Roasted Pepper Salad with Filo & Goat Cheese Croutons

Roasted Pepper Salad with Filo and Goat Cheese Croutons

It has been a little while since I attended the vegetarian blogging event No Croutons Required despite my best of intentions . The founders of this event are the talented duo Holler of Tinned Tomatoes and fellow Canadian Lisa of Lisa's Kitchen. Each month they are looking for our vegetarian soups or salads with the theme for this month being PEPPERS. Both of these ladies follow a vegetarian and healthy lifestyle which is evident in each of their feature stories. They have heard me say this before but they are both such sweeties that I have to participate in their event as often as I can...and I will say it again!!

This colourful salad makes a tasty accompaniment to seafood, chicken or lamb. Peppers are an excellent source of vitamin C, and when roasted they still retain substantial amounts of this important vitamin. There are many variations of roasted pepper salad, from many different countries. This one can be serve as a salad, a side dish, added to cooked pasta or served as a crostini topping.If you love the taste of peppers, try this roasted pepper salad recipe.



This is a lovely variation of a classic French salad. Instead of herb or breadcrumb crusted rounds of goat cheese, the goat cheese is wrapped in filo and baked until the filo is browned. Then it’s sliced and served with a colorful salad and roasted red, green, and yellow peppers.

If you have any leftovers, or if you just wanted to make a large batch, layer the peppers between sheets of wax paper in a plastic container for easy removal and freeze. Thaw as many as needed when the time comes. Stored this way, roasted peppers should last for several months. If you have a small amount of leftover peppers that you plan to use within a week or two, place them in a small container, cover them with olive oil, and refrigerate them.

** Roasted Pepper Salad with Filo and Goat Cheese Croutons**

One 12-ounce log goat cheese
1/3 cup chopped fresh herbs, such as parsley, chives, chervil, and thyme
6 sheets filo dough
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon water for egg wash
2 large red bell peppers
2 large yellow bell peppers
2 large green or orange bell peppers
3 cups baby salad greens

Roasted Pepper Salad Dressing

1 small shallot
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/8 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup oil (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the broiler. Cut the peppers in half and remove the stem, seeds, and ribs. Place skin-side up on a heavy baking sheet. Brush with olive oil. Season with salt, pepper. Place under broiler and cook until skins are evenly charred, rotating baking sheet as necessary. Remove from broiler and place in a plastic bag and seal. Let sit until cool. Peel the skins from the peppers and slice into thin strips. Place in a medium bowl.

Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll the cheese log in the chopped herbs.

Layer the filo sheets on a piece of parchment paper, brushing each sheet lightly with melted butter. Work quickly so that the filo doesn’t dry out or it will crack when you roll it.

Place the goat cheese log along the long edge of the stacked filo. Tuck the ends of the dough over the ends of the log. Using the parchment paper as a guide, roll up the dough tightly, completely enclosing the goat cheese. Brush the roll with melted butter and egg wash, and score into portions, cutting one-third the depth of the strudel. Place on the parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown. Allow to cool.

In a small bowl, combine chopped shallot, mustard, vinegar, oil, salt, pepper and sugar and blend until smooth.

Toss together the roasted peppers and half the vinaigrette. Season with salt and pepper to taste. In a separate bowl, toss the salad greens with the remaining vinaigrette and season with salt and pepper.

For each portion, arrange the dressed salad greens on one side of a plate and a small mound of the pepper salad on the other. Slice the filo log and serve on the pepper salad.

You are reading this post on More Than Burnt Toast at http://morethanburnttoast.blogspot.com. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to the author/owner of More Than Burnt Toast. All rights reserved by Valerie Harrison.