It’s easy these days to buy roasted peppers in a jar, but when making a red pepper salad (where it’s all about the peppers), I take that little extra step and roast my own. Nothing beats that great fresh-roasted flavor. It’s a classic antipasto dish from the Piedmont region, now popular all over Italy.

　　

Ingredients

6 side-dish servings

　　2 red bell peppers

　　1 yellow bell pepper

　　1 orange bell pepper

　　1/3 cup pitted kalamata olives, quartered

　　1/4 cup olive oil

　　2 tablespoons drained capers

　　6 fresh basil leaves, torn into pieces

　　4 garlic cloves, minced

　　1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste

　　1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste

　　

Step 1

Preheat the broiler. Cover a heavy baking sheet with foil. Arrange the bell peppers on the baking sheet and broil until the skins brown and blister, turning the peppers over occasionally, about 20 minutes. Enclose the peppers in a resealable plastic bag and set aside until cooled to room temperature.

　　

Step 2

Peel and seed the peppers, and cut them into 1/2-inch-thick strips. In a medium bowl, toss the pepper strips, olives, oil, capers, basil, garlic, and 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper to combine. Season with more salt and pepper to taste, and serve. (The salad can be made up to 2 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before serving.)

　　Reprinted with permission from Everyday Italian: 125 Simple and Delicious Recipes by Martha Stewart Living Magazine. Copyright © 2005 by Giada De Laurentiis. Published by Crown Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved.Giada De Laurentiis is the star of Food Network's Everyday Italian and Behind the Bash. She attended the Cordon Bleu in Paris, and then worked in a variety of Los Angeles restaurants, including Wolfgang Puck's Spago, before starting her own catering and private-chef company, GDL Foods. The granddaughter of movie producer Dino De Laurentiis, Giada was born in Rome and grew up in Los Angeles, where she now lives.