Roasting Vegetables
How to Roast Peppers, Tomatoes, Tomatillos and other Latin Veggies
Here is a quick guide to how to roast the most common Latin ingredients for all of your favorite recipes: peppers, chilies, tomatoes, tomatillos, and garlic.
After you have reviewed the basic roasting techniques it is worth noting that not every vegetable roasts the same way.
The following are some tips and tricks for roasting the most common ingredients you will find in Latin and Caribbean cuisines for your favorite salsas and recipes.
Peppers and Chilies
One of the best vegetables to roast. Everything from red bell peppers to jalapeños can be roasted and used for sandwiches, salads, salsas, or many of the recipes in the Latin and Caribbean food section.
In fact, many professional chefs keep a squeeze bottle of pureed roasted red bell pepper to garnish dishes because of the bright color and flavor.
The direct flame technique seems to work best for charring and blistering the skin. As you char the skin, you will hear a lot of popping as it releases from the flesh of the pepper.
When using this technique, do not slice the pepper until you have finished roasting and peeling the pepper.
Peeling the charred skin is made easier by allowing the peppers to cool in a paper bag to further release the skin.
Some people think that running the peppers under running water speeds up the process of peeling the skin. It may be true, but it’s a terrible idea because you’re washing away all of the flavor you just worked so hard to put into the pepper.
Broiling and pan roasting work as well, but you should slice peppers in half for these methods.
Tomatoes and Tomatillos
Broiling seems to be the best method for these guys because of the juice that comes out during the roasting process. Also, with pan roasting, the fruits stick a bit and it’s not always a clean process.
To roast under a broiler, cut the fruits in half and arrange on a baking sheet. For tomatillos, make sure you peel the brown papery skin off and rinse (if it’s there).
It does not really matter which side you roast first, just make sure you flip them over after one side is charred (5-7 minutes) and thoroughly blacken and blister the other side.
When you go to peel the tomatoes or tomatillos, peel over a bowl or other container to save all of the juice that will run out.
Garlic
Roasting garlic can be done a few different ways. The Italian technique for roasting garlic is done in a garlic tureen over the course of an hour or so. This is a slow roasting technique that brings out garlic’s mellow, intoxicating sweetness.
The easiest way to quickly roast garlic is the pan roasting technique. Leaving the garlic in the peel, place in a hot skillet and brown on all sides. You can even roast to the point where the peel blackens, but the garlic will not burn on the inside.
Allow to cool, and peel.
Broiling and flame roasting are not great alternatives. A garlic tureen is a great investment if you plan on roasting a lot of garlic (a common ingredient is a wide variety of cuisines outside of Latin America).
