Roasted Red Peppers with Anchovies

I think I must have come across as fairly weird during University. I never spent any money on alcohol, despite going out just as much as everyone else (at least in my first year). I was the 'tap water' girl. Yes, I was a little weird. But I did it for two reasons: One, I am not that big a drinker anyway and two, I wanted to save money. I much preferred saving lots each week and going out for a nice meal every now and then.

Once I was at Oxford Brookes I met a few similarly minded people. We studied away through the never ending deadlines of Architectural Studies, survived our all-nighters and then... No, we wouldn't go out on the lash. We would gather at someones house and cook a nice big meal! I remember one of the meals included a crab souffle starter and a raspberry souffle dessert (which took ages to cook, due to our fantastic student oven). Another meal introduced me to a version of this recipe: roasted red peppers with anchovies. Thank you D, it was delicious and so simple!

Serves 4 as a starter

4 peppers, halved (preferably red)
8 anchovy fillets
8 small tomatoes, halved
oregano
black pepper
olive oil
goats cheese, feta or similar cheese (optional)

Preheat the oven to 170 (fan oven). In the meantime, put the halved peppers in an oven-proof dish. Place an anchovy fillet in each half and top with two tomato halves. Sprinkle with oregano and black pepper (no salt, as the anchovies are very salty). Drizzle with olive oil and roast in the oven for 20 - 30 minutes, or until peppers are soft-ish. Take out of the oven and crumble a little cheese over the peppers. Return to the oven for another 5 minutes, then enjoy with some bread to mop up the salty juices.