Creamy Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

Last summer, at work, I was introduced to this Creamy Roasted Red Pepper Sauce, and it was love at first taste. We would serve it with mushroom ravioli, but it works equally well on plain pasta, and upon thinking about it, would probably be very good on steamed cauliflower or other fresh vegetables.

The way the recipe is written makes a very thick sauce. To serve, whisk a little of the sauce into a little boiling milk on the stove, bring it back to a boil, and pour it over whatever you are serving. If you thin it more, you could even use it for a very rich soup... just thinking about a warm bowl with some gnocchi floating in it is making me hungry.

I copied (and scaled down) the recipe from work months ago, but never had the peppers to make the recipe until recently, when I bought a 2# bag of mini sweet peppers. I'm not usually a huge fan of peppers, but the sweet flavorfulness of these peppers has really won me over. 

Pepper Sauce over Home Made Noodles with Lemon Broccoli

Creamy Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup butter

1 1/4 cup milk

1 or 2 red bell peppers (or 4-8 mini sweet peppers)

pinch of crushed red pepper flakes

2 Tbsp grated parmesan

Roast the peppers over a flame, turning, until lightly blistered and blackened on the outside. Set on a cutting board and let cool, then remove the seeds and puree in a food processor until very smooth. 

In a small pot, melt the butter. Add the flour and cook briefly, stirring constantly. Slowly add the milk, stirring constantly, and bring to a boil. Add pepper puree and return to a boil. Remove from the heat and stir in the crushed red pepper and parmesan.

To serve, bring a little milk to a boil in a saucepan on the stove. Whisk in pepper sauce until the desired consistency is reached and bring back to a boil. Pour over warm pasta.

This sauce stores well in the fridge, so don't worry if you have more than you will use in one meal. 

Roasted Peppers

Thinning the Sauce

Enjoy!

-Zay