Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Sheet pan
• •Tongs for turning peppers
• •Large bowl with tight-fitting lid or plastic wrap
• •Shallow serving dish

Instructions

1. 1

   Char the peppers

   Set your oven rack four inches from the broiler element and turn the broiler to high. Place the whole peppers on a sheet pan and broil, turning with tongs every five minutes, until the skins are blackened and blistered on all sides. This takes 20 to 25 minutes. The peppers should collapse slightly and appear charred, not merely browned. Browning is not charring. You need the skins to blister away from the flesh.

   If you have a gas stove, you may char peppers directly over the flame using tongs. Turn frequently. The method is faster but demands attention. Either approach works if you commit to it fully.
2. 2

   Steam and peel

   Transfer the charred peppers immediately to a bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let them steam for 15 minutes. The residual heat loosens the skins. When cool enough to handle, peel away the charred skin with your fingers. Work over the bowl to catch the juices. Do not rinse the peppers under water. Running water washes away flavor you spent 25 minutes creating. A few flecks of char are acceptable. Obsessive cleaning is not.

   Strain the collected juices through a fine mesh sieve and add them to your dressing. This liquid is pure pepper essence.
3. 3

   Clean and slice

   Cut each pepper in half and remove the stems, seeds, and white membranes. Cut the flesh into strips roughly one inch wide. Some prefer wider strips; I find one inch manageable for eating. Place the strips in a shallow serving dish, alternating red and yellow for visual appeal.

4. 4

   Prepare the dressing

   Chop the anchovy fillets coarsely. They will dissolve into the oil, which is their purpose. In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, vinegar, chopped anchovies, sliced garlic, and capers. Add a pinch of salt, remembering that anchovies and capers bring their own salinity. Whisk briefly. Taste and adjust. The dressing should be savory and bright, not aggressively salty.

5. 5

   Dress and rest

   Pour the dressing over the pepper strips. Toss gently with your hands to coat every piece. Scatter the parsley leaves on top. Cover and let rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes, or refrigerate for up to three days. The flavors marry and deepen with time. Bring to room temperature before serving.

   This salad is better tomorrow than today. The peppers absorb the dressing, the anchovies melt further into the oil, the garlic softens. Patience creates flavor that haste cannot replicate.
6. 6

   Serve properly

   Serve at room temperature as part of an antipasto spread, or as a side dish alongside grilled meats or fish. Provide good bread for soaking up the oil that pools at the bottom of the dish. That oil is seasoned with everything you put into it. Wasting it would be a shame.

Chef Tips

• •Salt-packed capers are superior to those in brine. Rinse them thoroughly under cold water for two minutes, then soak in fresh water for ten minutes. The texture is firmer, the flavor cleaner.
• •Choose peppers that are heavy for their size with thick walls. Thin-walled peppers collapse entirely when roasted and leave you with very little flesh to work with.
• •The garlic must be sliced thin enough to become translucent. Thick slices remain raw and harsh. Paper-thin slices soften in the dressing and release their flavor gently.
• •If you cannot find good anchovies, use none rather than bad ones. A poor anchovy ruins everything it touches. Good ones come packed in olive oil or salt, never the tins of grey mush at the supermarket.

Advance Preparation

• •Roasted and peeled peppers can be refrigerated, covered in olive oil, for up to five days before dressing.
• •The dressed salad improves for three days in the refrigerator. It is genuinely better on day two than day one.
• •Bring to room temperature 30 minutes before serving. Cold mutes the flavors you worked to develop.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 160g)