Roasting Red Bell Pepper

Do you know? 
Where I was born, Indonesia, we called bell pepper "paprika." Actually in Japan too. Here in US, the term paprika is used to refer to the spice in powdered form. Commonly the red one. 

Roasted paprika has a distinct flavor to it that is somewhat sweet with peppery fragrance. The texture changed too after it's been roasted. It becomes soft, yielding, yet still hold its form. It's quite pleasant to bite into. It makes a gourmet addition to sandwich, salad, soup, stir fry, quinoa dish, etc. for its flavor, color and texture.
 
I never realized how easy it is to roast paprika. And once I did it, I was hooked. If you were to peek into my fridge now, chances are you will see a container of roasted red paprika ready to use. You can see it as part of the ingredient in my guy-wich :)

It is best to roast a bunch of them paprikas at once, for efficiency sake. Besides you can always store them for use later.

Roasting Red Bell Pepper in an Oven

Total time: 1+ hour
(about 45 min-1 hr to roast, the rest is how quick you peel the skin off :) )

• Red Bell Pepper
• Cookie sheet
• Aluminum foil
• Wet paper towel or large pot
• Paring knife
• Timer
• Container

1. Heat up the oven to 450°F and placed the bell pepper on a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil. Put the bell pepper in the oven.  
2. Turn over the bell peppers to make sure all sides got baked/charred evenly every 10-15 minutes (set the timer). It takes about  3-4 rotations, and each rotation it will take less time to turn them. (15 minutes for the first turn, about 10 minutes for the other turns).
3. Once all sides are charred or baked, take them out of the oven and immediately cover them with wet towel (I happened to have a steamer handy). The trapped steam will help loosen up the skin and make it easier to peel later.
4. After the bell peppers cooled down enough for you to handle, take them out one by one and started peeling the skin off. You can use your hand or paring knife. Take out the stem and clean the seeds.
5. To store them, lay the bell pepper flat in a container. Leave the cover off until they are cooled down. Store it in the fridge. 

Note: 
The bell pepper will get watery in the container.
It will also get watery as it's baked. That's why we want to line the cookie sheet with aluminum foil for easy cleaning.
The charrer the better in my opinion :)

Wash and line them up. Nice and plump :)

Into the oven they go. Set timer for every 10-15 min.

About an hour later, all wrinkly and charred.
Into the "steam area" to loosen up the skin.

Takes about 10 minutes or so. You can take one out to test it.

If it's cool enough to handle and the skin should just peel right off
even with your hand.

Pile them in layers and store in the fridge.