**Roasted Garlic and Red Bell Pepper Dip**

Taken from http://www.foodnetwork.com

Ingredients

• 2 red bell peppers (capsicums)
• 1/4 cup roasted garlic
• 1/2 pound feta cheese, drained (I used cream cheese)
• 1/4 cup, plus 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil (omitted)
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves (omitted)
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano leaves (omitted)
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley leaves, garnish (omitted)

To roast garlic:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Place the garlic on a foil-lined baking sheet and rub 1 teaspoon of oil into the top of 2 heads of garlic with the top quarter removed.
Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper and place, cut side down, on the baking sheet.
Bake until the cloves are soft and golden, about 1 hour. Remove from the oven and let sit until cool enough to handle.
Squeeze each head of garlic to expel the cloves into a bowl. Mash into a paste. Set aside until needed.
Note: Each head of garlic makes approximately 2 tablespoons of roasted garlic.
Yield: 1/4 cup
(I didn’t do this, instead I separated all the cloves, tossed in oil, and baked at 325F for about 20 minutes. Mmm, goodness. Didn’t need to be mashed as it all went in a food processor)

To roast peppers:
Preheat oven to 450-500F… or to the ‘broil’ option if you have it.
Cut peppers in half, remove seeds and stems, and place on a baking sheet.
Crack the oven door and broil until the skins blacken. The more burnt, the easier the skin is to remove.
Place in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and cool for 15 minutes.
Peel and coarsely shop.

Transfer the peppers and garlic to a food processor and process until smooth.
Add the cheese and process until smooth.
With the machine running, add 1/4 cup of the extra-virgin olive oil and lemon juice in a steady stream through the feed tube.
Add the basil, oregano, red pepper flakes, and 1/4 teaspoon salt, and process until smooth.
Adjust the seasoning, to taste.
Transfer to a decorative bowl and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Before serving, drizzle with the remaining 1 teaspoon of extra-virgin olive oil and sprinkle with the parsley.


Dip on the left. 🙂 Works very well with vegetables.