Roasted Peppers & Onions

We use multi-colored sweet bell peppers for roasting in this recipe. Using a mix of colors gives the dish a nice presentation, but it isn't necessary flavor-wise. Red, orange and yellow peppers are all mild, sweet and similar in flavor so it's up to you if you want to use just one color or mix it up. Green bell peppers are also good for roasting, but they tend to be less sweet and more bitter than their more vibrant counterparts. If you mix them up with roasted onion or a sweeter variety of pepper you may not notice the difference, so don't rule them out. Large peppers with a little heat like poblanos or Anaheim peppers work well for roasting too by themselves or mixed with sweet peppers depending on how hot the individual peppers are and how hot you want the dish to be.

Roasted peppers and onions are good as a stand-alone side dish or served alongside anything from steak or chicken to fish or shrimp. You can also use them as a taco topping, in a sandwich, as a quiche filling or tossed with pasta or rice. They make a great hot dog, sausage or hamburger topping too!

Yes, you can but with some limitations. They are best served right away as a side dish, taco or salad topping where they can offer freshness and crunch. But you can use frozen, thawed roasted peppers and onions in things like quiche and scrambled eggs where the softer texture that results from freezing and thawing will be less noticeable. To freeze roasted peppers and onions, spread them out in an even layer before freezing and transfer them to a storage container after they are frozen to prevent them from sticking together. You can keep frozen peppers and onions in the freezer for up to three months.

Additional reporting by Hilary Meyer