Sauces, conserves & preserves
Red pepper sauce
This quick, flavourful red pepper sauce is good with simple grilled or barbecued white fish or chicken, as a dressing for steamed green veg or stirred through pasta. It's important to blacken the pepper on all sides, for flavour and also to allow the skin to be easily removed.
Ingredients
- ¼-½ bulb wet garlic, roughly sliced, use white and green parts (or use garlic 2 cloves, chopped)
- 1 tbsp sherry
- 1 red pepper
- ½-1 fresh red chilli, depending on your preference for heat, deseeded and roughly chopped
- oil for frying, e.g. vegetable or sunflower
- 2 tbsp fresh white breadcrumbs
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- 150ml olive oil
Method
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Step 1
Gently fry the wet garlic in a little oil for a few minutes, until just tender.
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Step 2
Add the sherry and cook for a minute or so until the liquid has just evaporated. Remove from the heat and leave to one side.
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Step 3
Put a skewer through the middle of the pepper and hold over a gas flame, turning at intervals, until the skin blisters and blackens, or if you have an electric hob, place under the grill and turn occasionally.
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Step 4
Remove from the heat and when just cool enough to handle, rub off the blackened skin (using a piece of kitchen paper can help). Cut in half, remove and discard the seeds and any white ribs.
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Step 5
Place in a blender or food processor with the rest of the ingredients except the olive oil, and blitz until combined. Add the oil and blend until you have a smooth paste. Reheat very gently before serving.
