Olive Oil. It has many healing properties, and it can also soften your skin so it feels like a baby's clean bottom. But most people just use in their cooking. Now I know my picture says "Premium California". I want to get one thing straight, this is just the one I bought at Costco because it was the only one in a glass bottle. I collect those, for those of you don't know. This one was very pretty. And I don't have very many olive oil bottles at present. It was also only $6, which certainly didn't hurt. Buy Olive Oil in bulk. Always. That's tip number one. Next, notice the Extra Virgin part. This is my personal favorite as a general oil, but there are SO MANY different types of Olive Oil that it's hard to choose just one.
Moving on, I want to show you a recipe that uses a lot of Olive Oil. Well, more than normal. You see, a little goes a long way when it comes to this wonderful substance. What I am going to show you is my way of making a nice jar of Oven Roasted Red Bell Peppers. Delicious in pastas, a lot of different salads, basically anything your imagination can use them for. And if there is one thing I recommend in the kitchen, it's creativity.
Note: These need to be used the same day. I am using these in dinner tonight.
You start with two beautiful Red Bell Peppers. Mine are about average sized, although any size will work. You just have to picture how much you want to roast. You can get a beautiful package of them at, where else, Costco. I love their produce. They take care of it, and produce needs a lot of care.
The lighting in my kitchen isn't very good for photos, but I assure it is decent for everything else. Decent...
Quarter and clean your bells. Some of mine were a tad smaller, I learned that it is easier to peel the skins off later if you just quarter it. I have two knives in this shot. The one that is hiding is my boning knife. Why do I use it on my bells you ask? Well, the blade is perfect for getting the stem off without wasting a bit of the delicious bell. AND, it is perfect for cleaning the fleshy yellowish white parts on the inside of the bell. The other knife is my favorite. My chef's knife. I use it for everything else. Now, I will save knife safety and performance for another day, that will fill a whole blog on it's own.
Preheat your oven to 400 F. Please. Make sure that your top rack is placed on the top most slot.
Here is what your pieces should look like when they are cleaned. NO SEEDS. That's important. I want to insert here that I do not use tin foil because I have magic pans that never stick. Wedding gifts from my Grandma Margaret. THANK YOU!!! If you do not have pans infused with magical properties, please use tin foil to line your pan.
Now I like to quarter an onion and separate it out onto the board. I have one slice of bell turned over above to show how I try and get a slice of onion under each big bell piece. If you have smaller pieces try your best to get onions around them. This will add a better flavor and aroma, and they just smell so darn good when they're in the oven. =) Note: You may also add garlic at this step, but I like to add it later on.
Drizzle you Olive Oil over the veggies. Use your hands to rub oil on EACH piece. You don't need much. Just barely coat them. Put them into your preheated oven on that top rack that we put in the topmost slot. You did that right? If you didn't, do it now. Be careful, it's hot. Set a timer for 20 minutes and watch some Food Channel. Favorite channel, obviously. I watched Good Eats. So full of whys and hows that even my husband loves it. Anyways... Mine needed about 10 or 15 more minutes after that, but all ovens are different so check at 20 and then check every 5-10 minutes later until the skins are turning black in spots, and have a filmy look to them, and the peppers 'collapse' under a fork. Use common sense, don't burn them.
Here is where I was in a hurry and didn't take a picture of the done veggies in the pan. You don't need it though. Just follow the above directions. When they are done use your fingers, again, to peel off the skins of your bells. If they do not come off easily, you didn't bake them long enough.
Put them into a jar, along with the onions. I reuse my jelly jars so I didn't have to buy extra. It doesn't have to be air tight because you have to use these the same day, like I said in the beginning. Here is where I add my garlic. Because I do this at about 11am, they sit and even more flavor is brought out. Here is how to add:
Take your chef's knife and crush it by hitting the blade with the heel of your hand. Sometimes this is scary for people who have never done it. In that case, use something else but crush the same way. It won't actually crush it, but the magic makes the 'skin' come off very easily. Everything I can't explain is Magic.
See the big guy there with brown area on his, um, bottom? Cut that off. I also like to cut the ti-pity tip of the garlic, I'm not sure why. Then slice in half. If it is a mega-garlic clove then quarter it. Le big guy above? He was a Mega-Clove.
Add to your jar, stir it around with a fork. Eye about 2 tablespoons more olive oil to it. Stir it about. (My chef's knife is done, he just wanted to be in the shot.) =) Put your lid on, and refrigerate until you are about to start dinner. Enjoy immensely. If you have any suggestions or did it a different way, feel free to leave comments below. =) Share me with friends. My chef's knife likes the spotlight. ;D
