Roast Peppers, Tomato and Anchovy Salad

A blissful salad during hot Italian summer days, when it’s almost too hot too cook and you want something fresh and easy to make, but still very flavoursome.

The only part of the salad that you would need to think of slightly earlier are the roast peppers, but believe me, they are worth the extra effort. 

I prefer to use romano peppers, but of course you can use the ones you enjoy the most.

I like to keep this salad very simple allowing the ingredients to shine, and serve it with heaps of fresh herbs.  You could  always add some capers or olives, making your own version of it.

The quantities below are indicative and you can change them as you wish.

Serves 4:

• 5 good sized red romano peppers
• 4 large, ripe, firm and sweet tomatoes 
• 2 small tins of anchovy fillets in oil, drained (about 30 g each tin)
• flaky sea salt
• red wine vinegar
• olive oil (for dressing and roasting)
• 2 garlic cloves
• some fresh mint leaves
• some coriander leaves

Start with roasting the peppers. Heat the oven to 220 C (200 C if fan assisted oven). Wash and dry the peppers. Brush them with olive oil and put into an oven proof dish. Grill them for 20 minutes on each side.

Leave to cool, peel the skin off and discard any seeds.

Cut the peppers into long and fairly wide strips. Place them in a bowl along with the peeled and sliced garlic. Drizzle with some olive oil and a little of the red wine vinegar. Give everything a gentle stir and leave to marinate for a minimum of an hour.

To assemble the salad:

 

Cut the tomatoes into thick slices and arrange them on a serving plate.

Now cover them neatly with the roast peppers and spread the anchovy fillets on top (you can chop them if you wish).

Drizzle generously with some olive oil, a little bit of red wine vinegar and sprinkle with salt.

Roughly chop the fresh herb leaves and scatter on top.

Give everything a gentle stir, add more seasoning if needed and serve with hunks of crunchy bread to mop up the juices.