Spanish Roasted Red Pepper Salad
By Lee Jackson ↣ Published on: July 20, 2020
Sweet, tangy and smoky – my Spanish Roasted Red Pepper recipe is packed with colour and flavour. Learn how to create this mouthwatering salad favourite at home.
This is one of my most favourite Spanish recipes to make at home. My Spanish roasted red pepper salad is a simple, and incredibly effective taste sensation. It's jam packed with all the authentic Spanish flavours of sweet red pimenton (peppers) with smoked paprika and sweet, sharp sherry vinegar. The three are a marriage made in heaven!
Enjoy more fresh flavours in my Mediterranean and Mediterranean Salads & Vegetables collections.
The Spanish have it down when it comes to eating and drinking. There is nothing more pleasurable than whiling the hours away in a small tapas bar, sipping wine, beer of cider and sampling small bites of local fare along the way. Tapas is said to have originated as a way to keep fruit flies at bay - bread slices used as a lid to the wine glass. Over the years, the edible lids became more and more fancy, and toppings more and more inventive.
Why it works?
It's versatile - You can eat this salad as a side dish to cooked meats, fish or cold cuts as part of a larger feast, or as a tapas dish, simply laid on a slice of crusty bread with a slice of jamón an olive, or just on its own. So many ways to fiesta with red peppers!
Stuff You'll Need
Making this salad only requires a few simple ingredients: here's hot to create the Spanish magic at home.
- Red peppers - you can make this salad with any colour of pepper you like, but the sweet red pepper is my favourite.
- Spanish smoked paprika (see above) - Spanish smoked paprika is the key to this authentic Spanish recipe. It brings a profile so unique to Spain - a wonderful, mellow, smoky and sweet flavour. Other paprika will give good flavour, but none more than the smoked variety. It's essential in my opinion! Hunt it out in supermarkets or online.
- Sherry vinegar - another cornerstone of Spanish cuisine is sherry and by default, sherry vinegar, a rich, tart and deeply satisfying vinegar. It's another essential ingredients for an authentic Spanish flavour.
- Extra virgin olive oil - I use the good stuff for this recipe, preferrably Spanish, but don't sweat it if not.
- Parsley - a final sprinkling of grassy parsley rounds off the flavours for this simple and highly effective little tapas or salad.
Roasting to perfection
Getting the essential charred flavour is easy. You CAN buy roasted red peppers in jars, and you know what? they're OK! Use them if you like, no judgement! However, roasting your own at home is easy and the flavours are better. There are a few ways to achieve this char:
- Rest the peppers directly on the flame of a gas stove, turning them until completely blackened.
- Place under a very hot oven grill, turning regularly until all the skin is charred
- Pop on the BBQ grill, turning regularly until blackened all over.
Whichever way you cook the peppers, you should ensure that the skin gets nice and black. Don't be afraid, you're removing this anyway but the char will permeate the flesh underneath, giving a hint of char without the burn!
Once blackened, we rest the peppers briefly to let them steam a little in their heat - in turn this creates a loose skin that slides off, leaving a hint of charred flavour in the juicy, sweet flesh! Magical!
Serving & Storage Suggestions
- I like to eat this salad at room temperature, the flavours pop more, so if you've been refrigerating it, leave it our for an hour (covered) before serving.
- The salad will be fine in the fridge for 4-5 days - in fact the flavours will continue to develop and it may well be even tastier after that time.
Ready to get cooking?
When all is said and done, this salad remains one of my most treasured Spanish recipes. Why, because it's versatile and simple. Red peppers are so special when they're roasted - all that inherent sweetness is intensified by roasting and the simple smoky dressing is the absolute perfect flavour to pair. See for yourself, hope you enjoy the recipe.
More Spanish recipes
If you liked this recipe then be sure to try some my other delicious Spanish recipes.
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Ingredients
- 3 red peppers (Bell peppers)
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ½ tsp Spanish smoked paprika
- 1 tbsp sherry vinegar
- salt & pepper
- fresh parsley (chopped, for garnish)
Instructions
- Place the bell peppers on the BBQ grill or sit in the direct flame of a gas burner. Gradually turn the peppers until all the skins are charred and blackened and the peppers softened a little.
- Remove from the heat and place into a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap to seal and leave for 5 minutes.
- Remove the plastic wrap and then carefully slide off all the blackened skin from each pepper. Take out the seeds and then gently tear each pepper into about 4-5 strips.
- Arrange the strips on a serving platter in one layer.
- whisk together the olive oil, paprika, sherry vinegar, salt and pepper until smooth. Pour this over the pepper slices then garnish with the parsley.
- Serve at room temperature as a side dish, or simple tapas snack.
Flavor gets better the longer you leave in the refrigerator.
I agree, like most things! They have the best flavour when brought back to room temperature though. Thanks :)
Thank you. I’ve been looking for this recipe since I had roasted peppers with steak in Madrid. Looking forward to making this.
Thanks, hope you enjoy. They’re so much better than the ones from a jar.