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Bell peppers add colours, nutrients, and crunchy texture to a variety of dishes across an array of cuisines, but many people shy away from using them because they cannot slice them open without making a mess. Imagine cutting bell peppers for pasta and your entire counter has little pepper seeds everywhere. Even the thought of it makes you give up on pasta or cook it without veggies.
Video Credit: Gordon Ramsay/ YouTube
It is no rocket science to cut bell peppers, but a few handy techniques can prevent the mess. Using these hacks, you will be able to save seeds and use them for growing bell peppers at home or put them in the stock for extra flavours. Take note of the following kitchen tips and work like a pro while cooking.
Remove Ribs And Seeds
If you are able to carefully dissect seeds and ribs from the rest of the bell pepper, you will be able to slice them and use them in dishes without hassle. There are three ways of doing this,
Slice Cheeks
Hold a bell pepper upright and slice off a big chunk from top to bottom. You will end with a rather flat-looking piece while the rib and seeds would seem intact. Do this on the other three sides, and you will have seeds and ribs on one side and juicy bell peppers on the other. You can use the knife to remove excess ribs without making a mess.
Remove Top
Another way to remove ribs and seeds is by chopping off the head of a bell pepper, similar to what you do with radishes, carrots, tomatoes, etc. You will notice that you are left with a hollow bell pepper with ribs and seeds intact inside it. Carefully, you use the knife to guide you into cutting the rib and take it out along with the seeds. You can also now slice the cheeks without making a mess.
Divide In Half
Like you cut a potato in half, similarly, slice a bell pepper in half vertically. You will be left with two portions with seeds and ribs intact. Use a spoon with sharp edges to scoop out the ingredients that you don’t want to use in cooking. This is another way of making less of a mess and creating less wastage while cutting bell peppers.
How To Slice Bell Peppers
Much like most vegetables, there are a couple of ways to cut bell peppers so that you can use them in your dishes. Depending on what you are cooking, you might need the veggies to be in a variety of sizes. For example, if you are adding them to pasta or salad, you might need chunks or long slices, if you are adding to lasagna, you will need small pieces.
Julienned
Julienned are large, thin, and vertical chunks of bell peppers. If you remove its top head or slice the cheeks, you will be able to achieve impeccable julienned bell peppers.
Rings
If you want to cut rings of bell peppers to be added to dishes like a keto burger pizza, or sandwich, chop off its head, and use a sharp knife to cut rings.
Sliced
If you are using bell peppers for a roasted chicken, paneer tikka, and salad, you will need to slice it. Using any of the above three techniques, you can remove the seeds and ribs and cut the slices into sizes you prefer.
Chop
No matter what technique you use to cut bell peppers, you dice or chop them easily. Add these small pieces to lasagna, ratatouille, or tuna salad for a crunchy texture.
