Roasted Bell Pepper Salad
I love serving this salad because it has a colorful presentation and it’s so healthy. The sweet peppers combine well with the salty goat cheese and citrusy lemon peel. Plus, it can be made ahead, and it holds up for hours. The leftover bell peppers (if there are any) can be slipped into a sandwich or green salad or eaten cold out of the fridge.
The dish, which can be served as a starter or side salad, is adapted from a recipe in Flavors of Morocco by Ghillie Bason, one of my favorite Moroccan cookbooks, simply for its gorgeous photography.
This salad calls for preserved lemon rind, a common ingredient in Moroccan cooking and something you can easily make at home. However, it does take a month for them to be ready, so if you don’t have this ingredient handy, you can still make this colorful and flavorful salad.
Roasted Bell Pepper Salad
Serves 6 as a side dish
4 large red, orange and/or yellow bell peppers (no green)
3-4 Tablespoons olive oil
2 Tablespoons flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
½ small red onion, finely chopped
1 small package (125 g, 4½ oz.) goat cheese, crumbled (or substitute feta)
¼ rind preserved lemon or more, finely chopped (optional)
Method
1. Roast the peppers. This can be done in advance or the day before. Preheat oven to 350° F (180° C or Gas Mark 4). Place the peppers in a baking dish and drizzle the olive oil over top. Don’t skimp on the oil, as you will use it later in the salad. Roast for 30 minutes or more until the skin is wrinkly, buckled and partially browned. Reserve the pepper-infused oil to use later. Allow peppers to cool.
2. Peel skin off peppers (as much as you can). Remove stalks and cut each pepper lengthwise into quarters. Trim and remove seeds. Store in refrigerator until ready to use.
3. Arrange peppers on a platter, alternating colors, skin-side down. Mix the parsley and chopped onion and scatter over peppers. Next, sprinkle the crumbled goat cheese, followed by preserved lemon, if using. Finally, drizzle the reserved oil over the top. Serve at room temperature.
Question: How do you serve roasted bell peppers?
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Lovely photos. I love this salad too. In Croatia and Serbia we roast it on the fire and serve with chopped garlic, vinegar and oil as a condiment. People usually eat it at least once a week.
Nice to see another version, I might try it with the cheese next time.
HI Zvezdana, roasted on the fire … sounds so good! People in Croatia/Serbia eat it once a week? Very healthy!!
Great photos and easy descriptions, and the preserved or fresh lemon peel gives it a different flavor than the garlic I’m used to. I’m going to try this one, thanks Holly.
Hi Jeannie, garlic would be good, too. So many options. 😉 Thanks for stopping by.
Beautiful! Looks and sounds so refreshing! Can’t wait to try! Think I’ll try adding capers and mint.
Hi Sara, thanks for the kind comment. Tell me how it turns out.
Oh – it looks delicious. can’t wait to try it. I remember you made a delicious roasted pepper dish with goat cheese once for a ladies’ luncheon. Was it this one? I seem to also remember pasta in the dish. I was thinking about it a month ago and wishing I still had the recipe.
Gretchen, gosh, you have a great memory. I think that was a similar dish but not the exact same recipe. Great to hear from you, Seattle girl.
This looks great! I’ll be trying this one, for sure. But, I’ll add a little chopped garlic. You always need garlic!
Thanks, Peter. I’ve thought about garlic, too. In the end, I decided the lemon zest was flavorful enough. However, please tell me how it turns out with garlic. Would love to know. Happy cooking!