Summer Goes Easy: Roasted Peppers, White Beans, Feta + Simple Herb Sauce

Hello there, and how are you? Are you getting enough summer joy?

I've been thinking about all I want to soak up before summer is over. Here is what I am inspired to do before the season changes:

• Eat all the canteloupes. I'm always sad when there are no more for the year.
• Read a book in the hammock, start to finish. Not in one day, but over a few, maybe napping between pages.
• Star gaze. The Perseids meteor shower peaks this week. Check out SkyView Lite, a free app that makes the constellations and planets come alive. When observing the night sky I feel very small, at once frightening and comforting.
• Make more summer fruit sorbet, like this one, and this one. We've had chocolate, apricot, blueberry, and blackberry sorbets this year, too, and I'll share those recipes with you, next summer.

And more to make sure of:

• Eat as many grilled hamburgers, vegetables, and fish as I can.
• Enjoy every meal outside. Mornings on the porch are charming. Mid-day snacks in the shade of the trees are refreshing. Dinners looking out at the valley are inspiring. Soon we won't have a choice but to eat inside.
• Invite as many outdoor gatherings as we can with friends and family. Nobody knows what's going to happen to our ability to gather come fall, so I will soak up all the community I can now.
• Show my appreciation to farmers by visiting as many farmer markets and stands as I can. Farmers are working so hard to bring their beautiful bounty to us. (See the Find a Farmers Market Near You links in the footer of this page for a market near you.)

Roasted Peppers, White Beans, Feta, and Herb Sauce

Using the grill to get quick and easy meals done is another summer joy I can't get enough of. This recipeless recipe is long on gourmet attitude, short on effort to actualize. Eight ingredients, three of which are herbs, and 15 minutes at the grill and, viola, you are a summer foods genius.

What are you doing to make the summer last? What will you miss about summer when it's passed?

Roasted Red Peppers, White Beans, Feta + Simple Herb Sauce

Course: Main Dish, Quick + Easy

Cuisine: Mediterranean

Season: Bounty (August - October), Mist (November - March)

Dietary: Egg-Free, Gluten-Free, Nut-Free

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes minutes

Long on gourmet attitude, short on effort and time, this recipeless guide makes summer dinner go easy. Eight ingredients, under 30 minutes, and you are a cooking genius! Use the same guide in the autumn using your oven to roast the peppers and warm the Feta and beans.

Print Recipe

Equipment

• Grill

Ingredients

Simple Herb Sauce

• 1 cup each Fresh basil, parsley, and cilantro leaves and tender stems, packed and lightly chopped
• ¼ cup Extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• Salt and Pepper, to taste

Peppers, White Beans + Feta

• 1 Red, orange, or yellow bell pepper per person
• 3 ounces Feta, block-style per person
• 1 cup Cannelini or other white beans per person
• Smoked paprika, Aleppo pepper, or Espelette optional

Instructions

Simple Herb Sauce

• Place all sauce ingredients in a food processor or blender. Whiz or whirl them all together with a healthy five-finger pinch or salt and a healthy cracking of black pepper until it is creamy and pesto-like, but not ablsolutely pureed. Add a tablespoon or two of water to loosen the sauce, if desired. It's nicest if it puddles slightly rather than stands at attention. Set aside.

Peppers, White Beans + Feta

• Stretch out a double-thick layer of foil big enough to hold the beans and feta in a single layer, folding the edges up to contain juices. If you have a grill basket use it instead, lining it with one layer of foil.
• Over medium direct heat on a gas or charcoal grill, roast the peppers. Turn them frequently to char the entire outside. If they are burning at all, move them off the heat to cook indirectly, and back and forth to get a nice roasted exterior. The peppers will puff up a bit, and will eventually collapse into beautiful modern art shapes, full of condensed juices that will deliciously spill out when each diner cuts into them. This should take 10-15 minutes, depending on the heat of your grill.
• About half way through cooking the peppers, place the foil or grill basket on the heat. Add the beans and Feta in one layer, drizzling them lightly with olive oil and sprinkling with the paprika, Aleppo, or Espelette, if using. Allow them to warm, and even brown a little if that happens, while the peppers finish.
• Move the wrinkly cooked peppers to individual plates or a platter, along with the beans and Feta. Place a big spoonful of simple herb sauce in the center. The peppers will release their warm rich juices into the plate as they are cut into, adding to the sauce. Serve!

Notes

If you are using dried beans, cook according to one of the easy Rancho Gordo methods. 

If you don't have a grill or make this during cool-weather months, use the same guide with your oven to roast the peppers and warm the beans and Feta.