North African spices enhance the smoky flavor of the peppers here, and the preserved lemon—which you can buy at a specialty shop or make yourself (page 598)—makes it exotic. You can prepare this salad ahead of time since it is best after marinating for an hour or so. For extra color, use bell peppers of a couple of different colors.
Recipe information
Yield
makes 4 servings
Ingredients
1 pound bell peppers, roasted, stemmed, seeded, and peeled (page 470)
3/4 pound tomatoes (2 large or 3 or 4 medium), cored (and seeded and peeled too if you like)
1 garlic clove, minced
2 teaspoons sweet paprika
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne, or to taste
Salt to taste
Juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
1 preserved lemon, cut into thin strips
Preparation
Step 1
Cut the peppers into 1-inch strips; coarsely chop the tomatoes. Toss in a large bowl with the garlic, paprika, cumin, cayenne, salt, lemon juice, and oil. Let rest for about an hour.
Step 2
Garnish with parsley and preserved lemon strips before serving.
The Best Recipes in the World by Mark Bittman. © 2005 by Mark Bittman. Published by Broadway Books. All Rights Reserved.
MARK BITTMAN is the author of the blockbuster The Best Recipes in the World (Broadway, 2005) and the classic bestseller How to Cook Everything, which has sold more than one million copies. He is also the coauthor, with Jean-Georges Vongerichten, of Simple to Spectacular and Jean-Georges: Cooking at Home with a Four-Star Chef. Mr. Bittman is a prolific writer, makes frequent appearances on radio and television, and is the host of The Best Recipes in the World, a 13-part series on public television. He lives in New York and Connecticut.
