Weekend Workshop: Roasted Red Peppers

One of the most delectable of flavors is that of a roasted red pepper. Used in soups, on sandwiches or as part of an antipasto platter, there's nothing better than the freshly roasted variety. You might be surprised just how easy it is to do at home.

Hopefully you were able to save the last of the peppers from your garden off the plant before the frost, but if you missed out or don't have a garden of your own, they are still bountiful at the Farmers' Market. I grabbed a bunch from Cowdery Farms this morning.

How-to:

1. Using your gas range (or grill) place red peppers a few at a time over the open flame, rotating often with tongs. You'll want to char all sides of the pepper until they become tender.
2. Remove peppers from the stove and place in a covered bowl. The steam will help the skins come off easily.
3. After all your peppers are done, start removing the charred skins. By this point, this process is easy. Avoid rinsing the pepper, instead, rinse your hands often and use your fingers to remove the black char.
4. Cut open peppers and remove seeds and stems. Cut peppers into strips. At this point you can put them in a glass jar and cover with olive oil. This method will keep peppers fresh in the fridge for a few weeks. To preserve your peppers longer, you can place strips in a ziplock bag and freeze for later use.

Turnip Bacon Bake

Though, not usually high on the list of favorite vegetables, turnips are certainly one of mine. This root vegetable, actually part of the brassica family, is a great and tasty alternative to a potato as a side dish. Roasted, boiled, or mashed, choose turnips that are small and firm and seem heavy for their size.

After picking up some turnips from Proffitt's Farm at the Farmers Market this morning, I wanted to make something more exciting than my usual mashed turnips. After a quick recipe search I found the recipe below, Turnip Bacon Bake. I mean everything is great with bacon am I right? I baked this up and brought it down to a hungry work crew at the construction site of our new home. It was a big hit, although I think anything with bacon, butter and cheese will win these guys over. Enjoy!

Turnip Bacon Bake

Ingredients:

• 6 tbsp butter
• 6 pieces of bacon , chopped
• 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
• large onion , finely sliced
• 1 quart basket of turnips , peeled and sliced
• ½-1c mature cheddar , grated

Directions

1. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Heat half the butter in an ovenproof frying pan on the stove. Add the bacon and cook for a few minutes, then add the thyme and onions, season and cook for a further 8-10 mins until the onions are soft and golden. Scoop the onions into a bowl, leaving the buttery juices in the pan.
2. Turn off the heat and layer the sliced turnips in the pan with a scattering of fried onions, a sprinkling of cheese and some dots of butter between the layers. Season with a little salt and plenty of pepper as you go.
3. Cover the pan with foil and bake for 1-1¼ hrs until the turnips are tender when prodded with the point of a knife. Leave the cake to relax for 5 minutes. Turn it upside down onto a plate or board, then cut into wedges and serve.