italian roasted bell pepper salad: simple ingredients yield big flavor

Italians turn the simplest ingredients into exciting meals. I learned to make this easy, delicious salad while staying at Fontana del Papa, a cooking school and farm near Tolfa, Italy.

While I made more than a dozen dishes during my three-day stay, this was one of my favorites. The mellow roasted peppers with the zing of raw garlic make for a tasty salad.

We seasoned the salad with a generous amount of salt and nutty, spicy olive oil made from olive trees on their farm. Back at home, I tried Olio Taibi from a family-owned olive oil company in Agrigento, Sicily, and loved it. The clean, crisp flavor with notes of black pepper and green herbs pair nicely with the roasted peppers.

Roasted Bell Pepper Salad

3 assorted bell peppers (red, orange, and yellow)
1/8 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/8 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
1 garlic clove, minced
pinch of crushed dried red pepper
Salt to taste

Char peppers over open flame, on a grill pan, or in broiler until blackened on all sides. Transfer to large bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and cool. Peel and seed peppers. Cut into 1/2-inch-wide strips.

Place peppers in medium bowl. Add all remaining ingredients and toss to coat and serve.

Comments

[Dana]

True to Italian cooking, right? Sometimes simplest is best. I'm always amazed that a pepper, which I'm kind of ambivalent about, can turn into something so sublime when roasted.

[irisofthewayfarer]

This sounds so delicious. I am going out NOW to purchase peppers and have this wonderful salad for dinner. Thank you!

[Dee Dee]

Thank you! I, too, had the experience of learning to cook for a week at Assuntina's Fontina del Papa...love your blog!!!

Dee Dee McCabe

[Eralda]

This looks crazy good! I love roasted peppers. Will have to try it, especially since my grocery store has all their peppers on sale. Yay!

[Susan]

Looks delicious. I make a similar version and make sandwiches out of it, with goat cheese and basil leaves. I love that you went to a cooking school in Rome!!

[Angela]

So true, Dana! The pepper is sublime roasted, and fresh ingredients with simple preparations are often the best!

Irisofthewayfarer: Thanks! I'd love to hear how it turned out if you get a chance.

Dee Dee: Thanks for the compliment on my blog! Isn't Fontana wonderful?? We are so lucky!

Eralda: Lucky you that peppers are on sale -- they can be so expensive. Love your blog!

Susan: Thanks! I could see the goat cheese and basil working beautifully.

[Brittany (He Cooks She Cooks)]

That looks and sounds so good! And so easy! With some good bread, this is all I need.