Ingredients:
– 6 large red peppers
– 4 fresh, organic vanilla beans
– Fresh herbs to marinate; rosemary, thyme, oregano, sage
– 1/4 cup sunflower oil
– Extra virgin olive oil
– Sea salt flakes
– Sorrel leaves
– Freshly grounded black pepper
– ‘Papadums’ (crispy salty crackers)
Preparation:
Wash the peppers well and dry them. If we have a brazier, we will prepare a fire with wood or charcoal. When the fire is lit, roast them until the skin us burned. Perform this procedure with care and attention. If we do not have a brazier, we can do it right in the flame of the kitchen stoves.
Once the skin is burned, we will put the peppers in a large bowl and cover it hermetically. We will let them cool inside. This will help the condensation and the skin will get softer and they will be easier to peel.
Peel them carefully, without breaking the meat. We will open them and remove all the seeds. Clean them with kitchen paper and keep only the meat. Cut the meat of the peppers into 2-centimeter pieces and put them on a tray to marinate them with fresh herbs and extra virgin olive oil.
Let them cool down in the fridge until serving.
To make the vanilla oil, cut the fresh vanilla pods longitudinally, with a small knife and remove the seeds. We will then put the sunflower oil, the vanilla seeds and the open vanilla pods in a small saucepan. We will put that saucepan to the lowest possible heat and we will heat it up to 60 degrees gradually. You can measure the temperature with a kitchen thermometer. When it reaches the temperature, we will remove it from the heat and cover it so that all the essential perfume of the vanilla remains impregnated in the oil. Then we will leave it until it cools to make an infusion. Once it’s at room temperature, strain it to separate the pods, but trying to keep the seeds in the oil. Reserve until serving.
For the papadums:
Preheat the oven to 160 degrees. Put the papadum discs on the oven racks and bake for 6/7 minutes, until they are puffed and crisp. Take them out of the oven and let them cool down. Reserve until serving.
Serve them at room temperature. With a round mold, we will put the meat of the peppers first to give it a round and neat shape. Then add 3 generous tablespoons of vanilla oil, flake salt, a bit of the freshly grounded black pepper. Decorate it with the first sprouts of sorrel leaves that add an acid note to the dish. Remove the mold.
Serve the crispy crackers on a small plate on the side.
A light and tasty summer starter!
