roasted pepper and goat cheese sandwiches

An episode of the Barefoot Contessa aired this week where Ina Garten made simple roasted red pepper and goat cheese sandwiches for a friend planting an herb garden at her house in the Hamptons. Since I absolutely love goat cheese, balsamic vinegar, red peppers (heck, why don't we just list almost every single ingredient and say basil and capers too) and well basically all things Ina Garten I had to make them sooner rather than later. I lasted two days and well, here we are...

When I saw this recipe, I also jumped at the chance to incoorporate in this fabulous new bottle of balsamic vinegar I purchased at Williams Sonoma a few weeks ago after tasting nearly every oil and vinegar in the store with the hubby. It turned out we unanimously decided this one was the best we tried (and it was on sale!), so naturally it walked out with us and came home. The vinegar itself is intensely flavorful and sweet since it's aged 25 years in oak barrels. I would go as far as to say it compares to the balsamic I shamefully did not bring home with me when we travelled to Italy last year.It is that good and is absolutely delicious on its own or mixed with oil to dip some crusty bread in.

The only part of the Ina's original recipe I changed, is to use much less salt and pepper in the marinade. I also did not have ciabatta bread on hand so I used a crusty loaf of wheat italian bread and it was wonderful. I used just 2 peppers and it was plenty for just the two of us. If you are new to roasting red peppers, a good guide can be found here at the Wednesday Chef. The trick is to make sure you get them nice and charred in the oven, so the skins peel off easily.

P.S. Before you turn on the oven to 500 degrees it might be a good idea to check and make sure your significant other did not stash a roast chicken from the supermarket in there for safe keeping.



Roasted Red Pepper and Goat Cheese Sandwiches

Adapted from: Barefoot Contessa at home, 2006

Ingredients:

• 2-4 large red or yellow bell peppers
• 2 tablespoons good olive oil
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon drained capers

For assembling:

• 1 large ciabatta bread, halved horizontally (I used whole wheat italian) 
• 1 (11-ounce) garlic-and-herb or plain goat cheese (recommended: Montrachet) at room temperature
• 8 to 10 large basil leaves
• 3 thin slices red onion
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.
Place the whole peppers on a sheet pan and place in the oven for 30 to 40 minutes, until the skins are completely wrinkled and the peppers are charred, turning them twice during roasting. Remove the pan from the oven and immediately cover it tightly with aluminum foil. Set aside for 30 minutes, or until the peppers are cool enough to handle.
Meanwhile, combine the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Set aside.
Remove the stem from each pepper and cut them in quarters. Remove the peels and seeds and place the peppers in a bowl along with any juices that have collected. Discard the stems, peels, and seeds. Pour the oil and vinegar mixture over the peppers. Stir in the capers. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a few hours to allow the flavors to blend. (I waited about an hour and it was plenty of time if you're in a hurry)
To assemble the sandwiches, spread the bottom half of the loaf with the goat cheese. Add a layer of peppers and then a layer of basil leaves. Separate the onions into rings and spread out on top. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover with the top half of the ciabatta and cut into individual servings.