Salada de Pimentos Assados (Portuguese Roasted Red Pepper Salad)

This is the salad that lives in my fridge for the entire month of August, right next to the pitcher of gazpacho alentejano (recipe on the site). Roasted red peppers, blistered until the skin slides off in sheets, dressed simply with garlic, vinegar and good olive oil. It sounds almost too plain to bother writing down, and that is exactly the point. Some of the best things my grandmother made were three ingredients treated with total seriousness.

In Portugal you will find a version of this salad next to nearly every plate of grilled fish or espetada (recipe on the site) that comes off a summer grill, because peppers roast beautifully over the same coals doing the meat.

The char is not a mistake, it is the whole flavor, so do not rush past the blackened, blistered stage when you are cooking the peppers, whether you do it on a grill, under a broiler, or right over a gas burner the way my grandmother always did, tongs in hand, unbothered by the smoke alarm.

My husband, who claims not to like peppers, has been caught eating this straight from the container more than once, so I have started making a double batch. It holds in the fridge for days and only gets better as the garlic mellows into the oil, which makes it one of the easiest make-ahead dishes I know for a backyard dinner.

Salada de Pimentos Assados Recipe

Prep time: 15 minutes · Cook time: 25 minutes · Total: 40 minutes (plus cooling) · Servings: 4 · Calories: ~110 per serving

Ingredients

• 4 large red bell peppers
• 2 garlic cloves, minced or grated
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
• A few anchovy fillets or oil-cured black olives, optional, for serving

Instructions

1. Char the peppers whole over a gas burner, under a hot broiler, or on a grill, turning occasionally, until the skin is blackened and blistered on all sides, about 15 to 20 minutes.
2. Transfer the hot peppers to a bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap, or place in a paper bag and fold shut. Let steam for 10 minutes, which loosens the skin.
3. Once cool enough to handle, peel off the blackened skin with your fingers (do not rinse under water, which washes away flavor), then remove the stem, seeds and core.
4. Tear or slice the peppers into strips and arrange on a plate, along with any juices collected in the bowl.
5. Scatter the garlic over the top, then drizzle with olive oil and vinegar. Season with salt.
6. Let sit at room temperature for at least 20 minutes before serving so the flavors meld, or refrigerate up to 3 days.
7. Finish with chopped parsley and, if you like, a few anchovy fillets or olives just before serving.

Recipe Notes

• Roasting a big batch at once and freezing extra peeled peppers in their juices is a good trick for having this ready year-round.
• Do not rinse the charred peppers under water to remove the skin. It is tempting but it rinses away the smoky flavor along with the black bits.
• A mix of red and yellow bell peppers looks beautiful here and tastes just as good.
• This salad only improves overnight in the fridge, so it is one of the better make-ahead sides for a cookout.