Technique: Roasting Peppers

Roasting peppers is a fundamental technique. All peppers - especially sweet red, yellow and orange -  undergo a significant transformation when they are roasted to char the skins, then peeled and seeded.

There are several methods for roasting peppers. The most important aspect is to ensure that the pepper is well-charred on all sides. The yellow pepper in the picture above is NOT really charred enough (but in a rush it can get by - it just makes peeling the skin harder). Here are the methods in my order of preference:

1. Cut pepper into 3 or 4 large slices (thus, now they are cored). Broil skin-side up for about 15 minutes. Peel off skins when cool. 
2. Roasted whole on an outdoor grill (presumably while or before other items are grilled). Then put the peppers in a bowl, cover the bowl (with anything), and let the peppers sit for 10 minutes or so. Then peel the crispy skin and remove the core. If too hot to handle, peel and core under a light spray of water from the kitchen faucet. 
3. Under the broiler whole. Follow instructions in #2. 
4. Old-fashioned, quaint, time-consuming method: hold pepper on a long handled fork over a gas burner, turning continuously. If you see this instruction in an old cookbook, don't do it. Use #1, 2 or 3!!