Sweet pepper sauce

[drew51]

I made a sweet pepper sauce to serve with Cod today. I found the recipe on the net. I was rather disappointed with it. It may be the store bought peppers? It was rather bitter. Anybody have a good recipe for a good pepper sauce for fish, chicken or rice? Any preferred peppers, hot, mild or sweet to use with these dishes? I made the sauce ahead of time and it tasted pretty good, but aging a few hours in the fridge made it bitter. I was hoping flavors would meld better, that didn't Happen! Maybe I should have aged it on the counter??

[KarenO]

I make a pepper sauce with some mildly hot but sweet red peppers and onions. I cook them together slowly with a nice olive oil to carmelize the onions which brings out the sweetness then puree with a little vinegar and a touch of brown sugar which makes a lovely dark orange/red sauce which has a sweetness I like. The main secret is the slow sauté to carmelize the sugars before blending. you can use a mix of sweet and hot peppers. and it will keep for ages in the fridge
Karen
Karen

[Hermitian]

Yes, the slow simmer. Chemical changes begin at 170F and above. A gas stove or a double boiler is your friend. I grow the "blocky" sweet peppers for stuffing. For flavor, the Corno's (aka Bull's Horn) are my favorite: Corno Verde, Corno Yellow, and Corno Red.

[drew51]

What no garlic? Yeah, I need to go to the market and get some good peppers, that would certainly help. Or wait till next fall when I have my own!
I'll try the caramelized onions. It needed something!

[BucksCountyGirl]

Did you ever try Romesco Sauce? It is a Spanish sauce that really highlights roasted red peppers and is excellent with fish (and chicken). I make this all the time in the summer when my sweet peppers are coming in, but you could certainly substitute red bells from the super market.
I blister my peppers whole over my gas stove and then put them in a glass bowl covered with plastic wrap to steam for a bit. Once they are cool enough to handle the skins basically fall off. Easy Peasy. My recipe is below:

Romesco Sauce
1 small head roasted garlic
1/3 cup almond slivers (toasted in a dry skillet or on a sheet pan in the oven until just lightly brown)
1 small slice of white bread (acts as binder)
3 large roasted red peppers (skin and seeds removed)
1/2 tsp of smoked or regular paprika
1 1/2 TBS sherry vinegar
4-5 TBS olive oil (preferably extra virgin)
kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

1. Place garlic (squeezed from skins), almonds and bread in to a food processor and pulse the mixture until it is ground fine.
2. Add the peppers, paprika, vinegar and 3 tablespoons olive oil, and process until the mixture is a thick puree. Add additional oil to reach desired consistency.
3. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Makes about 2 cups

[drew51]

OK, that sounds really good too, thanks!

[KarenO]

need to be careful with cooking garlic, roasting it whole in foil til it is all soft and mushy will make it sweet but browning it will make it bitter. maybe that was the trouble in the first sauce?
Karen

[drew51]

Originally Posted by KarenO

need to be careful with cooking garlic, roasting it whole in foil til it is all soft and mushy will make it sweet but browning it will make it bitter. maybe that was the trouble in the first sauce?
Karen

No, it was used raw. I love garlic! It was the peppers, they were just not that good. Next week or the week after I'll go to the Italian market which carry all kinds of peppers. I'll purchase some non-bell sweets. Try both mentioned recipes. I'm interested in all sauces with peppers. I really like to cook. I'm a newbie in cooking too. My wife broke both her arms and i was forced to do everything. I never realized how hard cooking was. So now I cook 4 days a week, and have for the last 4 years. The wife cooks the other days. She is an awesome cook! I'm getting there!

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by drew51

No, it was used raw. I love garlic! It was the peppers, they were just not that good. Next week or the week after I'll go to the Italian market which carry all kinds of peppers. I'll purchase some non-bell sweets. Try both mentioned recipes. I'm interested in all sauces with peppers. I really like to cook. I'm a newbie in cooking too. My wife broke both her arms and i was forced to do everything. I never realized how hard cooking was. So now I cook 4 days a week, and have for the last 4 years. The wife cooks the other days. She is an awesome cook! I'm getting there!

A good house wife is as scarce as hens teeth these days.
They weren't appreciated in the past and almost gone now.

I see young couples in the store that look like a deer caught in the head lights.

They see food all around them and know nothing of what to do.
It is like they are trying to figure out a Stephen Hawking equation.

Have you tried Tiger sauce?
I love the stuff.

The 170 degree thing is the catch to things not being bitter.
Also removing the veins and stem ends helps greatly.
If you want you can get one of those cheap surface pointer thermometers and check your temps that way.
I would say on a stove medium low or a wee bit less is where you want it to be.
Leave it there and wait dont get in a hurry.
I like to turn on my cast iron skillet about 15 to 30 minutes to preheat on medium low before use.

Test your peppers first if they have an off taste that isn't sweet or neutral cooking down will amplify it.

This is where the Bulgarian Carrot pepper I told you of in another post really shines.

Worth

[drew51]

Thanks Worth, I forgot about the veins, they were probably in there. I roasted peppers whole. As the recipe called for it, said it was better, but i think i will clean and split before roasting next time. And get that temp up with the sauce! I have a candy themometer I could use. No I tried a lot of sauces, but not Tiger!
I will grow the B carrot next year. I do have some hots, i added a yellow Scotch bonnet as I was testing some new seed starting mix, also a few other hots in there...
Here's some of my peppers today from three different starts (testing starting media).

[b54red]

I make my own sweet red hot sauce with the milder Pappadew peppers. I use white vinegar, sugar, brown sugar, a bit of Worcestershire sauce, garlic, salt, and molasses. Molasses is the ingredient which melds the flavors together. Add it carefully because if you use too much it will definitely give it a molasses flavor. I found out about the melding of flavors by molasses when making BBQ sauce many years ago. It has the ability to take out some of that sharp bitterness and cause the different flavors to blend together better.

It may not work with the kind of sauce you are making but I would give it a try. Just be sure to taste frequently as you add the molasses so you don't end up with molasses pepper sauce.

Bill

[drew51]

Thanks, interesting. Lot's of stuff to try. I have molasses on hand, both dry and wet. I use the dry as an organic fertilizer, and the wet as a spray sticker.