Last year, at around this time, I posted a blog about the health benefits of portobello mushrooms and how I marinate and roast them to delicious tenderness. This simple little story and recipe has become wildly popular and, by “wildly,” I mean it has gotten over 10,000 views in the last month, alone—it’s wonderful that the nutritional superpowers of mushrooms are spreading far and wide!
Well, I recently made a serving platter of marinated and roasted veggies for a potluck luncheon. I make this assortment often when I am called on to bring a home cooked dish to a gathering—it seems to go with everything, it looks beautiful, it can be made a bit ahead, can be served at room temperature and everyone seems to like it! At least, I can deduce that from the great reviews and the empty platter I take home with me. I usually include broccoli, cauliflower, the now famous portobello mushrooms and… sweet mini peppers in red, yellow and orange.
You have probably seen them in the market, about 3 inches long, so adorably cute and colorful in a resealable plastic bag. The first time I bought them, I was scratching my head wondering, as I was in the midst of preparation, ‘why am I spending so much time cutting, de-seeding and trimming all these little peppers when the net effect is the same and would be so much quicker with the larger bell pepper variety?’
Then, I got this light bulb moment—‘hey, maybe they can be cooked and eaten whole, seeds and all, if they were softened a bit with a delicious marinade and roasted along with the rest of the my colorful collection of veggies.” Forget all this cutting, trimming and deseeding! A meal staple in my house was born! The skins of the these mini peppers are thinner than the larger variety so they absorb the marinade really nicely. A bowl of sweet mini peppers can always be found in my fridge. These savory little babies are sooo versatile and easy to make—
- great hot or cold or room temperature
- with salad dressing or balsamic vinegar
- toss in pasta
- mix into a stir fry
- as a side dish with an entree
- chopped into salsa
- on top of quinoa or rice
- layer on sandwiches
The nutritional value of the sweet mini peppers is quite high so putting them into your diet regularly will reap major health benefits:
Serving Size of 3 Sweet Mini Peppers:
Serving Size of 3 Sweet Mini Peppers:- 25 Calories
- Zero fat
- zero cholesterol
- zero sodium
- Carbohydrates 5 gm (2%)
- Protein 1 gram
- Potassium 180 mg.
- Vitamin A 25%
- Vitamin C 270%
- Iron 2%
- Capsaicin: raises endorphins and improves mood, enhances circulation, raises metabolism, reduces pain
- Lycopene: protects against prostate cancer
- Beta-Cryptoxanthin: may lower the risk of lung cancer
Easy Marinated and Roasted/Grilled Sweet Mini Peppers
Ingredients:
- 1 bag of Sweet Mini Peppers (about 18-20 per bag)
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon of powdered garlic
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1 chopped shallot
- salt and pepper to taste
- chopped fresh herbs if you have and if not, dried is fine: thyme, basil, rosemary
Instructions:
- In plastic bag, combine all ingredients, except the peppers, and swirl around to mix
- Place washed peppers in the bag and distribute the marinade well
- Lay flat for about 30 minutes and flip it over several times over the time period. Marinating them for an hour or 2 is fine too!
- Remove the peppers from the bag, reserving the marinade for later as a delicious dressing.
- Lay the peppers on a oil-sprayed baking sheet and roast in an oven of 400 degrees F or directly on the BBQ grill.
- Roasting or grilling for about 10 minutes is usually enough. The skins will brown and even blacken a bit but you don’t want them cooking beyond that. Watch it carefully so they don’t over cook
- Serve hot, warm or cold with a drizzle of the marinade on top.
Notes: I use the stem as a little handle to just pop them and have never eaten the stem so I wouldn’t recommend it.
If you love this recipe, you’ll go crazy over my Multigrain Veggie Stuffed Red Peppers with Avocado-Sriracha Sauce
Check out my Easy Marinated & Roasted Portobello Mushrooms for a wonderful companion recipe to the Sweet Mini Peppers
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Enjoy!!
xox Ellen