Bell peppers are one of our all-time favorite vegetables. They can be hollowed out and filled with rice stuffing. They can be cut into strips and dipped in dressing for a quick afternoon snack. Or they can be diced and used in any stir-fry, frittata, or pasta sauce. This method works well for prepping any bell pepper for any dish you want, but it's certainly not the only way! How do you slice your peppers?
What You Need
Ingredients
one or more bell peppers - green, red, yellow, or orange
Equipment
a sharp knife
Instructions
1. Slice off the top of the pepper - This removes the stem without the difficulty of cutting through or around it. Once the cap is removed, it's easy to lay it flat on the counter and slice off the edible parts.
2. Use your fingers to pull out the seeds and innards - This removes all those messy seeds in one piece. Once you have the bulk of it removed, go back in with your fingers and pull away any remaining fibrous white filaments.
3. Slice the pepper in half - Lay the pepper flat on the work surface, with the cut top down, and slice right through the middle.
4. Slice off thin strips lengthwise - You can make these strips thick or thin, depending how how you're planning to use them.
5. Line up the strips and slice across - This is easiest to do if you work with just a few strips at a time. Line them up together and simply cut across to make even squares.
Additional Notes:
• After removing the stem and innards in step 2, the pepper can be filled with stuffing and cooked.
• You can store the strips made in step 4 in water to keep them fresh and crunchy. With a little dip, this is a great afternoon snack.
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(Images: Emma Christensen)
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Just cut the whole thing in half, length-wise, with the stem still on. The halves of stem will actually pull away cleanly from the pepper halves, leaving you with all the edible goodness in one chunk - no need to trim little bits off!
I dunno, I somewhat enjoy absolutely annihilating every pepper I slice.
I hold the pepper upright and use my knife to slice down the outside of the pepper, only catching the parts that stick out, and not the parts toward the middle. I end up with chunks of pepper, while leaving the parts connected to the innards behind. You lose a bit of pepper this way, but it's super easy and you don't end up with those annoying seeds stuck to everything.
You lose some of that expensive and delish pepper by cutting off the entire top as in the above photo! I agree with kittystockings--slice in half and carefully pull the stem away from the pepper. That way you keep all of the actual pepper....
I do it like the photos, and slice the remains off the top of course. They are one of my favorite things, but often to expensive.
Weird time of year to be singing the praises of bell peppers.
I like this method:
http://www.wonderhowto.com/how-to-dice-bell-peppers-chef-ming-tsai-197828/
Oh, I was brought up too money-conscious to cut off the top portion like that, I must admit! I take a small sharp knife and cut out the core. This often takes some of the less desirable innards with it, saving me a little work later. Oh, excuse me, I think I hear an asparagus and red pepper frittata calling my name....
Ever noticed that the brightly colored bells usually have 3 major lobes and the green ones usually have 4.
I cut a small circle around the stem in the top of the bell pepper. It enables me to pull the innards out in one piece. Then, I slice in half and remove the membranes if they are too long.
I do the same as twylag-- I cut around the stem and pull it out. You don't lose all the extra pepper that way!
I hate bell peppers. Bleh.
I do what Beckster329 does, but I manage to get most of the yumminess while leaving behind the undesirable bitter bits. I used to cut out the stem and then cut up the pepper, but I find my current way lets me deal with fewer seeds and is faster.
I'm trying to grow peppers this year. I have, I believe, two 4-lobed varieties. One will go from green to purple to red, and the other will go from green to red. And since I really don't like green peppers, I hope we get some hot weather this summer to help them get to their prettier stages!
I've got to second talon up above. Take the top and bottom off, then 'unroll' the skin of the pepper with the knife. Produces a nice, even rectangle to dice evenly. You can, of course, use the trimmed top and bottom as well. Ming's demo is very good. This method produces the least waste and leaves you with a consistent product...it's a winner!
Bell pepper is botanically a fruit but it's still a culinary vegetable.
I also do it Ming's way, taught to me by ladies who sold their own bell pepper relish. No waste, and I can slice and dice in no time flat