Our Ember roasted peppers make an awesome Charred Pepper Dip
CHARRED PEPPER DIP
Summary:
A great smoked appetizers for your charred peppers recipes; our ember bed cooking of peppers provides great flavor. How to roast peppers in a grill, cooking on coals directly, cooking in embers, gas grill, charcoal grill, even cast iron skillet cooking will work for peppers. Try this charred pepper dip topping.
Peppers are one of those thick-skinned vegetables that release their ultimate flavor when they are introduced to hot coals. Many people think that you need special equipment to cook foods in hot coals but really, it’s as easy as having a disposable pan available and a grill. I’ll give you some options for roasting the peppers and then provide a great recipe to be used as a dip or topping that is quick and so easy.
One of my favorite herbs is garlic due to all the applications garlic has in cooking. One technique that you may not have tried is ember firing the garlic using a wood for flavor and a cast iron skillet for smoke control.
Leeks fire roasted- listen to our step by step approach!
Considered one of the healthiest foods, leeks join onion and garlic as part of the allium vegetable family. This seasonal delight is commonly used as a soup but I have something else in mind. I’ll be putting these directly on the hot coals and charring them for tenderness and flavor. Then I’ll be layering them in a terrine that includes goat cheese and crème Fraiche. I’ll also provide a dip alternative using the same ingredients to give you two options for these great flavors. Get shopping and pick out about 5 lbs. of vibrant green leeks, and let’s make an appetizer.
You’ve heard me mention before how great it is to ember or coal fire certain foods, with a good majority of those items falling in the fruit category. One of the best fruits to use this technique with is eggplant.
Our Roasted onions in fireplace ashes!The one vegetable we can pretty much get all year long is … the onion! So, why not give this common vegetable a special, no, fabulous flavor infusion. The way to this end? Ember cooking in an outside fireplace or cooking pit.
One of the most versatile vegetables is now in season and can be used in both hot and cold side dishes and main courses. In this series, we will be roasting our peas using a hot smoking method to bring the great wood-fired flavour.
Ingredients- Smoking Snow Peas
At least 1 lb of peas, I like sugar snap peas
Almond oil
Sea Salt & Fresh Pepper
A charcoal smoker, any size will do
A disposable foil pan or vegetable pan or basket that is high heat tolerant
I’ll be using my Stok Drum Charcoal Grill for this series. As the Stok has its own charcoal basket, I won’t need to prepare any additional lump hardwood charcoal. I am using a direct method of cooking. I place my charcoal in the unit’s charcoal basket leaving my grate insert off for now. Once the coals turn gray, I will lift the charcoal basket and allow the coals to advance into the cooking drum. I then grate insert off as I will use my vegetable pan to go right over the top of the insert area.
Adding Grande Sapore cherry wood chips
Pea Preparation
While the coals have been firing, I start preparation on the peas. As I am using sugar snap peas for this recipe there is very little preparation that has to be done. I first will remove all the string membrane that is attached to one side of the snap pea. If any stems are left on, I will remove those as well. I then wash the peas in a colander and then allow them to drip dry, shaking my colander occasionally to rid any excess water. If needed, I will pat dry the peas to ensure they are ready for the fire. Then I sprinkle on some Almond oil, sea salt, and fresh pepper to the peas. Now, we’re ready to wood fire!
My coals are hot, the wood chips are smoking, and the peas are ready to be kissed by fire! I place the vegetable pan on the center of the grill and leave my grill cover off. When cooking with wood, know that some temperature fluctuation can occur due to the natural variation in combustion so don’t leave the Peas unattended. Once you see the peas start to char, give them a toss with a spoon to ensure an even char cook.
Placing the peas on the Stok grill pan
Usually, you will see char begin about 4-5 minutes into the cooking cycle. Once that occurs, you will be looking at another couple of minutes before the peas will be ready to come off the grill. Be sure you monitor that you don’t go too far with the smoking process. If the peas begin to shrivel and wrinkle, you went too far. You can remove them and place in an ice bath or run under cold water to stop any additional cooking from taking place.
Smoking Snow Peas- Recipe Ideas
It’s so hard to explain the aroma that comes from the grill when you wood fire vegetables. Keep in mind, that even when the vegetables are chilled, they will retain their char flavor. Here are some tips to finishing these beautiful smoked sugar snow peas: add some crumbled feta cheese and serve, or a splash of lemon juice and dill, or even a dollop of ricotta cheese that’s been whipped with a bit of cream. You can also check into our next blog on peas where we feature these scrumptious beauties in a Snap Pea and Cucumber Salad, just perfect on a hot summer’s day!
First Turn on the Grill
The Culinary Team wants you to know…
… that when it comes to the forgotten method of direct ember cooking with wood, there are many great food varieties besides your typical meats, poultry and seafoods that offer awesome flavor. This blog demonstrates how snow peas are one of many tasty garden variety veggies that will tickle your pallet with a great smoky wood-fired taste. There are many more foods for you to enjoy with this technique! Go ahead, experiment with your favorite vegetables or fruits and treat yourself to a “world of flavor” possibilities!
The first step for ember roasting fresh asparagus on a Hibachi!
It’s Asparagus season and that means you should get the most out of this sensational vegetable while it’s fresh! Learn how easy it is to ember roast this thick skinned vegetable to bring out the fantastic flavor of this vegetable as a side dish, or used as an ingredient in other recipes like a refreshing dip, soup, or stuffing for meat or fish.
Our finished Cauliflower rice with Tomato we fire roasted with just a chimney starter!
CAULIFLOWER RICE WITH TOMATO
#cauliflowerrice
With my special chimney starter cooking technique, which you can view in a separate posting, a fresh head of cauliflower was wood fired for a charry flavor. Now, it’s time to take this fabulous flavor and marry it to tomato and spice in a cauliflower rice dish that can be consumed as a main course or a fabulous side dish. A simple recipe that’s full a flavor that you’ll want to enjoy again and again. Plus, you’ll enjoy the added benefits of this super nutritious food due to its low saturated fat and cholesterol and high vitamin and mineral daily needs.
