Painted Desert Roasted Pepper Salad

Submitted by deborahlee555

"I made this as part of a special dinner for someone, and both of us thought it was exceptionally good. And it looks so impressive. I wish I had a digital camera! I couldn't find the fresh chiles, so I substituted some canned poblanos I had. But I will try it with the fresh chilies as soon as I can find them. I also had some of those new guacamole tortilla chips in the house, so I crushed up a few and sprinkled maybe a tablespoon or so on top of each serving. Even plain tortilla chips would work, but you don't need them. However, I liked the little bit of crunch it gave the salad. I estimated the time not including roasting the peppers. I found the recipe at Recipegoldmine on the web."

 

• Ready In: 55mins
• Ingredients: 15
• Serves: 4

ingredients

• DRESSING

• 1⁄2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1⁄4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 tablespoon chopped onion, finely chopped
• 1⁄4 cup cider vinegar
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄2 teaspoon sugar
• 1⁄8 teaspoon Mexican oregano (see note)
• fresh ground black pepper, to taste

• ROASTED PEPPERS

• 4 green chilies, mild,roasted (any combo of your choice of anaheim, New Mexico or poblanos)
• 1 red bell pepper, roasted
• 1 green bell pepper, roasted
• 1 yellow bell pepper, roasted
• Cotija cheese or aged monterey jack cheese, crumbled or shredded,to taste (see note)
• romaine lettuce or other sturdy lettuce leaf (to garnish)

directions

1. DRESSING: In a blender, purée the oils with the garlic and onion.
2. Strain into a large jar with a lid.
3. Add the remaining dressing ingredients to the jar.
4. Cover and shake well, then refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
5. ROASTED PEPPERS SALAD: Slice the roasted chiles and roasted bell peppers into ribbons, 1/2 inch thick.
6. Arrange them decoratively on a serving platter, then pour the dressing over the chiles and peppers.
7. Sprinkle the cheese over the pepper mixture and garnish around the edges with the lettuce.
8. NOTE: I did not have mexican oregano, so I used epazote, and liked the results very much.
9. Other possible substitutions could be savory, regular oregano, thyme, rosemary, or summer savory.
10. I used about 2-3 tablespoons of shredded Monterey Jack cheese per serving, and I felt that was the perfect amount.
11. Although the recipe did not state it, I topped it with a little bit of crushed guacamole-flavored tortilla chips.
12. You could do the same with regular tortilla chips too, if desired.

Reviews

[ellie_]

Very good and ohhh so pretty plus delicious and a great side to have with steak! I forgot the tortilla chips and used monterey jack cheese. I think this will be great even without the dressing and cheese --just the peppers/chilies by themselves as a great spicy topping for steak. Thanks for sharing this keeper!