Red Pepper Paste For Aperos And More…

 with Suzanne Dunaway

My vegan stepgrandson produced this brilliant pepper paste at a recent family reuion, and all summer long I have been buying those sweet little multicolored peppers that are found in most markets and popping them into a hot oven to brown, then puréeing them into a dipping paste for aperos, lunches, whenever you have a pepper craving. And the paste, when thinned with a little broth of any kind, makes a lovely pasta sauce for a quick dinner.

His version contains pomegranate molasses, which evidently many have in their larder, along with sumac, which the recipe calls for, but I was very happy with a small squeeze of eucalyptus or any kind of honey and no sumac. Then I discovered a package of sumac powder, which I had ordered long ago for curries, in the back of my over-stocked fridge and put it into the mix on a second run. There was not much difference but sumac is nice for many dishes if you wish to purchase a little.

The only prep needed is to poke each pepper with a sharp knife so that they can brown and collapse easily and quickly, but I have a warning about these jewels: when they are ready and cooling out of the oven, you will be tempted to have a little taste and you can eat the whole shebang, and it becomes very difficult to stop at one…

I make a slit in each pepper, brush them with olive oil and bake in a hot oven, 200C/400F for about 25-30 minutes. They are then ready for making the paste or any other recipe with peppers that you like.

Maybe buy a few extra for that try-out period…

And oh, the vitamins!

Red Pepper Paste

• A good dozen (or a few more) of what are called in the USA Lipstick Peppers, or 2 very ripe red or yellow pepper, seeded and roasted in a hot oven as you would the little ones
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/2 cup/100g roasted almonds or walnuts
• 1 tablespoon of homemade tomato sauce or tomato paste
• ¼ cup/50g of bread crumbs
• A pinch of chili flakes
• 1 teaspoon of honey or pomegranate molasses
• 1 teaspoon of powdered sumac
• Salt to taste
• ¼ cup/50ml olive oil or enough to make a nice dipping paste

Ìn the top of a food processor, place all of the ingredients and whiz them into a nice smooth sauce thick enough to spread on crackers or use as a dip. That’s it. My weakness is that I love this paste and have to have a spoon or two, no crackers needed! I feel health coursing through my body!