The Right Time To Remove Stems And Seeds From Roasted Red Peppers

Roasted red peppers are a sweet and aromatic ingredient that boost everything from pizza to dips. While canned and jarred products exist, roasting your own red peppers renders the freshest, tastiest results. Many recipes throw the whole pepper over the flame or under the broiler, which is a frustratingly messy, slimy process. Once you've roasted and cooled red peppers, they are soft and slippery, causing the seeds to dissipate and stick to the interior walls. That's why the best time to remove stems and seeds is before roasting the peppers. 

Raw bell peppers are firm, dry, and crisp, facilitating more efficient, mess-free removal of the seeds, stems, and white ribs. Methods for removing the seeds will depend on how you'll end up using your roasted red peppers. If you want them intact, you can cut around the stem, pulling it and the seed pod out in one fell swoop. Pat the bottom of the bell pepper to expel any residual seeds. If you don't need your bell peppers to stay intact for roasting, quartering the bell pepper is one of the best ways to extract the seed pod, stems, and ribs. Holding the bell pepper by the stem, cut downward from the stem to the rounded bottom. You can use the flat sides or cupped bottom of the bell pepper to guide the slicing so that you're left with even thirds or quarters. You can then use your fingers or a paring knife to trim the white ribs.

Just as there are various ways to remove seeds and stems from red peppers, there are also numerous ways to roast them. Perhaps the most hands-off method is to place them on a baking sheet and roast them for 30 to 40 minutes in the oven at 450 degrees Fahrenheit, rotating them halfway through. If you've quartered the bell peppers, place them skin-side up, checking them after 20 minutes. A quicker way to roast bell peppers is over an open flame. Place the quarters or whole bell peppers directly on the stove or grill grates over a medium flame until the skin starts to blister and bubble. 

For whole peppers, you'll rotate them with tongs for even charring. Quarters or thirds will blister in less than a minute. Once roasted, place the peppers in a plastic bag or a glass container with a top so they can sweat for 5 to 10 minutes. The charred, bubbly skin will slide off with a brush of your finger. You can peel the skin off under a cold faucet to speed the process along. Roasted red peppers will bring a smoky, sweet, and vegetal flavor to sauces, soups, sandwiches, and dips. Blend them into a romesco sauce to serve with a Spanish tortilla or dice them up and add them to a creamy pimento cheese dip. Use them instead of fresh peppers in a red pepper soup for even more depth.