So this small red pepper had been sitting on the middle shelf of the fridge for some time, blinking into the light, looking out expectantly every time the door was opened, silently shouting, “roast me!” “dip me in some hummus!”, “stuff me!” But time after time it was left disappointed and in the dark, until one day… it was taken out, blended to a pulp and poured over some pasta.
What to use – serves 2
- 2 red peppers
- 1 red onion
- 4 cloves of garlic
- pinch of chilli flakes
- juice of half a lemon
- 1 tbs creme fraiche
- 25g pecorino – grated
- sea salt and black pepper
How to use it
Set the oven to 180C fan or 200C. Halve the onion – skin on and place on a non-stick tray along with the whole red peppers and garlic cloves in their skin. Drizzle the veg with olive oil, then turn the onion over so it’s cut side down.
Roast for about 20 minutes or until the skin of the peppers is blackened, inside soft, and the onion is soft and sweet. The garlic cloves should be soft – they might take a couple more minutes.
Take out and leave to cool for a couple of minutes, then peel the veg. De-seed and peel the peppers, squeeze the garlic from its skin, and peel the onion.
Put the veg into a blender and add a pinch of chilli flakes, a table spoon of creme fraiche, a good pinch of salt, a squeeze of lemon juice, and a table spoon of water. Blend for about a minute, until smooth, adding a bit more water if it needs it. Taste and adjust ingredients and reblend until you like it. (Remember the cheese hasn’t been added yet.)
Pour the blended sauce into a pan and when ready to eat, re-heat and melt in the grated pecorino. Taste, add more cheese and season to taste.
eatburpsleep 