Roasted Bell Peppers & Goat Cheese Sandwiches

Since the Avocado & Goat Cheese sandwiches were such a hit, I thought I would share this recipe by Ina Garten that I make often for Tony & me. I use a French Baguette instead of Ciabatta and I also like to toast my halves a bit too. I also omit the onions myself and usually make the sandwiches open faced, but this is the recipe as Ina makes it. You could probably add the onion slices to the marinating peppers too, bet that would taste good. This recipe may sound time consuming (with roasting time, sitting time, etc), but it is pretty simple and the roasting bell peppers will make your house smell delicious! Hope you like it!

4 large red or yellow bell peppers (I mix, 2 of each)

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

2 cloves garlic - minced

2 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

2 tbsp capers - drained

For Assembly

1 large ciabatta - halved horizontally

1 (11 oz) herb or plain goat cheese - at room temperature

8-10 large fresh basil leaves

red onion sliced thinly

salt & pepper to taste

Preheat oven 500* - Place whole bell peppers on baking sheet and roast in oven for 30-40 minutes until skins are completely wrinkled and peppers are charred. Remove from oven and cover with foil immediately. Set peppers aside approx. 30 minutes or until peppers are cool enough to handle.

While peppers are cooling, mix in a small bowl - olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, salt & pepper, set aside.

For peppers, remove stems and seeds, discard. Cut peppers into quarters and remove peels, discard peels. Place peeled, cut peppers into bowl and pour oil-vinegar mixture over it. Give it a good toss to coat, cover peppers and set in fridge to marinade for a couple of hours.

To assemble sandwiches, take bread half, spread with goat cheese, layer with fresh basil leaves, layer with peppers, layer with onions, salt & pepper to taste, cover with top half bread.

Tags: bell, cheese, goat, peppers, sandwiches