Sweet and sour peppers with pine nut crumble

Yield: 4 servings as a side dish 2 servings as a vegetarian main

This simple summer salad of sweet and sour peppers with pine nut crumble is lovely with a soft cheese or grilled fish. Get ahead by marinating the peppers the day before, the flavours will intensify, and double up on the crumble, if you like: it’s great sprinkled on leafy green salads or lightly steamed vegetables.

Ingredients

• >1 kg red romano peppers
• >60 ml olive oil
• itemprop=“recipeIngredient“>2 ½ tablesp. soy sauce
• >3 tablesp. apple cider vinegar
• >1 tablesp. maple syrup
• >2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
• >2 teasp. toasted sesame oil
• >1 ¼ teasp. cumin seeds
• >30 grams pine nuts
• >⅛ teasp. salt
• >1 ⅔ tbsp. coriander, finely chopped, about 5 grams; Ulrike: parsley

Method

1. Heat the oven to its highest setting 240 °C /220 °CC fan)/475 °F/gas 9 . Put the peppers on the tray, roast for 20 minutes, until the peppers are charred in places and softened. Leave to cool slightly and, once they’re cool enough to handle, gently pull away and discard the stems, skin and seeds. Tear each pepper in half lengthways.
2. >While the peppers are roasting, make the dressing. In a small bowl, whisk the soy sauce, vinegar, maple syrup and garlic, then add the sesame oil and 4 tablespoons of olive oil, and whisk again to combine. Pour this into a large, shallow baking dish, then add the peeled pepper halves and toss gently to combine. Leave to marinate at room temperature for at least 30 minutes or in the fridge overnight.
3. >Put the cumin in a small frying pan on a medium-high heat, and toast for two to three minutes, until fragrant. Tip into a mortar and roughly crush the seeds. Return the pan to a medium heat, add the pine nuts and toast, stirring, for three to four minutes, until nicely browned. Tip into the mortar, add an ⅛ teaspoon of salt, then roughly crush the nuts with the cumin – you don’t want it too fine. Leave to cool for 10 minutes, then stir in the coriander or parsley.
4. >To serve, spread the peppers on a plate with a lip, pour over the dressing and top with the crumble. If they’ve been refrigerated, bring them to room temperature first.

total time: 45 minutes + 30 minutes marinating
preparation time: 10 minutes
cooking/baking time: 35 minutes