Roasted-Bell-Pepper Story No.1

Ingredients: 75g butter, 2 big roasted peppers, 1 – 2 tbs grated red beet & horseradish salad, sweet paprika, cayenne pepper, salt, lemon juice

The Idea

Bell peppers have a boisterous, brawny kind of shape. Situated somewhere between sweet and smoky-spicy, the complex taste of roasted peppers is the perfect element to jazz up an old recipe, or to start something new altogether. They don’t need much enhancement, they are great just like this, fresh off the grill.

My original red butter recipe included grated red beets, and this is what I meant to mix first, but it wouldn’t be me if I followed the book. So, roasted bell peppers came across my mind and finally played the leading role in this story, and red beets are second, but they are still on the screen.

How to proceed

Of course, you can grill the red peppers yourself, bake the red beets, then peel the charred veggies, and grate the beets. Especially the horseradish will sure set your nose free if you wish to prove yourself. But as I’m lacking time, as I suppose you also do, I’m using ready-roasted peppers from a glass, as well as a ready mixed grated salad of red beet and horseradish. I love the marinade that the red peppers are in, and I seldom throw it away. It’s great for a potato salad, or to spice up a tomato sauce, a soup, or my own marinade for a salad of greens.

How to make

So, finally, let’s prepare this super-tasty spread: batter the butter foamy, add the grilled peppers, the grated salad of beets and horseradish. Use a hand chopper (like the Mini from Tefal), or an electrical one to mix as fine as possible. You can also try to mash the veggies first and add them to the butter afterward, but don’t expect to achieve a perfectly homogenized paste. (If you did, please let me know how.) It will rather look like a dark-orange butter with red sprinkles. Season with salt, cayenne pepper, and sweet paprika. Balance it with a bit of lemon juice. Mix everything again with a whisk. You can use the paste right away, but it is best to leave it to rest for one (don’t refrigerate) to three hours (refrigerate), then mix it vigorously once again, taste and season it ready. Take care with the salt.

Don’t use smoked paprika, because it will overpower the typical, fresh, sweet-and-sour taste of the roasted peppers. You may sprinkle a bit of it on your canapés, or sandwiches, to achieve an interesting contrast, if you wish.

Bread and extras

It will go best with a French bread, or with an olive or roasted-onion bread, and of course, with my zucchini bread. Or you can use it to turn baked potatoes a funny color if you add one tablespoon of this spread when they’re almost ready.