Roasted Red Pepper Relish

Happy Super Bowl Sunday!  Although the national holiday is notorious for greasy and calorie-laden dishes, there are healthier alternatives that do not require denunciation of all Super Bowl fare.  Here’s one suggestion for a veg-friendly and easy-to-make, roasted red pepper hors d’oeuvre from Kigh.

Roasted Red Pepper Relish

Ingredients:

2 organic red peppers, cut in half and seeds removed
1 tsp toasted sesame oil (or substitute olive oil)
1 white or yellow onion, cubed
1 tbsp vegan margarine (or regular)
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
sea salt & black pepper to taste

Instructions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350F.  Brush oil onto the skins of the red peppers and lay flat on a baking dish.  Bake peppers for approximately two hours. (In my oven it was just under 2 hrs, so check your peppers frequently towards the end).

My peppers were a little overcooked as you can see...

2.  Remove the roasted peppers from oven and allow to cool.

3.  Meanwhile, saute the onion in the margarine until the onion begins to turn translucent.

4.  Finally, puree the peppers, onion and remaining ingredients in a food processor until you have reached the desired consistency.

Enjoy the appetizer with fresh veggies, or a healthier tortilla chip such as these Black Bean chips I picked up at Whole Foods yesterday:

I was drawn to the new brand, Way Better Snacks for a couple of reasons.  First–the beautifully vibrant black bean image on the cover (that’s just good marketing) and two–the fact that their beans are sprouted.  Sprouting seeds actually helps your body to digest them, so I was pretty amazed to see a company actually take this step.  Check out the back label:

However, the chips are still corn-based, so may not be the healthiest alternative out there (some brands such as Beanitos actually have black beans as their primary ingredient).  Nonetheless, they are still better than your average tortilla chip–and all things in moderation, right?

Now, who will everyone be routing for today? Although not a super football fan myself, I will be supporting the Pats in honor of Tom Brady.  However, I *confess* what I am most looking forward to is to seeing this lady perform in the halftime show!