Peppers are a common, day-to-day ingredient because of their unique flavour and versatility. The key to cooking with peppers is to make sure all the seeds are discarded. Here Gordon shows how to chop peppers by cleverly removing the seeds with little waste
As always when chopping vegetables, use a sharp knife.
Trim the stem off the top of the pepper and place the pepper stem-side down on the chopping board.
Gripping the pepper with one hand so it stays still, take your knife, place it in the centre of the pepper and angle it to the outside.
Following the skin of the pepper cut a side of the pepper away, leaving the seeds and core on the inside.
Now, twisting your pepper, repeat this process around the outside until you are left with just the core inside.
Discard the seeds; you don't want to eat these as they remain hard and only add a bitter flavour.
Now its time to julienne. That's a posh term for thinly slicing your vegetables. You get a great stir fry when the vegetables are all thin and cut to the same size.
Take a side of the pepper and place it skin side down on the board. It's much easier to cut through the flesh to the skin.
Using your hand as a guide, slowly chop the peppers in thin slices lengthways. Repeat this process until all the pepper is chopped.
