaters
pepper, onion & fried egg sandwich
in your salad
added to other sandwiches
throw ins for canned soup
mixed with white rice

you get the idea - if they are there you will use them!

[alkapal]

thanks exer and spark!

[alkapal]

now i just got a bunch of red and yellow and orange bell peppers. anyone with any additional ideas to this thread? thanks!

[ExercisetoEat]

You've GOT to try this recipe for Muhammara. It is addictive and really wonderful. I made it a few weeks back, froze half of it as suggested, and then pulled it out a week later. It was just as delicious coming out of the freezer and would be great to have on hand for company. We enjoyed it with Carr's thin water crackers, but it would be great with pita too.
http://chocolateandzucchini.com/archi...

[cocolou]

Add Italian tomatoes (blanched, peeled and roughly chopped). Simmer in 2 tbsp olive oil with crushed garlic and finely chopped onions. Let them render their juices. Then add chopped eggplants and zuchini. You'll have a very nice ratatouille

[Chocolatechipkt]

The Barefoot Contessa's chicken chili. It's not traditional chili-like, but it's really good. I made a version of it the other night--her full recipe serves 12 (and uses 8 peppers), but I made only 1/4 of that.

Here's my version:
http://areyouhungryyet.blogspot.com/

[Fleur]

In late summere when I have lots of red peppers, I make a Red Pepper Jam or Marmelade . Hot, with a spicy nip, it is great served with cold meats and awesome with cheese.

[AmandaEd]

My all-time favourite sandwich (a MUST on vacation in the summer!): barbecued peameal bacon with slow-sauteed peppers and leeks. You need a ton of peppers and leeks because the veg shrinks and caramelizes when cooked for 40 minutes and is divine on toasted rye with dijon.

[Infomaniac]

Cut into strips or chuncks and pickle them.

[Bill on Capitol Hill]

Spaghetti Caruso. Google those words and you'll find recipes, but basically it involves a pasta sauce consisting of chicken livers, bell peppers, mushrooms and onions on the usual tomato backdrop.

[Sam D.]

Classic Sausage and Peppers

Dinah Shore included this recipe from Frank Sinatra in her cookbook Someone's in the Kitchen with Dinah.

3 Tbsp. olive oil
3 green bell peppers, cut into chunks
1 lb. hot Italian sausages
3/4 cup red wine
salt and pepper to taste

In large ovenproof skillet, saute green peppers in oil until they are crisp-tender. Remove from dish and set aside. Brown the sausages in the same dish. When browned, add red wine. Cover pan with foil and bake in a 350 degree oven for 40 minutes, until sausage is no longer pink. Then uncover, add the sauteed peppers, and bake for 20-30 minutes longer until most of the liquid is evaporated and sausages and peppers are well cooked. Serves 4

[MakingSense]

Pipérade is a Basque dish made with peppers, onions and tomatoes. I always make vats of it in the summer when the vegetable garden produces more than we can keep up with. You can use canned plum tomatoes in winter.
It's very simple. Sautée about one large onion sliced, to 2 or 3 peppers in strips until tender/crisp. Add about 2 or 3 tomatoes, chopped. Of course, garlic, thyme, bayleaf, salt and pepper. Hot peppers if you choose.
Of course, multiply for the amount of peppers you have.
It's great as a side dish, hot or cold. Good condiment for meats. Makes a great filling for omelets or a frittata. Excellent on sandwiches, pizzas. Freezes well.
Julia Child has a good recipe in one of her books and lots are available on the internet. A real classic French Mediterranean dish.

[jenniebnyc]

Sausage and Onions and Peppers - with a bit of balsamic on an italian hero

Roasted Peppers marinated in OO and garlic

[rcallner]

Chicken and bell pepper with onion confit from Epicurious. Delicious, unusual recipe, good use of peppers, nice with a pasta side for the extra sauce. I find the recipe calls for about 2X too much olive oil, so either drain it off for nice sweet pepper infused oil or cut back. But a VERY worthwhile recipe.

