Red Pepper Puree

This stuff is good on everything!

Recently ChefSteps has been posting about making dinners by pairing proteins with a vegetable puree and a salad.  Great idea, but what vegetables to puree?  I have done peas (popular recipe around here) but was looking for something with zing.  That's when I started researching doing peppers.  I found this recipe for a roasted red pepper puree which seems to have been copied multiple times but it lacked oomph!  Hence my improved version.

You'll need;

• 5 Red peppers
• 1 Habenero (seeded) (I show two in the pictures, but I didn't use one)
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1.5 Tbsp Lemon or lime juice (or the juice of one lime or half a lemon)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 clove garlic

Preheat oven to 450. Line a sheet pan with wide foil or foil laid out the wide way so as to make a surface that can be closed around the peppers later without touching them. Oil this sheet and lay out the peppers. Brush/spray them with oil if you want.

Bake in the oven for about 40 minutes turning every 10 minutes. 

After 10 mins..

Nearly done.

Meanwhile cut off the stems and remove the seeds and membrane from the habaneros.  Put the citrus, garlic and habaneros in the blender.

The peppers should char and sag/deflate a bit when they are done.

Perfect!

Your kitchen will smell of capsasin goodness as this process finishes.

When they are done fold the foil around them but try not to let the top of the foil touch the peppers.  You are trying to let them steam as they cool.

Let them cool for about 10 to 15 minutes and them gently peel the skins away.  remove the tops and seeds and put the flesh in the blender.

Skin peels off evenly -- they are still hot to the touch.

Blend for about 15 sec and slowly add the olive oil.  Add the salt and pepper too.

After it emulsifies scrape down the sides and taste.  Add citrus or salt to balance it out.  Mine almost always needs more salt.

Store in a Tupperware in the fridge for a week or two or freeze for months. Tonight's application;
Pork Chops and red pepper puree served with asparagus.

Now I went on after dinner to experiment a bit more.  I took a cup of the puree and added a cup of chicken stock and some chives...brought it to a simmer and instant red pepper soup!

 Continuing, I added a quarter cup each of the puree, frozen corn and cream to the soup and made red pepper and corn chowder.

To be honest I added a Tbsp of butter and some more black pepper to finish the flavor, but this is a winner.  It also shows how versatile this puree can be.  I have put it on fish, pork, eggs and potatoes so far.  The fact that it makes a soup base that reminds me of New Mexico is a great bonus.