Like Old Times...
Roasted Peppers with Sour Cream.
One of the many things I can remember during my younger days is waking up to the best smell ever. Now, as a kid, I am sure you're expecting the smell of pancakes or waffles or something along those lines. Nope, it was the smell of roasting peppers in the oven for this kid! I knew it was going to be a good day with a huge family meal. Escaping from a war-torn country, my family didn't have much but we sure knew how to get together for breakfast, lunch, and dinner like we had the whole world. At the time, some things were not taken for granted.
I can smell the roasting peppers right now, just thinking of it. I couldn't wait to get my hands on some good, red peppers to make this dish.
This is one of my all time favorite meals that my mother cooked almost every other day growing up. We never got sick of eating roasted peppers because, well of course they are full of flavor and there is so much you can do with them. This is a popular dish in Montenegro (Crna Gora) and Serbia, and is served as a side dish for almost every meal. For breakfast, you can enjoy this as a side to scrambled eggs. For dinner, you can serve this as a side to a nice, juicy steak. As you can see, you can't go wrong.
I prepared mined as a side to breaded chicken and boiled potatoes.
Making these doesn't require too much work, but they do take some time. We like to roast all of our peppers and then transfer them into glass jars and store in the fridge (or freezer) for weeks. Either way, they still taste great!
The recipe requires peppers, any kind really - bell, green, red, long peppers, etc. Depending on how many peppers you will be roasting and using, really depends on the amount of other ingredients you will need.
Pictured above there are 4 large peppers in a small skillet. There are 2 red peppers, 1 green pepper and 1 orange pepper. #lovecolorfulveggies. Who doesn't?
Ingredients:
4 large peppers
4 tablespoons of sour cream
3 garlic cloves
1/4 of an unsalted butter stick
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of pepper
(Recipe yields 4 servings).
Roasting the Peppers:
Wash and pat dry the peppers. On a very large tray, place foil and drizzle with olive oil. This helps so the peppers don't stick and will come right off when done roasting.
Line the whole peppers on the tray and place into the oven at 425F or 450F. The higher the temperature, the less roasting time. My oven works best at 425F.
Let the peppers cook for about 45 minutes to 1 hour - flipping the peppers on each side halfway for even roasting. (Tip: Once you see one side start turning brown-black, flip the pepper to the other side).
Once the peppers are roasted, take them out of the oven and transfer them to a plastic bag.
Let them cool off in the bag.
Once they are cooled off enough for you to touch, begin peeling the outer layer skin of the pepper. (You can discard the skin).
Clean out all the seeds and cut off the stem.
If you have really large peppers, I would cut them up into long, lengthy 3 inch pieces. Set in plastic bags for the freezer or glass jars for the fridge.
Cooking the Peppers On The Stove:
Once the peppers are roasted, you can make the peppers with sour cream.
In a heated skillet, add approximately 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1/4 of a stick of unsalted butter. On medium heat, mix the two and let it melt.
Add 2 or 3 minced garlic cloves to the skillet.
Transfer your roasted peppers into the skillet and let cook on each side for 1 or 2 minutes.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
After both sides of the peppers are cooked, add 1 tablespoon of sour cream and spread over the peppers. Let that simmer for a few minutes.
Add 2 more tablespoons of sour cream and spread evenly. Let simmer for 1 more minute.
Take the skillet off of the stove and set to the side to cool off, then serve as you'd like.
Storing the peppers in the fridge or freezer after roasting cuts down the time as you can just take them out, cook them in a skillet and serve.
Hope you enjoy this recipe! Drop a comment or inbox me to let me know what you think if you tried my recipe. #homemadewithlove
Amina Brdarevic,
Founder, EasternKitchn