Because of their puzzling shape, bell peppers can be difficult to cut into consistently even slices. I've found that the method below produces the best results.
1. With a sharp chef's knife, cut off the top of the pepper just below the shoulder so that you remove the entire stem end, exposing the ribs inside the pepper.
2. Squarely cut off the narrow bottom. Reserve the trimmed ends. The pepper will now be shaped like a cylinder.
3. Set the pepper on one end and, with the tip of your knife, make one neat vertical slice to open the cylinder.
4. Set the pepper skin side down and work the knife along the inside of the pepper (with the blade parallel to the work surface), removing the ribs and seeds while unrolling the pepper so that it lies flat.
5. You now have a neat rectangle of bell pepper that you can julienne or dice. You can trim and chop the reserved ends as well.
