Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

This roasted red pepper sauce with garlic and romano cheese is absolutely amazing!  Roasting the peppers intensifies their flavor and if a little of the charred skin gets mixed into the final sauce, all the better.  This is the perfect way to use up sweet bell peppers that are a little past their prime.  Let me walk you through the process.

Start by roasting the peppers.  I like to roast whole peppers over an open flame on the stovetop or barbeque grill.  Another method that works well is to cut out the stem and seeds, then cut the peppers so they will lay flat on a foil-lined sheet pan (skin side up) and pop them under the broiler until the skin blisters and bubbles and turns black.

Place the blackened peppers in a bowl.

Cover well with plastic so the peppers can steam, which will loosen the skin.  Allow them to cool completely.  This can be done a day or two ahead of time - just pop the covered bowl into the fridge.

This is what my peppers looked like after spending the night in the fridge.  See all the liquid in the bottom of the bowl?  It's absolutely full of flavor, so I'm definitely not going to throw it away.  

Note:  You may not see that much liquid if you use your roasted peppers right away.

Strain and reserve any juices that may collect in the bowl.

Ok, now it's time to get a little messy.  I like to use a paper towel to pull the charred skin off the peppers.  I've also used a spoon or butter knife to scrape it away.  One word of caution - do not rinse the peppers under running water.  It will wash all that wonderful flavor away.  

The charred skin will remove quite easily.  Don't worry if some charred bits remain - they will add a lovely flavor to the sauce.

It's hard to believe that under that black blistered jacket, a vibrantly luscious pepper awaits. 

I told you we were going to get a little messy, but as soon as you taste this sauce you'll know it was oh so worth it!! 

Now that we've removed the charred skin, it's time to remove the stem and seeds.  The peppers are so soft, you can literally pull the stem and seeds right out. 

Now roughly chop the lovely roasted peppers and set them aside until needed.  Make sure you do this before you proceed with the recipe so you can add them to the pan at exactly the right moment.

In a large skillet over medium high heat, saute garlic in olive oil.

Stir constantly for 30-60 seconds - being careful to not burn the garlic.  As soon as you can smell the garlic, add the chopped peppers.

Mmmm. 

Sprinkle in the salt and pepper.

And a pat of butter.  Butter makes everything better. 

And here's where the sauce gets real good - add fresh basil, the best herb on earth! 

Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes.  

I wish every person reading this could smell the lovely aroma wafting out of my skillet.  I promise you would head straight into the kitchen to make this sauce. 

Place the entire contents of the pan into a blender.  Get every last drop!

Oh, and don't forget to add the strained pepper juice too.  

Add grated romano cheese.  You could also use parmesan, but romano has a little more flavor.

And a.dd a touch of cream. 

Pulse, pulse, pulse to blend. 

Don't blend it too much - it's nice if the sauce retains some texture.

Serve over pasta.  I hope you are starving, because you're going to want seconds for sure.  Enjoy! 

Items used to make this recipe:

(affiliate links)

• stainless garlic press https://amzn.to/3dDfW5p

• box grater https://amzn.to/2YUkIaz

• nutribullet https://amzn.to/3RzgE7l

• rondeau https://amzn.to/3dvDeKC

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Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

makes enough sauce to dress 1 pound pasta

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• 2 roasted red bell peppers, peeled, seeded, and roughly chopped (reserve juices)

• 10-12 medium fresh basil leaves

• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

• 3/4 ounce romano cheese, grated

• 1 tablespoon heavy cream

Directions

1. In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat.

2. Add garlic and stir constantly for 30-60 seconds.

3. Add chopped red peppers, basil, salt, pepper, and butter; cook, stirring occasionally for about 10 minutes.

4. Remove mixture from heat and place pepper mixture, cheese, and cream in a blender; pulse until blended, but still a little chunky.

5. Serve over cooked pasta.

Fresh Basil Pesto

Is there anything savory that screams summer more than fresh basil pesto?  I think not.  Make a few jars while there are ample supplies of fresh basil in your garden and keep it in the freezer to enjoy all year.  Let me show you how easy it is to make.

By the way, because some of these ingredients are hard to measure by volume, I prefer to measure by weight, but I've included both volume and weight measurements in the recipe at the end of this post.  

Start by toasting pine nuts and garlic in a dry skillet over medium heat. Stir and toss them frequently and keep an eye on them because they can easily burn.  Some people have a hard time finding pine nuts (or pinoli as they're called in Italy) so walnut can be substituted, but I really prefer to stick with tradition and use pine nuts.  The pesto can be made without nuts as well, but they add a subtle crunch.

Note the garlic clove still has its papery husk on for a bit of protection.  The husk will brown, but the clove of garlic inside won't - the only thing you'll notice is the flavor will mellow a bit.  You'll get all that garlicy goodness without the harsh bite you get from raw garlic.

When the toasted garlic clove is cool enough to handle, remove and discard the husk - it should slip right off.

This recipe will take less than a minute to make so have all your ingredients measured out and ready to go.  Basil, olive oil, grated parmesan, toasted pine nuts, roasted garlic, and fresh lemon juice.

The culinary term for this technique is called "mise en place" which is French for "everything in its place".  

The first ingredients to go into the food processor fitted with the chopping blade are the toasted garlic and pine nuts.  

Pulse the machine on and off a few times until they're finely chopped.

Next in will be the basil.

And again, pulse the machine on and off a few times until things are finely chopped.

We're going to let the processor run more when we add the other ingredients so don't pulse too much.  Let's take a peek at what it should look like at this point - mmmm.  Wish you could smell my house right about now.  

Has anyone marketed basil perfume?

Alrighty - in goes the cheese.  Pulse once or twice just to combine.

Ready for the last 2 ingredients...

The olive oil...

And a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

I like my pesto a bit on the thick side, but by all means, add more olive oil if you like.

Fresh basil pesto stores beautifully in the fridge for several days or longer in the freezer.  Just put it in an airtight container and cover with a layer of olive oil to prevent it from oxidizing (turning brown).

Ready for the fridge or freezer.

Our favorite way to enjoy basil pesto is to serve it over hot pasta.  It goes particularly well with lemon pasta if you can find it (I posted a link below).  

I added a little grated lemon zest too, not only for flavor, but because it looks so pretty.    

Ok, now that you know how easy pesto is to make, go, make, and enjoy!

Items used to make this recipe:

(affiliate links)

• pine nuts https://amzn.to/2WFOHR3

• food processor https://amzn.to/2yzA2yT

• my favorite digital scale https://amzn.to/33ntx12

• real parmesan cheese https://amzn.to/2xQotTx

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Fresh Basil Pesto

makes 1 cup

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 whole clove garlic, unpeeled

• 20 grams pine nuts (about 2 tablespoons)

• 40 grams fresh basil leaves (about 3 heaping cups of leaves)

• 80 grams grated parmesan or pecorino romano cheese (about 2.8 ounces)

• 100 mls extra virgin olive oil (5.5 fluid ounces)

• squeeze of fresh lemon juice (5 mls, or about 1 teaspoon)

Directions

1. In a small skillet over medium heat, toast pine nuts until golden brown and fragrant; remove from skillet to stop the cooking process.

2. In the same small skillet over medium heat, toast the unpeeled clove or garlic until golden and fragrant; remove from skillet to stop the cooking process and when cool enough to handle, remove and discard the paper husk.

3. In a large food processor, pulse the pine nuts and garlic until finely chopped.

4. Add basil leaves and pulse until finely chopped.

5. Add cheese, olive oil, and lemon juice; process until well mixed.

6. Store in an airtight container with a layer of olive oil on top, or freeze in small amounts for longer storage..