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Above is our second-to-last pepper harvest for this year. What to do with them all? Roasting the bell peppers not only makes them more delicious, but also easier and smaller to store.

However, I have never been successful roasting peppers using other methods than the one I’ll share here. The broiler method is too finicky. Some parts burn way too much and others not enough. It is faster, but not fail safe, and you have to tend them very closely. Some people chop peppers into strips to roast them, but that way, the ends often get burnt, and you’ve wasted half of them.

So note this: roasting them whole in the oven, is the trick for easy, consistent results!

Preheat the oven to 400ºF.

Put the whole peppers you want to roast on a cookie sheet, pyrex baking sheet, or roasting pan with a little olive oil.

Bake 20 minutes.

With tongs, turn them over.

Bake another 20 minutes.

Inspect them. Are they softened, a bit charred, and collapsing? If so they are done. If they are just picked, or particularly heavy walled, you may need to give them 10 minutes more.

When they are soft, and gush and fizz when you try to grab them with the tongs, they are done.

Transfer them to a low bowl or a flat cutting board and cover them immediately with a large bowl inverted over them like a dome. Leave them to steam for at least 15 minutes (sometimes I come back hours later). Steaming them in this way makes removing their skin a breeze.

Remove their seeds and peel their skins off. This is quick and easy at this point!

You can store them in a glass container in your refrigerator, or you can freeze them for later use.

They are delicious in sandwiches, salads, omelettes, soups, sauces, and more.

Tomorrow I’ll share the heavenly concoction I made with these!

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