Vegetables, Roasted

Having celebrated Pancake Day (alias Mardi Gras) in the last post, we shall discuss something more abstemious now that we have entered the Lenten season. For the moment, anyway—self-denial is not really in my nature. Nor are the dishes I’m talking about today particularly ascetic. Not from a flavor perspective, at any rate.

I’ve never been all that wild about boiling or steaming things. There are obvious exceptions, of course—one has to boil or steam some starches, like rice or pasta. But I generally prefer to use so-called “dry” cooking methods whenever possible—sautéing, for instance, or baking, or roasting.

Most people, including myself, mainly think of roasted peppers as something you buy in a jar. And they are quite good, frankly, especially if you can find roasted piquillo peppers—a Spanish variety which are particularly sweet and flavorful. My point here is that although I’m going to talk about roasting peppers at home, there’s nothing wrong with serving up the jarred variety if you’re in a hurry, or if it’s too hot to turn on the oven, or if you just don’t feel like cooking.

That said, roasting peppers is really quite simple, requiring a bit of attention but not much effort. You take six or eight peppers, whatever color you prefer. Although, frankly, if you ask me (you haven’t, but play along), don’t bother with green peppers. They’re simply unripe peppers, and are nowhere near as sweet or flavorful as the red, orange or yellow ones. I also wouldn’t bother with purple ones, should you happen to find them in your local market. I once spent a ridiculous amount of money on some purple peppers, only to find that once they were roasted and peeled, they were a grim shade of olive drab. So let’s stick to the red/orange/yellow end of the spectrum.

Put the peppers on a rack over a baking sheet. You don’t have to oil them, or season them in any way at this point.

Put the peppers under a preheated broiler and let them cook for several minutes, until the skins are black and blistered. If you’ve never done this before, do not panic. They are supposed to look charred.

Turn them gently with tongs, and char the other sides. Depending on the strength of your broiler and how close your peppers are to the heat source (mine were about two inches from the burner), this will take around 15 minutes total. This is the only remotely tricky part of the process, but all it requires is that you stay nearby and keep an eye on things to make sure the peppers aren’t combusting or anything. As you can see from my rather blurry photos, you want them to be quite black on the surface.

Once the skins of the peppers are thoroughly black and blistered, put them into a plastic bag and let them sit and steam for at least 15 minutes, or up to an hour.

Meanwhile, prepare a dressing which I’ve taken from Nigella Lawson’s book How to Eat (full recipe below). Put 5-6 tablespoons of olive oil in a frying pan. Add 2 cloves of minced garlic and 3 or 4 minced anchovy fillets. Cook very gently over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the garlic becomes fragrant and the anchovies dissolve. This will only take a few minutes. Remove from heat and let cool a bit. Add some lemon juice—Nigella uses just a bit, but I prefer more acidity, and would suggest the juice of an entire lemon. Do as you like. Season with salt and pepper, but be wary of the salt, as there was a significant amount of salt in those anchovies.

Side note: do not fear the anchovy; you really should use them more often. They will not taste fishy here, btw, if that’s your objection. They simply add a savory element to the finished dish that enhances the flavor.It’s basically the same as using fish sauce in Thai or Vietnamese cuisine. Trust me on this. But if you’re too squeamish to deal with them, you can omit them. Just don’t tell me.

After the peppers have steamed for a while, peel them over a bowl, making sure to reserve the pepper juices—we'll need them in a moment. The peels should come off quite easily, although if a few bits of skin remain here and there, do not lose sleep over it. 

Cut or tear the peppers into strips, and place into a large bowl. Add the pepper juices to the olive oil mixture. Pour the dressing over the pepper strips, and toss to coat thoroughly. Cover with plastic and refrigerate for a few hours—or for a full day, if that's more convenient. Bring them back to room temperature before you serve them, adding some chopped parsley if you like. 

Roasting asparagus is even simpler, and I have no “original” recipe for this one. There are a bunch of different methods out there, and this is the one that I have fallen into. I probably originally took it from some cookbook or website somewhere, but it’s been so long now, I have no idea which one.

Anyway, preheat your oven to 400F. While it is heating, prepare your asparagus for cooking. If you are my mother, you will patiently and painstakingly peel the lower third of each stalk. If you are my friend Kelly, you will bend each stalk until it breaks, keeping the upper portion and discarding the lower part. If you are me, you will take a big honking knife and chop off the lower two inches or so of the entire bunch. You can keep the lower sections for making broth or soup. Or you can throw them away. There are worse sins in the world.

Once the asparagus is prepped, the process is very straightforward. Put the asparagus in a baking dish, and drizzle a little olive oil over them—1 to 2 teaspoons, approximately. Sprinkle them with about half a teaspoon of coarse salt, and toss them so they are evenly coated with the oil and the salt.

Put them in the oven and bake them for 10-20 minutes, tossing them about halfway through, should you happen to think of it. The reason for the big variation in cooking time is because the thickness of the stalks can vary wildly. If you have pencil-thin stalks, ten minutes may be enough, but if you have really large, fat ones, it can take as long as 20. The ones you see here took about 15.

They are done when they droop slightly when you hold them by the end. And for the record, I don't think the thickness of the asparagus has any noticeable effect on the taste. I've heard people claim that the thick ones have more flavor, or that the thin ones do. Bogus, if you ask me. I usually serve these as is, but you could serve them with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar, or with the olive oil and anchovy dressing used for the peppers, or you could toss them with bread crumbs, or grated Parmesan cheese, or anything else that struck your fancy. Or you can let them cool slightly, wrap them with slices of prosciutto, and serve them with drinks. Knock yourself out.

Both of these make nice side dishes—I’m serving them here next to the fish I showed you a few weeks back. They work well with roast chicken, steak, or pretty much anything else you care to name. I wouldn’t serve them over ice cream, I suppose, but any savory dish is fair game. Leftovers work well in an omelette or frittata the next day, should you be so inclined.

From Nigella Lawson, How to Eat, Grilled Pepper Salad

4 yellow peppers

4 red peppers

5–6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced

3 anchovy fillets in olive oil, drained and minced

1 teaspoon lemon juice, plus more, if needed

2–3 tablespoons chopped parsley

Char and peel the peppers as directed on page 86 [similar to the method I describe above]. Whatever you do, don’t peel them under running water; you will lose all those sweet peppery juices. Peel them, rather, over a bowl to catch all those sweet drips. Don’t be neurotic about getting every last bit of skin off; most will come off easily enough, and the rest you can live with. Cut the peppers into strips and pile into a shallow bowl. In a heavy-bottomed pan, combine the olive oil and garlic and heat, stirring once you see it’s got warm. After about 30 seconds, stir in the anchovies and keep stirring on low heat until they’ve melted into the oil. Then pour in the juices you caught from the peppers as you peeled them. Take off the heat. Add the lemon juice, taste, and add more if you like. Pour over the peppers, turn well to coat, then cover tightly with plastic film and leave to macerate for at least 3 hours, though 24 in the fridge would be even better. Sometimes I leave this for about half a week in the fridge and it is all the more silkily fabulous for it—as long as you remember to let it come to room temperature before you even think of eating it. Transfer to a large plate, preferably a white one, to serve, and cover with the parsley.