appetizer, snack, fall Whatley Farm appetizer, snack, fall Whatley Farm

Chef Ali's Roasted Peppers with Pomegranate Molasses & Walnuts

Roasted Peppers with Pomegranate Molasses & Walnuts

This dish takes its flavor from a Middle Eastern Dip Muhuhmarra… and it is so versatile. The peppers make a terrific addition to a Meze plate, along side  hummus, olives, and toasted pita or try them on top of a flatbread with warm goat cheese, served them aside grilled lamb or fish  or bake chicken thighs with and serve with cous cous. They are lovely with roasted delicate squash and some tahini and one of my favorite ways  is to mix them in a bowl of warm farro and top with an olive oil fried egg, a dollop of yoghurt and a handful of fresh herbs.

[Ailish's note: We have roasted peppers for sale at the Crystal Spring Farmers' Market in Brunswick from late summer to fall. If you miss the freshly roasted ones at market, we also have hot and sweet frozen roasted peppers available in our freezer at all of our markets.]

  • 1 pound mixed roasted peppers ( ILOVE a mix of hot & sweet in the recipe), seeded, de-stemmed, and cut into strips
  • 2 tbs Olive oil
  • 1 or 2  large cloves fresh garlic, chopped
  • 2 tbs red wine vinegar
  • 1 tbs Pomegranate Molasses
  • ½ cup Toasted walnuts
  • 1 cup torn Fresh Mint, Parsley and/ or Cilantro.
  1. Whisk together garlic, olive oil, pomegranate molasses.
  2. Pour over peppers and let marinate up to 4 days.
  3. Mix in walnuts and herbs just before serving. Tastes best at room temperature.

How to make scrumptious roasted peppers if you don't have a fancy roaster:

There are more aggressive ways of roasting peppers, I like this way, it requires less diligence and results in a tender sweetness, even with the hot peppers.

  1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit,
  2. Place the pepper on a sheet pan and position them in the middle of the oven, 
  3. Bake for an hour, checking every 15 minutes of so and rolling them over so a different side touches the pan.
  4. Roast them until they looked wilted, soft, collapsed with the skin pulling away from the flesh, they don’t have to be blacked or even browned.
  5. Place the peppers in a large bowl and cover it tightly with plastic wrap for about 15 minutes, if plastic wrap alludes you, you can put them in a paper or plastic bag—just make sure it closes tightly. We want steam to build up and get under the skin so it’s easy to peel off.
  6. Unwrap the bowl, place the peppers on a cutting board and slice them on one side. Open the peppers to pull the stems off or cut them away, remove all the seeds and ribs and cut them in to strips.
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