How could I seriously mention not to be completely in the whole Thanksgiving holiday celebration thing? Was it just because I am a newbie? Or because of my aversion to sweet potatoes with marshmallows? I herewith change my statement from my last week post and I have to tell you I am totally convinced Thanksgiving is one of the best holidays you can be happy to attend.
Mr F and I had been invited to our friend’s friend’s house in Chicago and it was a great party with very good food (best juicy turkey ever and I never had a better tiramisu not even in Italy!) and most important this place was packed with a lot of nice people. Usually for me the worst days of the year are birthdays and holidays, it is the time I miss my family in Germany most. Surrounded by lovely people Thanksgiving run by too fast and I am thankful for great talks and outstanding hospitality.

Recently days are too short, they end just after they started and the fact that the sun is gone before the clock says 5 pm makes it even worst. Right after Thanksgiving back home from Chicago, we started to get prepared for our move from Illinois to Tennessee and I am not kidding from Germantown Hills to Germantown. Right now I am sitting on the stairs while three big guys carrying everything we own out of the front door. Fingers crossed we get our stuff back at the end of this week.

This salad was one of the last dishes I made in the old house. I was craving for something fresh, trying to detox, after all this (delicious) sugar and fat… However salad is the first thing on my mind and this is me trying to winterize one of my favorite summer salads. I used red bell pepper and roasted them, they added a nice sweetness to the dish. The anchovies in the dressing are packed with healthy fat, they came with flavor and a nice saltiness. The yellow tomatoes are just to bring some color on the plate, red ones are also absolute great. I added an egg sunny-side up for proteins and some bread and got a whole meal.

roasted bell pepper salad

Be careful with salt, this dressing might already be on the salty side, but some fresh ground pepper sprinkled over the salad is a good idea. Use any bell pepper you like but I like the red ones for roasting.
This salad can be prepared hours in advanced without loosing any flavor. I like it when the roasted bell peppers are still warm.
serves 4 as a side dish and 2 as a main entree

4 large bell pepper
1 minced garlic clove
3 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 can (55 g / 2 oz.) anchovies, rinsed
1/4 teaspoon sugar
3 fresh mint leaves
3 fresh basil leaves (more for decoration)
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 medium tomatoes
2 tablespoons capers, rinsed

Preheat the broiler in your oven. Quarter the bell pepper lengthwise and remove the seeds and membranes.
Put them on a baking sheet skin side up and broil until blistered and blackened. Still hot place them in a sealed plastic bag and let the skin sweat off for about 20 minutes (or use a bowl covered with plastic wrap).
Meanwhile prepare the dressing, put garlic, lime juice, vinegar, anchovies, sugar, mint and basil leaves in a beaker and mix well using your hand blender. Add oil in a slow and steady stream while your blender is running until thick and creamy.
Dice the tomatoes, peel the bell peppers and cut into 1 cm / 1/2 inch strips.
Arrange the bell pepper strips on a plate, top with tomatoes and the dressing, sprinkle with the capers and decorate with some basil leaves.