We were invited to a pasta-bar dinner and asked to bring a sauce. Richard chose a red pepper sauce of some sort, but I had never attempted it. Here's what I tried. It was just what we were hoping for and was a great addition to our library of pasta sauces.
3 red bell peppers
2 Tbsp. minced garlic (roughly three lg. cloves)
1/4 C. fresh basil, choppped
3 Tbsp. olive oil
2 C. half n' half (or 1 C. 1% milk and 1 C. cream)
1/4 C. Romano cheese (I used fresh Parmesan)
4 Tbsp. butter
5 Tbsp. flour
S&P to taste
Prepare and Roast the Peppers:
Preheat oven broiler. Cut peppers in half, removing seeds. Lay peppers on parchment lined cookie sheet, skin sides up. Grill peppers until blackened and soft. Remove peppers from oven and immediately place in brown sack or plastic bag, sealed. Let cool and allow to "sweat". Skins will easily come off after peppers have cooled. After skins have been removed, cut peppers into small, quarter-size pieces.
Make the Sauce:
In skillet, saute garlic, basil and peppers. Cook about 10 minutes. Place peppers and herbs in blender or food processor and puree. Return puree to skillet and reheat. Add butter and melt. Then add flour and whisk together. Allow this roux to cook for a few minutes. Add half n' half and stir until mixture starts to thicken. Add cheese and allow to melt. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer for 5 minutes. Serve over pasta.
This is a great base sauce. Would be great over chicken, topped with cheese and baked.
2 comments:
The sauce sounds really good, but does it really have that much garlic? I love garlic, but it seems that the garlic would overpower any other flavor.
(This is Maren Payne-Holmes)
It really does use that much garlic, but surprisingly it isn't too strong. I think the romano cheese might help balance the garlic flavor. I might have used slightly less when I made it. I always just guess.
-BTW, it was nice to hear from you. It took me a minute because I forgot you have added a last name! Hope you check back often.
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