The Most Delicious Marinated Capsicum Salad

I cannot wait to tell you about this salad. It was good. And I mean gooood.

We were christening our new bbq rotisserie recently, and this stole the show over rotisserie chicken. It was just that good.

And I re-lived the amazingness for lunch today, in a wrap. And it was heaven all over again.

So what is in this salad of deliciousness you ask?

Essentially, it's roasted capsicums, marinated in a combo of balsamic vinegar, sugar, oil, thyme and garlic. Then it's tossed into a green salad with capers, parmesan, and herbs. And ohmigod was it good. So good in fact, I'm going to skip the small-talk, and jump straight into this recipe.

The Most Delicious Marinated Capsicum Salad (Serves 4 as a side)
Original recipe courtesy of Ottolenghi's book 'Plenty', but my adaptation as follows.

3 capsicums, quartered, and seeds removed
Oil
2t balsamic drizzle (if you don't have any, just up the vinegar a touch, and the sugar also, which is next in the list)
2t dark brown (cane or mascovado) sugar
1 big clove garlic, smashed with the flat side of a knife
2 sprigs thyme, rubbed
2t water
2 big handfuls of salad greens (I used a cos mix, because this is what I had in the fridge. The pepperiness of rocket or cress would be beautiful)
1 small bunch of mixed herbs, such as mint, thyme, oregano, basil, flat leaf parsley - whatever you have on hand
10 or so caperberries (or 2 T fried capers - see my post here for instructions on how to do this)
50g parmesan, shaved
Salt & pepper

Heat the oven to 180 C.

Put the capsicum quarters into a roasting dish with a good glug of oil. Sprinkle a little salt over top. With your hands, toss together to coat the capsicum evenly on all sides. Pop into the oven for 35 minutes, until the capsicum is soft and taking on some colour.

When you take the capsicum out of the oven, pop immediately into a bowl with all the roasting juices. Cover with glad wrap and let it sit until cool. This will help you peel the capsicum a hell of a lot easier.

Which brings me to my next point - when they're cool, peel off as much of the skin as is easy to do (but don't throw away those roasting juices yet!). Don't worry too much if you can't get all of it. Discard the skins, and cut the capsicum into large strips.

Put the capsicum back in the bowl with the roasting juices. Add the balsamic drizzle or vinegar, sugar, garlic, thyme, water, and another 1T or so of oil. Toss to combine. Cover with glad wrap again, and set it aside for at least 1 hour, or preferably overnight.

When you're ready to serve, pop the capsicum, greens, herbs, capers or caperberries, and parmesan into a large bowl. Add a couple of tablespoons of the marinade to the bowl, and toss to combine. Taste for seasoning, add salt and pepper as required, and toss again.

Pile onto a serving dish, and eat slowly, enjoying every mouthful.