Recipe: Roasted Red Pepper Salad for S. Mascari

Roasted Red Pepper Salad
The key to this recipe is the roasted peppers. You can make it with Mancini's or Progresso's canned/bottled roasted peppers (as a matter of fact, I wouldn't be a bit surprised that they do it that way at Giacomo's), but I think that you'll find the results a lot better if you take the trouble to roast your own peppers.

The roasting process is fun and easy. Simply place the whole washed peppers on a hot charcoal or gas grill and cover the grill. Check every few minutes to see whether or not the side to the coals has charred yet. When it has, grasp the upper side of the peppers, which will still be uncooked, with tongs and turn the peppers to expose another side to the direct heat. Continue until the peppers are charred over their entire surface. (The skin may blister, which is desireable.)

As the peppers are removed from the grill, they should be placed inside a brown paper (grocery) bag and the open end folded over to keep them steaming as they cool.

Remove the peppers from the bag one at a time to peel them. You will find that the charred skin slips right off revealing the bright red roasted flesh. If it's a bit stubborn in spots, a paring or utility knife can be used to separate the flesh from the skin.

Using a knife, remove the stem area and cut the pepper open to remove the seeds by hand or with a spoon. Slice the cleaned pepper lengthwise into several sections and then cut each section lengthwise into 1/2 wide strips.

The strips can be layered inside a freezer container, with alternate layers perpendicular to each other. The containers should be filled to the top, covered and sealed. They will keep in the freezer in this way for the better part of a year, and of course, can also be used fresh.

1 cup of roasted red pepper strips
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 cup of whole olives, ripe pitted, oil cured, Calamata, or a combination
1/4 cup sharp aged provolone, cubed 1/2"
1/4 cup fresh parmesan, cubed 1/2"
1/4 cup of Sopressata and/or Abruzzi salami, sliced 1/4" thick
lettuce leaves

Combine the oil and garlic. Arrange the lettuce leaves on a serving plate, and tastefully arrange a layer of about half of the pepper strips in a radial pattern on top of the lettuce bed. Arrange the olives, cheeses and salami around the outside edge of the pepper strips. Layer the remainer of the pepper strips on top of the rest and drizzle the garlic oil over all of this. Can be served immediately.