Bell Peppers! A quick "how to".

Tamara Nugteren


I love bell peppers.
But I didn't always.  Not until college, actually.  This gives me hope because my children won't go near them (they sometimes even recoil in fear).  Maybe someday they'll share my love for those beautiful sweet peppers.

In the meantime, it's just the adults.  Oh well, more for me.

I'm sure you know from the vibrant colors, that bell peppers are pretty nutritious.
Here is a quick synopsis, borrowed from the Whole Foods website, to convince you to add more to your diet.

"Bell pepper is not only an excellent source of carotenoids, but also a source of over 30 different members of the carotenoid nutrient family. A recent study from Spain took a close look vitamin C, vitamin E, and six of these carotenoids (alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, lycopene, lutein, cryptoxanthin and zeaxanthin) in all commonly eaten foods and found that only two vegetables contained at least two-thirds of all the listed nutrients. One of these foods was tomato, and the other was sweet bell pepper! Bell pepper alone provided 12% of the total zeaxanthin found in the participants' diets. (Bell pepper also provided 7% of the participants' total vitamin C intake.)"

This wonderful chart is also from the Whole Foods website: 

Nutrients in
Bell Peppers
1.00 cup raw (92.00 grams)

Nutrient%Daily Value

vitamin C195.8%

vitamin A57.6%

vitamin B613.5%

folate10.5%

fiber7.4%

vitamin E7.2%

molybdenum6.1%

vitamin K5.6%

potassium5.5%

manganese5%

vitamin B24.7%

vitamin B34.5%

vitamin B13.3%

tryptophan3.1%

vitamin B52.8%

magnesium2.7%

Calories (28)1%

Source: 

http://whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=50


Why am I telling you all of this?  Because there was a BIG SALE on bell peppers at one of our local grocery stores yesterday and I bought fifteen peppers.  That is WAY too many to reasonably eat before they go bad, so I thought I'd take this opportunity to give some insight in how to handle an excess of this great vegetable.  Useful information in the summer as well when you may have a garden bounty on your hands.

Note:  I normally grow these peppers in the summer, but my stash has been long gone.  When possible, I buy them organic, but up here in the frozen tundra - they are expensive.  The sale peppers I bought weren't organic, but in my book, the health benefits outweigh any risk.  The sale was just too good! 
(Cub has them for $1 each right now. Even the red, orange and yellow ones!)

Roasting and Freezing

Roasting 

Roasted bell peppers are a versatile ingredient in many recipes, as a pizza topping or even just on a sandwich.

You can buy roasted bell peppers (jarred in oil), but they are expensive.  But, if you have a bunch on hand, its really easy to do on your own.

Step one: Place your peppers on a baking stone, cookie sheet or sheet of foil. This is important because the peppers will leave a sticky residue behind.  It is not necessary to wash them, as the skin will be removed.  Heat under your oven's broiler for around 5 minutes or until the skin begins to blacken.  Using tongs, turn all the peppers and repeat.  Continue until all sides have become mostly blackened.

Step two:  Remove peppers and place them inside a paper bag.  Fold over the top and clip it shut. Wait.

Step three:  This third step is messy, so have paper towels, a trash bowl and a clean work surface available.  Once the peppers have cooled (30 minutes, give or take), remove them from the bag.  Peel the loose skins off and discard.

Step four: Using a sharp knife and cutting board (duh) slice open the pepper and remove the stem and seeds.  The pepper is likely filled with moisture, so you may need to dump it out to prevent a bigger mess.  Slice the pepper into 3-5 equal pieces.  Pat them dry with a paper towel.

Step five: Decision time!
- If you can eat these in the next couple of weeks, place them inside a clean jar and top off with a good olive oil.  Refrigerate.  The flavor should stay strong and delicious.

- If you want to keep the peppers for a longer period of time, you will want to IQF the peppers.  Individually Quick Freeze.  Line a cookie sheet with wax or parchment paper (for easy removal).  Place the pepper pieces on the tray - fill it up, just don't let them overlap.  Freeze.  After they have fully frozen, remove the slices and put them in a freezer bag.  Don't forget to remove as much air as you can. Freeze.  Now you can pull out just a few whenever you need them.  This method is particularly great for recipes where the peppers will be baked or sautéed.

Fresh Freezing

Step one: Wash the peppers thoroughly.  

Step two: Slice like a pro.  

- Using a sharp knife and cutting board (again, duh), slice around the step to remove it.  Think pumpkin carving.  Pop the stem out and remove most of the seeds at the same time.  

- Give the inside a quick rinse to pull out a few more of the remaining seeds.  

- Slice the pepper in half and with your fingers, remove any of the remaining white pith. 

- Turn one of the halves on it's back - inside up.  Slice top to bottom into even sticks (Aim for about 1/4 to 1/2" wide).  Repeat with the other half.  

- You can stop here, or continue on to diced peppers.  Just depends on what you want to use them for.  Diced for recipes? Sliced for fajitas?  I do some of both.

Step three: Follow the directions above for Individually Quick Freezing. 

Enjoy! Delicious, super nutritious bell peppers at your finger tips!

I'll post some of my favorite bell pepper recipes soon.