Roasted red pepper sauce

This is absolutely the easiest sauce to make, and it tastes great on everything. I've served it on fish, chicken, pasta ... and even potatoes. I swirl it on the tops of soups along with a dollop of sour cream ... the uses are nearly endless. I use a lot of cayenne in this recipe; I like the juxtaposition of the sweetness of the peppers mixed with the burn of the cayenne. You use the amount that you want. If it doesn't seem like enough, add a little more until you get it just right.

If you want to roast your own peppers, just coat them with oil (if you use olive oil, it will smoke and burn, as olive oil has a lower smoke point than other oils), place them in a pan under the broiler and watch them until they get dark spots. Then turn them over with tongs and let them cook on the other side. Remove them from oven, put them in a bowl covered in a bag or plastic wrap (to loosen the skins), let cool (about 20 minutes), then pull the stem out. Then skin them; it should pull off fairly easily. You can use a knife to scrape out any seeds that didn't come out when you pulled the stem. Voila!

Of course, if you don't feel like going to the trouble, you can always used roasted red peppers in a jar. It's just as good and a lot faster.


Roasted Red Pepper Sauce


2 large red peppers, roasted and chopped, or 2 jars roasted red peppers, drained
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice, or to taste
1 1/2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar, or to taste
Cayenne, to taste

In a blender blend together the bell pepper, the oil, the lemon juice, the vinegar, the cayenne, 1 tablespoon water, and salt and black pepper, to taste.

Enjoy! Fast, easy, and delicious.