Roasted Red Peppers Stuffed with Tomato, Olives and Basil
Once you try these Roasted Red Peppers Stuffed with Tomatoes, Olives and Basil I guarantee they will become one of your go-to dishes.
While the peppers cook, the juice from the tomatoes is released and mingles with the olive oil, becoming infused with the flavours of the garlic and basil.
Be sure to have some toasted or grilled bread to serve alongside for dipping as you won’t want to waste one single drop of the delicious, flavourful liquid!
For stuffing the peppers, I’ve used a simple mixture of tomatoes, Kalamata olives, thinly sliced garlic, some fresh basil, and a few anchovy fillets (totally optional!). The tomato mixture is tossed with some good olive oil, a little salt and pepper and a nice splash of balsamic vinegar to provide a gentle hit of acidity to the dish.
If you like, add some soft goat cheese or feta crumbled on top, or a few toasted pine nuts for crunch.
The peppers are cooked until they are nice and soft, but still have enough shape to hold the tomato mixture and all the juices released during cooking.
Perfect as a starter or a simple side dish.
Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 4 red bell peppers
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes (or 2 medium tomatoes)
- 2 garlic cloves thinly sliced
- 16-20 kalamata olives pitted and halved
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
- 4 anchovy fillets (optional)
- 1 cup packed fresh basil leaves
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven or an outdoor grill to 425°F and lightly oil a large shallow baking pan.
- Cut the bell peppers in half lengthwise and discard seeds and ribs. Arrange peppers, cut sides up, in baking pan and lightly oil cut edges and stems.Cut the cherry tomatoes in half, if using whole tomatoes cut into roughly 1 inch pieces and place in a bowl. Pit the olives and cut them in half and add to the tomatoes along with the thinly sliced garlic. Set aside ½ the basil for adding to the finished dish. Tear or roughly chop ½ the basil and add to bowl, reserving the rest to finish the dish.If using anchovies, roughly chop and add to the tomato mixture. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil, the balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper to taste and toss well.Divide the mixture evenly among peppers. Drizzle with a little more olive oil on top.
- Roast the peppers in upper third of oven or on a grill until peppers are tender, about 20 minutes. If cooking on a grill start over direct heat for 10 minutes, then move to indirect heat to finish.
- Tear or roughly chop the remaining basil, reserving a few small leaved for garnish. Divide the torn basil equally between the peppers, gently stirring into the tomato mixture. Garnish with a few whole small leaves.
- Serve with grilled bread for dipping.