Tricolour Peppers in a Fresh Basil Marinade

  • 1 green pepper
  • 2 small red peppers
  • 2 small yellow peppers

Marinade

  • 3 tbsp sunflower oil
  • 1½ tbsp olive oil
  • 3 tbsp white wine vinegar
  • 2 tsp wholegrain mustard
  • 1½ tbsp fresh chopped basil
  • ¼ tsp dried oregano
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

To serve

  • 6 tsp vegan pesto sauce (available from health food shops and some supermarkets)
  • 6 ready-made pastry cups, 4cm (1½ inches) in diameter, or make your own by cutting out circles of ready-made pastry and baking them in a muffin tin
  • 18 small sprigs of fresh oregano or small basil leaves

Method

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6.
  2. Place the whole peppers on a baking sheet on the middle shelf of the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, turning them over every ten minutes, so that all sides are cooked, blistered and rather brown/black. Remove and cover with a slightly damp tea-towel and leave to cool for ten minutes.
  3. Meanwhile, make the marinade by mixing all the ingredients together in a mixing bowl.
  4. Peel the skin away from the peppers, discard seeds and stalks; cut the flesh into thin slices about 2.5cm (1″) long by 5mm (¼”) wide. Mix the strips into the marinade and leave to stand for 2-3 hours or overnight.
  5. To serve, divide the mixture into six – each plate should have a colourful ‘mound of peppers’ – pour the marinade around, and place the pastry cups, each filled with one level teaspoon of pesto sauce, on the peppers. Garnish each plate with sprigs of fresh oregano and serve with French bread or garlic bread.