Roasted Pepper Salad

Impress your taste buds with this Roasted Pepper Salad. it's a fresh, colorful dish, bursting with sweet & smoky flavors.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Gluten-Free, Vegan

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 35

Total Time 55

Servings

Calories 144kcal

Author Melissa Huggins

Ingredients

½ block extra firm tofu, pressed & crumbled into small bite-sized pieces (*see note)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
6 large bell peppers, a combination of red, yellow, orange or green
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 ½ tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon garlic powder, divided
1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano, divided
Salt and pepper
¼ - ½ teaspoon crushed red chile pepper (optional)
¼ cup fresh basil, chopped (more for garnish)
⅓ cup kalamata olives, pitted
¼ cup pine nuts

Instructions

Tofu Feta:

In a medium bowl, add 1 teaspoon olive oil, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, ½ teaspoon oregano, ¼ teaspoon garlic powder, salt and pepper, to taste. Add pressed and crumbled tofu and gently toss to coat. Place uncovered in fridge to marinate.

Peppers:

Position oven rack to the highest position and turn on the broiler. Line a baking sheet with foil. Place whole peppers on the sheet about 2 inches apart.
Broil in the oven until skin starts to blister and blacken. Using tongs, rotate peppers a quarter turn until all sides are charred, about 5 minutes each side. The peppers should be slightly collapsed and soft. The whole process should take about 20 minutes.
Remove from the oven and place peppers on a cutting board. Cover peppers with a large bowl or pot to steam them, about 15 minutes.
While peppers are steaming, prepare the dressing. In a large bowl, add the remaining olive oil, balsamic vinegar, remaining dried oregano, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Whisk to combine.
When peppers are cool enough to handle, slice them vertically, and spread them open to make a long strip. Remove the stem and seeds. Flip the pepper over and remove charred skin. It should peel off easily.
Cut peppers into ¾-inch strips and place them in the bowl of dressing. Add fresh-cut basil and toss to coat. Taste for seasoning and add more as needed.
At this point, you can decide to serve the peppers right away and top with pine nuts, olives and tofu feta, OR you can let the peppers marinate in their dressing for an hour or more. Just cover and place in the fridge after tossing. Add the toppings when you are ready to serve. Enjoy!

Notes

*Pressing Tofu: place block of tofu on a paper towel-lined plate, and wrap tofu in a few paper towels. Add another plate on top of tofu, and add a few cans of food on top or a book. Let it drain for 15 minutes. You can also press it overnight in the fridge to make it even quicker. I like to buy vacuum packed tofu that's pre-pressed and ready to cook, but not every store carries this though. I don't recommend the silken tofu in the tetra pak for this recipe, because the texture is too smooth.

*If you don't have time to press the tofu, just wrap the tofu in paper towels and gently squeeze out as much water as you can. Don't press too hard. Getting out the water will enable the tofu to absorb the flavors of your seasonings better.

*This recipe only calls for half the block of tofu. Once opened tofu needs to be consumed in 3-4 days, so it doesn't spoil. If you'd like to make extra feta, just press the whole block, and double the seasoning for the crumbles. You can add it to salads, sandwiches, dips, dressings and more. Some stores carry tofu that has split packaging, so half the block will stay fresh. That's another option.

*Prep time doesn't include tofu pressing time.

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