Ina Garten balsamic roasted baby peppers are easy because nothing gets seeded or stemmed first. Whole peppers go straight into the dish, which makes this a five ingredient side dish for a dinner party. Aged balsamic at the end does the rest.
The peppers need to brown in spots without turning black, so start checking them at 20 minutes. Add the balsamic while they are still hot, because that is when they soak it up best.
Source: Go-To Dinners (2022)
Ina Garten Balsamic Roasted Baby Peppers
Course: Side DishCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy6
servings5
minutes25
minutes125
kcalWhole baby sweet peppers roast in a hot oven with thyme until their skins wrinkle and blister, then get a drizzle of aged balsamic while they are still hot. Soft, glossy and sweet, good warm or at room temperature.
Ingredients
2 pounds baby sweet peppers, mixed colors
Good olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 sprigs fresh thyme
Aged balsamic vinegar, such as Villa Manodori
Directions
- Heat the oven: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Roast the peppers: Place the whole peppers, including the stems, in a single layer in a large (or two smaller) ceramic baking dish. Drizzle with 4 tablespoons olive oil, sprinkle with 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper, and toss well. Lay the sprigs of thyme on top and roast for 20 to 25 minutes, until the peppers start to brown in places but are not blackened. Discard the thyme sprigs.
- Finish with balsamic: While still hot, drizzle the peppers with 3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar and season to taste. Serve warm or at room temperature.
FAQs
Can I use regular bell peppers instead of baby peppers?
You can, but you lose the whole point of the recipe. Baby sweet peppers roast whole with their stems and seeds still in, while a full-size bell pepper needs to be cut and seeded first. If you only have bell peppers, cut them into wide strips and roast them the same way.
Do I really leave the stems and seeds in?
Yes. The baby peppers go into the dish whole, stems and all, and the seeds inside are small and soft enough that nobody minds them. It saves you the whole prep step. If seeds bother you, pull the stems and seeds out after roasting when the peppers are soft.
Does the balsamic vinegar matter that much?
It does here, since there are only five ingredients. Ina calls for an aged balsamic, the thick syrupy kind, and it clings to the peppers instead of running off. A thin supermarket balsamic will taste sharp and watery by comparison. If that is all you have, simmer it down for a few minutes first.
How long do these keep in the fridge?
Three or four days in a covered container. The flavor actually gets better on day two as the peppers sit in the oil and vinegar. Bring them back to room temperature before serving, since they taste flat straight out of the cold.
What else can I do with the leftovers?
Ina suggests folding them into other dishes rather than reheating them on their own. Add the roasted peppers whole to a ploughman’s lunch board, or pull off the stems and seeds and toss them through a Greek orzo salad. They also work chopped into scrambled eggs.
