Sweet peppers or Bell peppers are native to Mexico and other Central American regions and were spread to the rest of the world by Spanish and Portuguese explorers during 16th and 17th centuries. Today they are used around the world. The largest producer is China. The fruit is green when young and then progresses to shades of red and yellow as it ripens on the vine.
I love cooking shows, but there is a part of me that gets a little miffed because so many of them - especially the "reality" type ones - rely on doing things in 20 minutes (or less). In my kitchen, the best ingredient I've found is time. A flavorful, deep, complex sauce takes time. If you are in a hurry this recipe is likely not for you. However, if you want a sweet pepper sauce that actually tastes like peppers, taking the time to roast the peppers makes all the difference. Start to finish this sauce took me just under two hours.
The other day I acquired a nice bag of mini red, yellow, and orange peppers. I've been nibbling through them, but like many who live small - I'm challenged to use them up before they go bad. A quick search for red pepper sauce on the web yielded lots of recipes - but most of them relied on adding cream and/or tomatoes. I wanted a sauce that would showcase the peppers themselves without being weighed down by cream or altered by the acidity of tomatoes. This is what I came up with.
~Ingredients:
Fresh red/yellow/orange sweet peppers (see below for quantity)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 of a large sweet onion (medium diced)
2 cloves garlic (minced)
1/4 cup white wine (approx)
1.5 cups pork stock
sugar (optional to taste)
salt & pepper to taste
~Method:
- Roast the peppers: Cut peppers in half (pole to pole) and remove stems, seeds and membranes. Place them cut-side down on a lightly oiled sheet pan (or use parchment for easier clean-up). Place in a hot oven and roast for 20-30 min or until skins are darkened. Remove the pan from the oven and cover tightly with foil. Set the tray aside and let them "steam" to loosen the skins. When cool enough to handle, peel off the tough skins and compost. Cut the remaining tender flesh medium dice and set aside.
- In a 10" flat sided skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. When butter is hot add onion and saute until onion is soft, translucent, and beginning to release moisture. Add diced sweet peppers and garlic and continue to saute about 5 min. Add white wine to deglaze the pan and reduce until alcohol flavor cooks off and liquids are reduced. The mixture should still be wet with only a little moisture remaining. Add the stock to the pan and increase heat to medium-high. When the mixture comes up to simmer, reduce the heat slightly and simmer until stock volume is reduced to about 1/2 cup.
- Transfer pan contents to a food processor and puree until smooth. Pass this mixture through a fine-mesh sieve and press to separate liquids from solids into a small clean saucepan. (You can re-purpose the remaining solids at this stage as a spread for sandwiches or a dip for crudites . Maintain the sauce over low heat and finish seasoning with salt, pepper, and sugar to taste.
As you can see above I used this as a sauce for breaded chicken, but it also makes a good pasta sauce.
