roasted red pepper sauce

meatballs nestled in a roasted red pepper sauce

A nice change from the classic tomato sauce, this roasted red pepper sauce is really simple and your kids probably won't even notice that it's any different.  Tonight I served it with meatballs and rotini.  You can use it with other proteins (chicken, fish) or simply with any pasta as a quick meal.

what you need:

*makes enough sauce for 4 servings

• 3 red bell peppers
• 1 1/2 tbsp paprika (you can use smoked if you want more of a smokey flavour)
• 1/4 yellow onion
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1/4 tsp dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp coconut sugar (or brown sugar)
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 tsp worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

what to do:

1. If you have a gas stove, you can roast the red peppers directly on the flames.  Just turn every so often to get them charred (blackened) on the outside - they are ready when they are softened and blackened.  If you don't have a gas stove, roast them in the oven at 450 F on a lined cookie sheet, also until blackened on the outside.
2. Place roasted peppers in a bowl and cover with lid or plastic wrap.  This will trap the heat and continue to steam the peppers.  Meanwhile, prep your other ingredients by chopping the onion and garlic finely, and measuring out your herbs.
3. Once peppers are cool enough to handle, remove outer blackened skin (this should come off easily) and then the inside core/seeds.  Puree until smooth.
4. In a sauce pan, heat up olive oil on medium and add onions.  Cook until softened and sweet, but not browned (therefore important to keep heat at medium).  Add garlic and sauté for another minute - then add the dried herbs and paprika, stirring consistently.  Once fragrant, add pureed peppers, worcestershire sauce, and sugar.  Bring to a slow boil then reduce to simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes.
5. The sauce is now ready - at this point you can use it on top of pasta or your protein - or you can put your protein into the sauce and let it simmer in the sauce for awhile to soak up more intense red pepper flavours.  I baked off my meatballs in the oven then transferred them to the sauce to simmer for about 15 minutes before serving with rotini.
6. Enjoy!