Roasted peppers!

Red capsicums have been on sale at Foodland for $2 per bag (~8 capsicums per bag) for the past month and so I have found myself to be on the receiving end of a bag each week from P's grocery shopping trips. Although I am currently on a "salad for lunch" kick, I have never really been a huge fan of raw crunchy vegetables (at least, I like them for a while and then get bored of them really quickly). What I have always been a huge fan of, however, are those roasted peppers you get at the deli for $39 per kg, which is equivalent to ~$8 per small tub, which is equivalent to daylight robbery, if you ask me...especially after finding this super awesome super easy recipe for making them myself!

I love this because not only is it super easy, it is also a really good way of using up the capsicums, which seem to only last about a week in the fridge (and it is NOT easy to use up 8 huge capsicums over one week!) but once roasted and kept in a airtight jar, can last up to several weeks in the fridge.

Red capsicums (i usually use 6-8, makes for 2-3 medium sized jars)

Juice from 1 lemon (1/2 - 1 cup)

1 cup white wine vinegar

1/2 cup olive oil

2-3 cloves garlic (minced)

1 tbsp salt

1. Place the capsicums on a roasting rack/pan (or whatever passes as one) in the oven at 230C (or however high your oven can go) until the skins of the capsicums start to blister and turn black. Turn the capsicums at least once so that all sides turn black.

Note: Be careful of heat whilst opening the oven at this point!

2. Once the capsicums cool down, peel off the blackened skins (I tend to use tongs, a butter knife and a fork to do this). Cut the peppers in pieces and remove the stems and seeds. ***

*** Note: NEVER handle the seeds with bare hands!! Capsicum burns can be a real bitch! (trust me, I speak from experience - excruciating pain for hours, been years since that happened but the pain is still vivid!) Always use gloves or just use the utensils to handle them.

3. Place the capsicums in a airtight glass jar.

4. Heat the vinegar, oil, lemon juice, garlic and salt in a saucepan until boiling. Pour over the capsicums in the jar(s). Let cool and then store in the fridge. 

Awesome addition to salads or sandwiches! hmmm.....