The bell pepper rolls stuffed with anchovies and parsley pesto are delicious, wonderful, and eye-catching, a great finger food to serve as a side for meat or fish; or to enrich a buffet, an appetizer, sandwiches, etc… They are really easy to make and can be customized as we like; for example, if we want a completely vegetarian preparation, we will remove the anchovies from the preparation. They are very practical and perfect if we have some bell peppers to use up. The bell peppers were not grilled but baked and then peeled using the food bag method; indeed, the skin came off easily.
- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 15
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Spring, Summer, Spring, Summer, and Fall
Ingredients
- 3 medium bell peppers
- 1 bunch parsley
- 15 anchovies in oil
- to taste salted capers
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Tools
- Toothpicks
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 392°F. Wash the whole bell peppers, place them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper, and put them in the preheated oven on the lowest rack for about 25 minutes, turning them occasionally to allow the heat to distribute evenly.
Meanwhile, wash the parsley, removing all the stems.
After the time has passed, turn off the oven, remove the bell peppers, immediately place them in a food bag and leave them for about 15-20 minutes, so that the created steam will help facilitate the removal of the skin.
After the time has passed, remove the bell peppers from the bag, cut the skin with a knife and start peeling it. It will come off easily. Remove the seeds, filaments, and stem, and divide them into strips about an inch and a half/two inches wide.
Now let’s make the parsley pesto. After washing and draining the parsley of excess water, place the leaves in a blender and blend them with 3-4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil (depending on the amount of parsley, so I recommend adding it little by little), 1/2 teaspoon of capers without external salt, and 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar (we can also use capers in vinegar; in this case, we will not add the apple cider vinegar). We need to obtain a fluid but not too liquid mixture (taste it and, if necessary, adjust the salt).
If the preparation turns out to be too liquid, add a large crumbled bread crumb (also gluten-free) to the pesto and blend the mixture; the crumb will act as a thickener.
Place the bell pepper strips on a large, flat plate. Put an anchovy in the center of each strip.
Spread 1 teaspoon of parsley pesto over the anchovy, roll up the bell pepper strip and secure it with toothpicks. Continue until all the ingredients are used up.
The bell pepper rolls with anchovies and parsley pesto are ready. Place them on a serving dish and serve them; or we can put them in the fridge, covered with food wrap until it’s time to serve them.
Bon appetit
