Roasted Bell Pepper Salad

Name: Bulgarian Roasted Bell Pepper Salad with Garlic
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 1 h
Cuisine: Bulgarian cuisine
Ingredients: Red bell peppers 4; Garlic 1–2 cloves; Parsley and dill 4–5 sprigs; Wine vinegar 1 tsp; Olive oil 2–3 tbsp; Hot chili pepper 1 small pod; Salt to taste

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Despite the refined variety of Bulgarian cuisine, the favorite is still a simple bell pepper salad. Salads like this, in different versions, are served in every restaurant and bistro without exception. The essence of these appetizers is roasted bell pepper with oil and grape vinegar. Everything else is secondary and usually added depending on your mood.

Many Bulgarian dishes are tied to particular holidays and occasions, religious or civic. For New Year, a traditional bread is baked, banitsa with sirene cheese made to a special recipe; for Easter, chicken in tomato sauce; and for most holidays and events, all kinds of homemade baked goods. But bell pepper dishes, fresh, pickled and even dried, are almost always on the menu.

A tasty pepper salad is a very simple appetizer you can make in just a few minutes if you roast a few sweet peppers in advance and let them cool. It’s very low in calories and, strictly speaking, doesn’t even need oil. A very light meal, a dish on its own or even a great ingredient for an excellent sandwich: just lay the prepared pepper on a slice of toast.

A simple idea, and you have a delicious appetizer called shopska salad with roasted peppers. You can easily combine a regular shopska salad with the bell pepper salad and get yet another version of this hugely popular appetizer.

For the pepper salad to turn out well and quickly, you need to master a workable way of roasting peppers. In the simplest version, you can cut the peppers and fry them in oil in a skillet. That’s how peppers are cooked for Bulgarian pepper and onion salad. You can roast peppers in the oven; it’s easy, though it takes a while. Peppers like that are great for a salad with sirene cheese and vegetables. But the tastiest peppers are roasted over coals, an open flame or in a Bulgarian electric pepper roaster, the chushkopek. A refined taste and aroma, incredibly soft roasted pepper: a superb base for salads and appetizers.

Bulgarian pepper salad is extremely simple to make from roasted sweet peppers, herbs and garlic. It’s dressed with vinegar and oil.

Ingredients

2 servings

Red bell peppers 4
Garlic 1–2 cloves
Parsley and dill 4–5 sprigs
Wine vinegar 1 tsp
Olive oil 2–3 tbsp
Hot chili pepper 1 small pod
Salt to taste

Step-by-step recipe

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Preparing the ingredients

In vegetable season, it’s best to make this appetizer from large, elongated red peppers. They’re much easier to roast. Make sure the peppers are undamaged and not starting to rot. It’s best to buy local garlic, the kind sold by grandmothers at any market. Homegrown garlic usually has a very strong aroma and flavor, which matters for an appetizer.

Put the parsley and dill in cold water in advance so they crisp up.

Roasting and peeling the peppers

The salad is best made not from fried peppers but from peppers roasted over an open flame, coals or in an electric roaster. In Bulgaria, people are masters at roasting peppers and other vegetables in an electric roaster, the chushkopek. Very simple and convenient. Just a few minutes and the pepper is roasted.

Roast the peppers until the skin is charred black and the flesh has softened considerably.
Put the roasted peppers in a pot and cover it with a lid. Alternatively, put the peppers in a plastic bag and tie it shut. Let the roasted peppers cool. Don’t rush it: let the peppers cool, or you’ll burn yourself.
Carefully peel the peppers, just as you do when making lyutenitsa. The charred outer skin peels away easily with your fingers.
Cut off the top of each pepper with a knife and remove all the seeds. If liquid has collected inside the peppers, it’s best to pour it off.
But don’t squeeze or press the roasted peppers; they lose their shape and tear easily.

Assembling the salad

Lay the roasted peppers on a cutting board and cut them crosswise or on the diagonal into wide strips. You should get roughly 5–6 strips from each pepper. Arrange the sliced pepper on a large platter if the salad is for a festive table, or on individual appetizer plates.

Lightly salt the pepper with fine salt, just a tiny bit. Peel the garlic cloves and chop them with a knife. Sprinkle the garlic over the pepper on the plate.
Pick all the leaves off the parsley and dill sprigs and chop the herbs fairly finely. Cut a small hot chili pepper, red or green, into thin rings on the diagonal, seeds and all. Scatter the sliced chili over the roasted bell pepper and sprinkle generously with the chopped herbs.
Carefully drizzle wine vinegar over the pepper on the plate, trying to distribute it evenly. Don’t use too much vinegar, or you’ll end up with pickled bell pepper. Dress the salad with olive oil. Ordinary sunflower oil works fine too; just don’t use a strongly scented oil: the smell of unrefined oil will overpower the flavor and aroma of the roasted pepper.

Serving

The appetizer is ready to serve. The salad doesn’t need chilling; it’s served at room temperature.
This salad is perfect as a cold vegetable appetizer and goes well with a shot of something strong at the start of a meal. Unlike shepherd’s salad, which can be a main course, bell pepper salad is simply an appetizer.

Calories and macros

230 kcal

Serving ≈ 300 g

Protein3 g6% of kcal
Fat18 g73% of kcal
Carbs12 g21% of kcal

100 g78 kcalProtein 1.1 gFat 6.1 gCarbs 4 g

Calculated from the recipe ingredients, excluding salt and spices. Data: USDA and Matvaretabellen.

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To Get It Right

No chushkopek?

You can roast the peppers right over a gas burner on a fork, or on a grill rack, turning them until the skin is charred all over. Peppers cut up and fried in a skillet don’t suit this salad; they’re used for Bulgarian pepper and onion salad.

Heat

The chili is sliced with its seeds, which makes the salad hotter. For a milder flavor, remove the seeds or use only half the pod.

Light version and a sandwich

The salad is very low in calories and can easily go without oil. Lay the roasted pepper on a slice of toast and you have an excellent sandwich.

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Questions and answers

How do you roast peppers for the salad in the oven?

Lay whole peppers on a baking sheet and roast at 220 °C for 25–30 minutes, turning once or twice, until the skin darkens and starts to come away. It’s easy, though it takes a bit longer than over a flame.

Can you make this salad with green peppers?

Yes, the method is the same. Green peppers taste less sweet and more bitter, while red ones make the sweetest, softest salad.

Can you make the salad with fresh bell peppers?

You’ll get a different salad. The whole point of this appetizer is roasted pepper: soft, a little smoky, with the skin removed. Fresh peppers are better cut into a vegetable salad.

Can you make bell pepper salad for winter?

This salad is made and eaten right away; it isn’t meant for preserving. For winter, roasted peppers go into lyutenitsa or marinated bell peppers.

How long does roasted pepper salad keep?

1–2 days in the fridge, covered. You can roast and peel the peppers in advance and add the garlic, herbs, vinegar and oil just before serving.

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