[KRS]

Pepper Puree is a great way to use them. It's the perfect condiment or sauce and is on the table at the top Italian restaurants. Usually it's made with red peppers, which are more mature.

1. Preheat the oven to 475. Line a roasting pan with enough foil to fold over the top later. Put 4 large bell peppers (about 2 pounds) in the pan and roast, turning every 10 minutes, until they collapse, about 40 min.

2. Remove the pan from oven, fold the foil over peppers and allow to cool.

3. Working over a bowl to catch the liquid, remove and discard the pepper stem, core, seeds and skin.

4. Put the pepper pulp in a food processor with about 2 tablespoons of the liquid and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Turn on the processor and add the oil slowly through the feed tube. Taste and add more salt and oil as necessary.

This is great for bread dipping, and it's infinitely variable:
- put a pool under roast or grilled chicken, red meat or fish, with fresh herbs
- add cumin, chili powder, caramelized onion or chopped raw garlic
- add 2 tablespoons to simmering liquid of rice or couscous
- add to tomato sauce at the end, or use instead of tomatoes
- add to omelets or scrambled eggs
- make a quick pesto with basil, grated Parmesan and garlic
- use with lemon juice, salt and pepper as a salad dressing
- on toast or pizza
- in stew or soup just before serving
- as an appetizer dip, with more oil, garlic, cracked pepper and salty cheese (feta, goat)
- finishing sauce for roast eggplant or zucchini

[jackie de]

Stuffed peppers are great and you'll be able to use up lots of them. I'd also roast several of them and after they are peeled, freeze them. It's great to have roasted peppers in the freezer, you can add them to so many dishes and a great thing to have in the middle of winter.

[tweetie]

How do you freeze roasted peppers? I've frozen raw ones, but never roasted. I'm thinking a ziplock freezer bag........?

[jackie de]

We grow lots of peppers and roast almost all of them, we love them that much!.They add so much flavor to so many dishes. I freeze them in layers with wax papper or even better, the new sticky saran wrap, between each layer. That way they are very easy to seperate. One year I put each pepper individually in small plastic bags-worked great, but a lot of work. After they are wrapped, I just pop them into a ziplock freezer bag and I have peppers to last until the next years crop is ready. Hope this helps.

[MakingSense]

Easy, easy, easy. I freeze the ones from my garden which produces copiously or when I find a great sale.
Clean out the seeds, cut them into pieces (the larger the better - I usually freeze quarters), pop them into ziplocks and freeze. If they stick at all, just smack them on the counter and they come apart easily as long as you haven't overpacked the bags. Or you can freeze them on baking sheets before putting them in bags. I just don't bother any longer since they do just as well without this step.

[mrsleny]

I've frozen roasted ones in ziploc bags but never raw ones. Do they need blanching or other preparation before freezing?

Cheers.

[jackie de]

I just wash,de-seed and cut in half, but you can cut any way you like, or even leave whole. They are one of the easiest vegies to freeze. Just be sure to put in a good freezer bag. Don't worry if they stick together, they come apart very easy. Roasted ones, as you know are a bit more tricky, but well worth the effort.

[Allstonian]

Yes, I haven't done this in a long time but used to freeze packets of mixed red, green, and yellow bell peppers. I cut them in long strips (length of the pepper x about 1/2 inch) and packed them in the snack-sized zipper bags, then put several of those in a larger freezer bag. Very easy to prep and freeze and it made it easy to add chopped tri-color peppers to a variety of dishes.

[nissenpa]

This is AWESOME!! I never knew you could freeze them raw!

There is a sale on red bell peppers (.99 a pound) right now so I am going to freeze some.

Thanks!

[Ruth Lafler]

I roast red peppers in big batches (especially when I find them for a good price) and put them in a big jar immersed in a balsamic vinegar-base marinade. They keep that way pretty much indefinitely in the fridge, and I have them hand for salads -- or just eating out of the jar!

[nissenpa]

Could you share your marinade recipe? Even just approximations would be great.