Roasted Bell Peppers Stuffed with Onion and Herbs

Step-by-step recipe

1. I don't know why, but red sweet peppers roast best. They are meatier, peel much more easily, and have a refined flavour. In season there is always plenty to choose from, so buy nice large red peppers, and the roasted bell pepper salad will be simply wonderful. The peppers should have no bruised spots and, preferably, no major deformation, which can cause problems with roasting.
   
2. Marinate the onion a little ahead of time. The so-called “Yalta” onion is ideal: not too sharp, and juicy. Peel the onion and cut it into thin strips. Put the onion in a bowl, season with a pinch of salt and add 1 tsp of sugar. Mix and leave for a few minutes so the sugar dissolves. Add 2-3 tbsp of grape vinegar, mix and leave for 1 hour. You don't need to cover the onion with vinegar completely. If you can marinate the onion in advance, great. If there is no time, do this: 5-10 mins after adding the acid, pour boiling water over the onion for 4-5 mins, then rinse and squeeze dry.
   
3. Meanwhile, roast the sweet peppers. If you are limited to an oven, brush the peppers with a little vegetable oil and put them on a baking sheet. Place the sheet in an oven heated to 200°C. Turn the peppers from time to time so they roast evenly. When the vegetables are soft and the surface starts to brown, the peppers are ready.
   
4. We use an electric pepper roaster. When it has heated up, put the peppers in and roast them until the whole surface is black. By then the flesh of the walls has had time to soften, and the peppers are done. In any case, transfer the roasted peppers to a pot with a lid or a sealed plastic bag. Once they have cooled to room temperature, the burnt skin is easy to rub off with your fingers.
   
5. Carefully peel off the burnt skin – it comes away cleanly, leaving no traces. The outer skin of a sweet pepper always stays tough and is like plastic. It shouldn't end up in the roasted bell pepper salad, as it is hard even to chew. Roasting is precisely what gets rid of the skin effectively. Use a knife to cut off the stems and clean out the seeds. Do this carefully, as the pepper flesh is delicate and falls apart easily.
   
6. Wash the herbs and pat them dry. For stuffed roasted peppers we usually take the most common herbs: parsley, dill, cilantro. Pick the leaves from the stems and chop them with a knife. Rinse the pickled onion and squeeze it dry. Mix the onion and herbs, salt to taste, and pepper if you like. I think you can also add a chopped clove of garlic to the mix, if you want.
7. Carefully stuff the pepper shells with the onion and herbs, flatten them slightly, then move them to a plate and put in the cold. In principle, peppers stuffed with onion and herbs are ready, but sometimes you can marinate them further in a weak mix of wine vinegar and water – roasted peppers in marinade are delicious, a great appetizer. If you can, lay the peppers on a flat-bottomed plate and press them with a board or another plate, or even put them under a weight for 1-2 hours.
   
8. To serve, it is best to lay the peppers with onion and herbs on lettuce leaves arranged on a plate. I recommend adding a few olives and sprigs of herbs. In a cup, mix 1-2 tbsp of good olive oil and add 3-4 drops of balsamic vinegar. Whisk the mix with a fork and pour it over the stuffed peppers.
   
9. Serve the appetizer cold; it can be made ahead. If the peppers are large, two or three per serving is enough. If the appetizer is for a big feast, everything can go on one large serving platter. Dishes made with roasted peppers decorate a festive table beautifully, and they are healthy too.