Roast peppers with mozzarella, pine nuts, currants & mint pesto

Name: Roast peppers with mozzarella, pine nuts, currants & mint pesto
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 6
Ingredients: 4 red peppers, halved and deseeded; 1 tbsp olive oil; 125 g tubs No.1 Mozzarella di Bufala Campana DOP, drained and sliced or torn

Diana Henry's recipe uses mozzarella but if you want to be more lavish, use burrata made with buffalo milk. Offer ciabatta on the side too.

4 out of 5 stars(1) Rate this recipe

Serves6
CourseStarter
Prepare15 mins
Cook25 mins
Total time40 mins
Pluscooling and soaking

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4 red peppers, halved and deseeded
1 tbsp olive oil
3 x 125g tubs No.1 Mozzarella di Bufala Campana DOP, drained and sliced or torn

For the relish

35g currants
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar, plus 1 tsp
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus more if needed
1 small red onion, finely chopped
1 clove/s garlic, finely chopped
1 tbsp pine nuts, toasted

For the pesto

2 x 25g packs mint, leaves only
¾ x 25g pack flat leaf parsley, leaves only
1 tbsp pine nuts, toasted
1 clove/s garlic, chopped
125ml extra virgin olive oil, plus more if needed
15g Parmigiano Reggiano, finely grated

Heat the oven to 180ºC, gas mark 4. Put the peppers into a roasting tin and brush with the olive oil. Season and roast, cut-side up, for 20-25 minutes until the flesh is tender. Leave to cool, then cut the peppers into strips about 0.5-1cm wide.
While the peppers roast, put the currants and balsamic vinegar into a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Take off the heat and leave the currants to plump up for 20 minutes.
Heat the extra virgin olive oil in a frying pan and sauté the onion gently until soft but not coloured, about 4-5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 4 minutes more, then season. Scrape the onion and the currant mixture into a bowl. Taste for seasoning and to decide if you want to add more oil. This is a strong mixture – it’s meant to be – but it shouldn’t be astringent. Don’t add the pine nuts yet.
Make the pesto by blending everything except the parmesan in a food processor. Stir in the cheese and taste for seasoning. The pesto shouldn’t be too thick, so you may need to add a little more oil.
Arrange the peppers and mozzarella on a platter or in a wide, shallow serving bowl. Season. Add the pine nuts to the relish and spoon it over everything, then do the same with the mint pesto and serve.

Typical values per serving when made using specific products in recipe