Quick Roasted Red Pepper Spread Food

ROASTED RED PEPPER SPREAD

Steps:

• Arrange drained peppers on a double layer of paper towels; let dry.
• Process the remaining ingredients in the bowl of a food processor or blender, until the capers and parsley are very finely chopped.
• Add peppers and process with on-off switch until the peppers are coarsely chopped. Do not overprocess. Stop several times to scrape down the sides of the bowl to make sure mixture is evenly chopped.
• Check the seasonings and adjust as necessary.
• Serve with crudites.

ROASTED RED PEPPER SPREAD

Steps:

• Place all ingredients in a small food processor; cover and process until pureed. Store in the refrigerator.

ROASTED RED PEPPER SPREAD

Steps:

• Roast red peppers, tomatoes, garlic and onion under a broiler or on a grill at 425 degrees F, turning to roast all sides, until tomatoes and peppers are blistered, blackened and softened and garlic and onion are blackened in spots. Remove from heat.
• Place pepper and tomatoes in paper bags, secure opening and let cool about 15 minutes. Allow garlic and onion to cool. Peel garlic and onion. Finely chop garlic. Set aside. Finely chop onion, measuring 1/4 cup. Set aside. Peel and seed peppers and tomatoes. Place peppers and tomatoes in a food processor or blender, working in batches, and process until smooth.
• Prepare boiling water canner. Heat jars and lids in simmering water until ready for use. Do not boil. Set bands aside.
• Combine pepper and tomato puree, garlic, onion, vinegar, basil, sugar and salt in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until mixture thickens and mounds on a spoon, about 20 minutes.
• Ladle hot spread into hot jars leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Wipe rim. Center hot lid on jar. Apply band and adjust until fit is fingertip tight.
• Process in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes, adjusting for altitude. Remove jars and cool. Check lids for seal after 24 hours. Lid should not flex up and down when center is pressed.

QUICK ROASTED RED PEPPER SPREAD

Steps:

• Place ingredients in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment; process until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Red pepper spread can be refrigerated up to 2 weeks or frozen up to 3 months.

AJVAR (ROASTED RED PEPPER SPREAD)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to broil. Halve each pepper, discarding stems and seeds. Place peppers, cut side down, on an old baking sheet or one lined with foil.
• Cut eggplant in half lengthwise and score with a knife, drizzle it with about 2 tablespoons olive oil and a little salt and place it on a second baking sheet.
• Place one of the oven racks roughly 3 to 4 inches below the heat; place peppers on this rack. The eggplant should sit on a lower rack.
• Broil the peppers and eggplant, turning the peppers occasionally until they are well roasted on all sides, roughly 15 to 20 minutes. The eggplant may be done first; if so, remove it and set it aside to cool. To test eggplant for doneness press on it with a fork to make sure it's soft all the way through. I use an an outdoor grill to cook the peppers and eggplant, no oil. I make sure most of the skin on the peppers are blackened.
• When you remove the peppers from the oven, place them in a bowl, sprinkle them with a little water, and cover with a clean dishcloth. Leave it for about 10 minutes. This step steams and lifts the skins, making it easy to peel the peppers once they've cooled. (Another method to loosen skins is to place the peppers in a paper sack, fold over to close and leave it for 15 minutes).
• While waiting for the red pepper skin to lift. Use a large spoon to remove the pulp of the eggplant, leaving the skin behind. Discard the thickest seeds, but don't get nit-picky. Put eggplant in a food processor or a blender (I use a stick blender in a deep bowl) with olive oil and smashed and chopped garlic cloves. Pulse the eggplant a few times so that it's chopped with the other ingredients but not totally pureed. Put this in a bowl and set aside.
• Once peppers are cool enough to handle, peel them with your fingers or a knife. Add peppers to the food processor or blender and pulse 5 to 8 times to chop coarsely. Add the eggplant mixture to the chopped peppers, season to taste with salt, pepper, vinegar and dried chili flakes, pulse 3 or 4 times to mix.
• If you wish, garnish it with more finely diced garlic and a few scattered basil leaves. Serve ajvar with toasted bread slices drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with salt.