Roasted Red Pepper Bread Food

ROASTED RED PEPPERS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.
• Place the whole peppers on a sheet pan and place in the oven for 30 to 40 minutes, until the skins are completely wrinkled and the peppers are charred, turning them twice during roasting. Remove the pan from the oven and immediately cover it tightly with aluminum foil. Set aside for 30 minutes, or until the peppers are cool enough to handle.
• Remove the stem from each pepper and cut them in quarters. Remove the peels and seeds and place the peppers in a bowl along with any juices that have collected. Discard the stems, peels, and seeds. Pour the oil over the peppers. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.

ROASTED RED PEPPER BREAD

Steps:

• Place red peppers in a food processor; cover and process until pureed. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the red peppers, 1 cup cheese, milk, butter, salt and 1-1/2 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a firm dough., Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour., Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide dough into 6 pieces. Shape each into an 18-in. rope. Place 3 ropes on a greased baking sheet and braid; pinch ends to seal and tuck under. Repeat with remaining dough. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour., In a small bowl, combine egg and water; brush over braids. Sprinkle with pepper and remaining cheese. Bake at 350° for 18-22 minutes or until golden brown.

ROASTED RED PEPPER PIZZA

Steps:

• Place a pizza stone or inverted rimmed baking sheet on the lower oven rack and preheat to 500 degrees F. Make the tomato sauce: Crush the tomatoes in a large bowl with your hands. Stir in the olive oil, 2 teaspoons salt and a few grinds of pepper.
• Make the pepper spread: Roast the chile pepper and bell pepper over the flame of a gas burner (or under the broiler), turning, until charred, 4 minutes for the chile and 6 to 8 minutes for the bell pepper. Transfer the peppers to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let cool slightly, about 10 minutes. Peel off the charred skins with your fingers (you may want to use gloves for the chile pepper to avoid irritation). Halve the peppers and remove the seeds. Combine the garlic, anchovies, red pepper flakes and oregano in a food processor. Add the roasted peppers and pulse until almost smooth. Pour in the olive oil and pulse a few times. Season with salt.
• Assemble the pizza: Keep the prebaked crust on the baking sheet. Spread with 3/4 cup to 1 cup tomato sauce (you will have extra sauce). Top with the mozzarella, then spoon 1/2 cup pepper spread on top. Sprinkle with half of the parmesan. Transfer the baking sheet to the hot pizza stone and bake until the cheese melts and the crust is golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and top with the remaining parmesan and the herbs. Season with salt.
• Combine the flour, salt and yeast in a large bowl. Stir in 2 cups warm water (about 105 degrees F) and 2 tablespoons olive oil with a wooden spoon until a shaggy dough forms. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until the dough rises slightly, about 1 hour.
• Using lightly floured hands, transfer the dough to a generously floured surface and knead several times until it just starts becoming smooth and elastic, about 1 minute (do not over-knead). Transfer to a lightly oiled large bowl. Tightly cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until almost doubled in size, about 1 hour. Meanwhile, place a pizza stone or inverted rimmed baking sheet on the lower oven rack and preheat to 500 degrees F.
• Brush two rimmed 13-by-18-inch baking sheets (not nonstick) with 3 tablespoons olive oil each. Place one piece of dough on each baking sheet. Prepare the pizzas one at a time: Cover the dough with plastic wrap, then press firmly with your hands to fill the baking
• Remove the plastic wrap and transfer the baking sheet to the hot pizza stone. Bake until the crust starts browning, about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and carefully loosen the crust from the pan using a spatula. Top and bake (see recipe indexfor ideas), or let cool, lightly wrap in plastic and set aside up to 8 hours.

CREAMY VEGAN RED PEPPER PASTA WITH GARLIC BREAD BREADCRUMBS

Steps:

• Heat 3 Tbsp. oil in a large Dutch oven or other heavy pot over medium-high. Add breadcrumbs, half of the garlic, and ½ tsp. salt and cook, stirring constantly to incorporate the garlic, until golden brown and crisp, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl and stir in parsley. Wipe out and reserve pot.
• Meanwhile, cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, according to package directions. Drain, reserving 2 cups pasta cooking liquid.
• Heat 3 Tbsp. oil in reserved pot over medium-high. Cook onion, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, until slightly softened, 6-8 minutes. Add roasted red peppers, remaining garlic, and 1 tsp. salt. Cook, stirring often, until any liquid is evaporated and vegetables are combined and glossy looking, about 5 minutes. Add tomato paste and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are coated and paste is slightly darkened in color, about 5 minutes.
• Add beans, lemon zest, lemon juice, and red pepper flakes to pot; season with black pepper. Cook, smashing beans and stirring to combine with spoon, about 2 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and gradually add reserved pasta cooking liquid (you might not need all of it), stirring and mashing as you go, until combined and sauce is thick. Remove from heat and immediately add pasta; toss to coat.
• Divide pasta among bowls; drizzle with a little oil and spoon breadcrumbs on top. Squeeze some lemon juice over if desired.

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.

ROASTED RED PEPPER CORN BREAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F. Butter 13x9x2-inch metal baking pan. Char pepper directly over gas flame or in broiler until blackened on all sides. Enclose in paper bag; let stand 10 minutes. Peel, seed, and coarsely chop pepper.
• Whisk cornmeal and next 4 ingredients in bowl to blend. Add buttermilk, butter, and eggs. Stir just to moisten. Mix in bell pepper; transfer to prepared pan. Bake bread until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Cool in pan. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and store at room temperature.)

SAVORY ROASTED PEPPER BREAD FOR THE BREAD MACHINE

Steps:

• Measure carefully, placing all ingredients in bread machine pan in the order recommended by the manufacturer.
• Set crust color on Light.

MUHAMMARA (ROASTED PEPPER & WALNUT SPREAD)

Steps:

• Heat a skillet over medium heat. Add walnuts and drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Cook and stir frequently until walnuts smell toasted and are lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and transfer walnuts to a plate to cool. Reserve 2 or 3 to coarsely chop and use for garnish.
• Place the skillet over medium heat; add 1 tablespoon olive oil. Sprinkle in the breadcrumbs; cook and stir frequently until crumbs turn golden brown, 3 or 4 minutes. Remove from heat and sprinkle onto plate with walnuts.
• Place peppers in bowl of a food processor. Add walnuts, toasted bread crumbs, garlic, lemon juice, pomegranate molasses, salt, paprika, Aleppo pepper flakes, cumin, and cayenne pepper. Drizzle with remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil.
• Pulse on and off, scraping mixture down occasionally, until mixture is fairly fine and smooth. Transfer to a bowl; cover and refrigerate until chilled, about 2 hours.
• Transfer to a shallow serving bowl. Use the back of a spoon to swirl indentations on the surface to capture the garnishes. Garnish with reserved chopped walnuts, a drizzle of olive oil, pepper flakes, and chopped parsley.