Only recently I realized that the ‘bell’ in bell pepper is called that because the shape is reminiscent of a church bell. The same holds true for the ‘navel’ in navel orange. It looks like a belly button. I love English for its flexibility. Just the other day I posted an entry on sow thistle, which apparently got its name from the female pig. It seems that sows like to eat that type of green. Clever pigs because sow thistle is tasty; and clever English with its power of association.

spring greens with cherry tomatoes and roasted red bell pepper dressing

I bought a whole bunch of red bell peppers and poblanos, or pasilla peppers, last week at SSSSS in the Mission. Steven made chiles relleños stuffed with spinach and cheese with the poblanos. Yummm! He said he would only make the dish if I took roasted the poblanos, peeled the skin and removed the seeds and ribs. It is a lot of work. I agreed since I like the dish so much. I roasted the bell peppers at the same time.

Just set the oven to broil and grill/roast the peppers for about 30-35min, turning occasionally, until they start to collapse and the skin becomes charred. Then remove from the oven and put in a paper bag to steam for a while. The skin is easy to peel away then.

Like I mentioned on the beet/asparagus with orange dressing post, I’m trying to branch out a bit with new salad dressings. That’s where the roasted bell peppers come in and a novel ingredient for me. We liked it. Perhaps you will too.

Spring Greens with Cherry Tomatoes and Roasted Red Bell Pepper Dressing

¾ bag of Trader Joe’s spring salad mix
½ head Boston lettuce, torn into bite sized pieces
10 sugar plum grape tomatoes, halved

for the dressing:

2 minced roasted red bell peppers (use directions above to roast)
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 crushed clove garlic
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1-2 tbsp water
Juice of ½ lime
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Place all dressing ingredients except for the olive oil in a jar. Cover and shake. Let stand for 5 minutes. Add olive oil and shake to incorporate. Adjust flavors with more salt, pepper and/or oil.

Mix together Boston lettuce, tomatoes and spring mix. Pour red bell pepper dressing over and toss to coat. Serve.