Sweet & Smoky Roasted Red Pepper Relish
Roasting red peppers--whether over a stovetop kitchen burner or an outdoor grill--has been a summer staple for us since the early 1980s. This was the era of Mark Miller's Santa Fe Bar & Grill in Berkeley and the burgeoning interest in the flavors (and colors) of Mexico and the American Southwest throughout the US. San Francisco based Lazzari Mesquite found its way into John A. Brown Kitchenware, a local shop I managed, and on to adventurous homes throughout the SF Bay Area with home chefs looking to cook with natural firewood instead of compressed sawdust and additives.
Simply roasting the peppers, even on the stovetop, imbues them with the requisite smokiness we've come to love, however, the addition of smoked salt and smoked sugar in this recipe adds another layer of flavor. We've been enjoying this on our hamburgers this summer instead of store-bought pickle relish. Here's a link to our recent post on building a better burger: "Building a Better Burger".
