I want to start by saying that, for the record, I am pro roasted red peppers in a jar, from the grocery store.

They are a perfect shortcut, taste great and should be a staple in your pantry.

That being said…

There’s nothing better than the real thing!  Whether you grow the pepper in your own backyard garden or purchase from the farmer’s market or produce section and then roast it yourself, the flavor is top notch and yes, better than the jarred version.

It doesn’t take too much time and yet it used to intimidate the heck out of me and once I saw how easy I felt I should pass it along to keep someone else from running scared every time they saw freshly roasted red pepper in a recipe!

Start with however much pepper you want for what you are making.  For instance here I am only roasting 1/2 of a red pepper.

Cut it in half, core it, take out the seeds and lay it out skin side up on an aluminum foil-lined sheet pan.

Put your oven on a high broil.

Keep your oven rack in the middle of your oven.

Put the cookie sheet in the oven and check on your pepper after 5 minutes.

The goal is for the pepper to look like this.  You want black charring on the skin on all sides, or as many surfaces of the skin as possible.

Rotate the pepper with tongs after 5 minutes if you’ve only got charring on one side.

The whole pepper should be done roasting by at most 20 minutes.

Right out of the oven, take the pepper and put it inside a plastic bag and shut it.

Let it cool till you can handle it!  Could be up to 20 minutes.

You’ll see that the skin of the red pepper peels away so simply!  Peel all the skin off.

And therein lies your beautiful, scrumptious roasted red pepper.  Enjoy!

Bon Appétit, Ma Chérie!