Roasted Pepper Salad, Goat Cheese and Grilled Bread

Last weekend included an excursion to Eataly, an Italian food emporium like none other here in the states (Lidia Bastianich and Mario Batali are just two of the talented individuals responsible for bringing it to Chicago). For me, Eataly has become a place of inspiration (and if I only had my own wood fired oven who knows what bread and pizza making possibilities would be in my future). From the wines, to the cheeses, to the meats, to the pastas, to the pizzas, to the breads, all I can say is that when I leave there my head is usually spinning (and not from drinking too much wine). Although Italian foods and cooking are not in my heritage, they are at the top of my culinary list of preferences.

I have been making roasted red peppers marinated in extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar and served with goat cheese on bread for years. As much as I absolutely love the simplicity of this roasted pepper recipe, I could not help but wonder if I would like even more a version containing Sicilian olives, anchovies, capers, and fresh rosemary created by Mario Batali and Dave Pasternack. Well the only way to satisfy this curiosity was to make it. And what I learned was that I loved both my simple version and what I will call this more rustic version of a roasted pepper salad.

Although the recipe called for two red peppers and two yellow peppers, I decided to use one yellow and one orange pepper (just because) in addition to two red peppers. But whether you use only red and yellow peppers or mix up the pepper choices just do not use green peppers as they are not as sweet.

There are many ways to roast peppers (on the grill, in the oven, or over an open flame), however, I have always leaned toward roasting them on the grill. If there was ever a reason to buy a gas grill, roasting peppers year round would be just one of them. After the peppers have been charred on all sides transfer to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap (or place in a brown paper bag and seal tightly). Once the peppers have cooled slightly, you can peel away the skins and remove the seeds.

Resist the temptation to rinse the peppers when you are peeling and slicing them as rinsing them removes much of their incredible flavor. The peeled peppers should be sliced into quarter inch strips.

Cracked Sicilian olives, drained capers, freshly chopped rosemary and anchovies are mixed into the sliced peppers. In a separate bowl mix together 2 Tablespoons of balsamic vinegar and 4 to 5 Tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Pour the vinegar-oil over the pepper mixture and stir to combine. Add sea salt and pepper to taste. Allow the roasted pepper salad to marinate at least one hour (but up to several hours) before serving with softened goat cheese and sliced grilled bread. Either a country Italian loaf or baguette works well with this salad. And whatever you do, don't forget to serve with some red wine.

Recipe

Roasted Pepper Salad, Goat Cheese and Grilled Bread (inspired by a recipe for Anchovy and Roasted Pepper Salad with Goat Cheese created by Mario Batali and Dave Pasternack)

Ingredients
2 large red bell peppers
2 large yellow or orange peppers (or combination of both)
10 cracked Sicilian green olives
6 oil-packed anchovy fillets, finely chopped
2 Tablespoons capers, drained
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
4 to 5 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and pepper to taste
Italian Country Loaf or baguette sliced and grilled
1 large garlic clove, peeled
8 ounces goat cheese softened

Directions
1. Roast peppers on a gas grill, over an open flame or in the broiler until charred all over. 
2. Transfer roasted peppers to glass bowl and cover with plastic wrap (or place in a brown paper bag sealed tight) and allow to cool.
3. Peel charred skin from cooled peppers, remove seeds and stems and cut into quarter inch strips.
4. In a bowl, combine the olives, anchovies, capers, rosemary and peppers. Set aside.
5. Mix together balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil. Pour over pepper mixture and stir until blended. Season with sea salt and pepper. Allow to marinate at least one hour at room temperature before serving.
6. Grill bread until lightly charred and crisp. Rub each bread slice with a garlic clove and drizzle with olive oil.
7. Serve roasted pepper salad and softened goat cheese with grilled bread.

After enduring the winter's brutal polar vortex it was nice to be able to experience and remember what sun and warmth felt like. The icing on the proverbial cake of this little vacation was being able to spend time with a very good friend who recently moved to Arizona, permanently. I am fortunate to have some really good friends in my life who are aware and accepting of my quirkiness as well as know me well enough to know the kinds of things I get immense pleasure from. Things like taking in and photographing the historic parts of cities and towns (even when that means standing in the middle of the road to take a photo) and going to restaurants serving great food and/or having great ambiance (when you can take in amazing views food seems to taste even better). Shopping is on the favorite things to do list, however, this was not a shopping trip (probably a good thing although I did manage to find a piece of jewelry I couldn't live without at a street fair).

Being able to spend time in a town or city with someone who knows their way around just makes the experience all the better, all the more memorable. Although there has to come a point when going to the same places over and over again (but with different guests) can get a little old unless, of course, you find redundancy to be a good thing. And you know you have a really good friend when they take you to places they have been before (numerous times), but want you to have the experience of seeing them for the first (and sometimes even for the second) time. And you know you have a really, really great friend when the experiences they plan or places they take you are more about you than they are about them.