As of this morning, summer is officially over for me. This summer has been packed with trips, classes, and food but I think I am ready to go back to school. Granted, I don’t start school for another week but instead have 12 hour days full of band, marching band that is. After sitting on my butt for the past couple of weeks, this upcoming week is going to be intense (and fun.)
So in honor of summer ending and the fact that lately I have almost exclusively posted tomato recipes, I give you something non-tomato (but still in the summer fashion): a roasted red pepper sauce.
I love the slightly sweeter taste of the red pepper compared to green and when you roast them- the flavor gets even better. I love when I can get red peppers local because I find it hard to justify paying $2 dollars for one red pepper at the store (even if I really want a red pepper!)
While I added a cream/cheese base, the recipe would be good without it if you are looking for a vegan sauce. Pureeing the peppers makes for a “creamy” sauce on it’s own but I couldn’t resist making the sauce extra creamy.
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ medium onion
- 3 clove garlic
- 1½ cup roasted red peppers
- ½ cup fresh basil
- ¼ cup white wine
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon unbleached all purpose flour
- ¾ cup milk
- 1 cup Gruyere cheese
- parm and basil for topping
- salt and pepper to taste
- In a medium sauce pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and cook until onions are translucent and garlic is fragrant: 5-7 minutes. Add in red peppers and basil, continuing to cook until peppers are heated through. Stir in white wine and continue to cook for one more minute. Remove from heat and carefully pour into a food processor. Turn on food processor and let run until pepper mix is creamy and only have small lumps. Set aside.
- Rinse out the medium sauce pan and add in the butter over medium heat. Once butter has melted, whisk in flour and continue to cook for 1-2 minutes. Whisk in milk, stir constantly, and continue to cook until the sauce begins to thicken. Remove from heat and stir in cheese, continually stirring until cheese has melted. Stir in pepper mixture and return to stove stop. Over medium low heat, return sauce to a warm temperature to serve.
- To serve, pour over your choice of pasta and top with parmesan and more fresh basil.
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