Baby Bell Peppers Salad with Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette | Fresh & Smoky

One of the things you’ll love about this salad is that it’s not affected by seasonality. You can pick up tomatoes and baby bell peppers at any time and create this recipe.

This recipe also plays on the produce’s natural sweetness, be it eaten raw, grilled or roasted. The tomatoes’ freshness mixed through with the soft grilled baby bell peppers is quite delicious, yet so simple in flavours.

The pièce de resistance of this recipe is the whole roasted garlic. Kept in its skin to keep the cloves intact and from burning, it is incredibly delicious.

I am mindful that not everyone eats whole roasted garlic, so I decided to serve it on the side.

Grab your share of the salad, pick out a couple of warm garlic cloves and just mash it into the tomatoes and baby bell peppers with the back of your fork.

Eat it together, and you’ll see why I love it so much!

Recipe Overview

Flavour/Texture: This is super, uber garlicky! That is the overpowering flavours you’ll get, but roasted garlic is incredibly sweet. If you’ve never tried it, please do. It will change your world!

The tomatoes are juicy and sweet; the baby bell peppers are grilled to perfection, bringing the recipe charred flavours while the dill adds anise-like taste.

As mentioned above, if you think eating whole garlic is too much, you can omit it altogether, and you’ll just have a very simple tomato and bell pepper salad with a basic vinaigrette.

Ease: Easy! There is a bit of grilling and roasting to be done but nothing complicated. You’re just charring the bell peppers on the grill quickly and placing whole garlic into the oven.

Everything else is just cutting, smashing and shaking. It’s also simple because the ingredients are easy to procure. No need to make a special trip to specialty stores.

Time: This recipe takes 50 minutes but don’t let the time put you off. 45 minutes is spent in the oven with the garlic roasting away beautifully.

All the additional prep can be done while that is happening. Prep for your main dish can also occur to maximise your time spent in the kitchen.

Ingredients for This Baby Bell Peppers Salad

Garlic: The hero of the dish. Get 2 whole garlic and make sure you get a good bulb, free of dents and bruises.

Baby bell peppers: If possible, get a variety of baby bell peppers in terms of colour. They usually come in small packets of red, yellow and orange. This will just help to enhance the colours of the dish.

Truss tomatoes: Plump, red and juicy truss tomatoes are truly great for salads. Get medium-sized ones and make sure the skin is smooth and wrinkly.

Cherry tomatoes: Just offering a different type of tomato to add to the truss tomatoes. Gives the recipe different textures. You can certainly use coloured cherry tomatoes too to give it more colour.

Shallots: I love the combination of fresh shallots and tomatoes. Shallots are less abrasive in taste compared to the onion and have a richer flavour too. Thinly slice and scatter throughout the recipe.

Dill: Aromatic, anise-like herb that will help to lift the recipe. Love the smell of dill and how you can smell it a mile away!

No doubt you’ll have more than you need so you can always use the extras for Egg Salad with Dill and Rocket or a a home made Tahini Ranch Dressing.

Variations and Substitutions

Baby bell pepper substitutes: If you can’t find the baby or mini variety, any bell pepper will do. A large one will suffice and try and get one that’s not red; otherwise, it will just blend in with the tomatoes.

Any tomato will work: If you can’t find truss tomatoes or they are costly, any other red tomato will be fine to use. Heirloom tomatoes are great for aesthetic reasons, but a good ol’ beefsteak is also ok.

Too many alliums: If you think eating a whole garlic is already more than enough, you can omit the shallots.

Dill substitute: The closest substitute for dill are fennel fronds. So if you happen to have fennel at home, you can use the fronds instead to save you from buying additional dill.

Otherwise, no other herb comes close, and I think this herb makes such a big difference to the salad. Another herb which would be great would be basil. Basil and tomato are a marriage made in heaven.

Add protein or texture: Mozzarella, burrata, or grilled halloumi turn this into a more substantial side. Toasted pine nuts or pistachios add crunch and richness.

Make it spicy: Add sliced fresh chilli or a pinch of chilli flakes to balance the natural sweetness of the roasted peppers.

Instructions for This Baby Bell Peppers Salad

How To Make Roast Garlic

Preheat the oven to 200°C or 400°F.

Cut the top off the garlic to expose the cloves. Baste with ½ tbsp of olive oil.

Place the whole garlic in a muffin tray to keep it intact and place in the oven for 45 minutes.

How to Grill Baby Bell Peppers

Coat baby bell peppers with 1 tbsp of olive oil.

On medium to high heat, place the baby bell peppers on a grill pan for about 5-7 minutes on each side until well charred.

Place the hot baby bell peppers on a plate and cover it with a bowl and allow it to steam for 15 minutes.

Remove, cut off the stem and cut down one side and open it up and lay flat on a chopping board.

Scrape off the skin with your knife. Then cut into 4-6 squares.

How to Prepare the Rest of the Ingredients

Cut the truss tomatoes into large wheels.

Cut cherry tomatoes in half.

Remove the skin and slice shallot very thinly.

Pick all the leaves off the stalk of the dill.

How to Make Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette

When the garlic has finished roasting, pick out 3 cloves with a small fork or knife. Keep the rest of the garlic intact.

Using the fork to mash the garlic until it forms a paste.

In a jar, add the garlic, 2 tbsp olive oil, 2 tbsp white wine vinegar and ¼ salt.

Shake until everything is well combined.

How To Assemble The Salad

Add the truss tomato wheels, cherry tomatoes, roasted baby bell peppers, shallots, ¾ of the dill leaves and the dressing.

Fold gently until well combined.

Place on a serving platter, sprinkle with the rest of the dill leaves for garnish.

Add the 2 whole roasted garlic on the side of the plate for people to help themselves. Works best if they are eaten together with the salad.

Season with pepper.

Serve.

How To Make This Salad Perfectly [Expert Tips]

Garlic roasting: Ensure the garlic is well basted with olive oil to prevent it from drying out. If the garlic starts to brown too quickly, cover it with foil to prevent burning.

Grilling baby bell peppers: Make sure the grill pan is hot enough before placing the peppers to achieve consistent grilling.

It is also important not to skip the steaming process. Covering the peppers after grilling helps to steam and loosen the skin, making it easier to peel.

Tomato preparation: For the truss tomatoes, use a sharp knife to make clean cuts and avoid crushing the tomato flesh.

Shallot slicing: A mandoline slicer can help achieve uniformly thin slices of shallot.

To reduce the sharpness of raw shallot, you can soak the slices in ice water for a few minutes before adding them to the salad.

Dill preparation: Be gentle when picking the dill leaves to avoid bruising. Fresh dill leaves should be bright green and aromatic.

Frequently Asked Questions

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