Whether you’re a year-round griller or just meet friends in the summer for a barbecue in the garden, it’s no longer just meat that ends up on the grill. Vegetables are gaining more and more space on the grill, and grilled peppers in particular are an indispensable delicacy for many. The peppers can be enjoyed directly from the grill, for example, but can also be processed into delicious antipasti. In addition, the colorful fruits provide all kinds of nutrients such as vitamin C and beta-carotene, which makes them a healthy snack.
In a nutshell: How to grill peppers?
Bell peppers can be grilled on the barbecue as well as in the oven. Wash and dry the peppers, cut them in half and remove the stems and seeds. Place the peppers skin side down on the grill or upside down on a baking sheet and slide it under the oven broiler. The skin should turn black and blister. Then let the vegetables cool a bit, covered, peel off the skin, and dress with olive oil, spices, and herbs to taste.
Grilled peppers: A simple recipe for preparation
Before the peppers end up on the grill, wash them and pat dry. You should also fire up a charcoal grill in good time, which is not necessary with a gas grill. If you wish, you can heat it up about five minutes before the vegetables are grilled and bring it to temperature, which is about 200 °C / 400 °F.
Ingredients
Red and yellow peppers
To taste: Olive oil and spices (for example salt, pepper, herbs)
Preparation
Remove the stem, halve or quarter and remove the seeds from the peppers. Alternatively, place them whole on the grill. If you like, coat the skin of the peppers with a little olive oil beforehand. Place them skin side down on the grill and grill until the skin turns black and blisters. This usually takes about 10 to 15 minutes, but varies depending on the grill and temperature. Then let the peppers cool slightly, covered, for example, under a dampened kitchen towel, and finally peel off the skin with a knife. Depending on how you like to eat the grilled peppers, you can still cut them into strips or pieces. Whole fruits are turned on the grill in between and after cooling also skinned, cut and freed from stem and core.
Now you can serve the vegetables directly or drizzle them with a little olive oil, season with salt and pepper and refine with herbs such as fresh basil.
Grilling peppers: This is how it works in the oven
If you don’t have a grill, you don’t have to give up the pleasure, because you can grill peppers just fine in the oven. Prepare the peppers as described above, select the oven’s grill function and preheat it to about 220 °C / 428 °F. Arrange the peppers, skin side up, on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake under the oven broiler until the skin also changes color. Then let cool, skin and serve as desired.
By the way, if you have more vegetables than you can grill, fresh, unwashed, whole peppers can also be stored and processed later. For example, a place in a cool and dark pantry is ideal for this, where the peppers can be stored for up to two weeks. If you have already grilled them, you can pickle them in oil to preserve them a little longer.
Recipe ideas for Grilled Bell Peppers
Whether purely vegetarian, as a side dish with meat or as an appetizer: Grilled peppers can be enjoyed in many ways. It is popular, for example, as antipasti in different variations: If you like cream cheese made from sheep’s milk, spread it on a few slices of white bread such as baguette, which you can toast a little beforehand, and top the whole thing with a few grilled bell pepper strips. They taste just as good marinated in oil and mixed with pieces of black olives as well as basil leaves on toasted wholemeal bread. A classic is also the colorful grilled vegetables, where you not only grill peppers, but also spread other vegetables such as eggplant, zucchini, mushrooms, tomatoes and onions on the grill. You can also cut the vegetables into pieces and prepare them as a shish kebab or line them up on barbecue skewers in a purely vegetarian way. Grilled peppers also add a sweet, fruity note to a variety of seasonal lettuces.
Grow your own peppers for barbecue
If you prefer to harvest vegetables from your own garden or greenhouse, you can also sow and grow peppers yourself. However, you should start early, between mid-February and mid-March, so that the peppers do not ripen too late. So that you can look forward to many fruits, it is also important to avoid the most common mistakes when growing peppers: Among other things, therefore, make sure that you use high-quality potting soil for sowing and always place the growing tray in a bright and warm place.
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