Every now and then when I go to one of the shops here close by, they have boxes full of vegetables and fruits for next to nothing (price-wise). In one of my previous posts, I also made roasted peppers, or I showed you the technique I used to fire roast them. This week I will show you how I make three sauces/condiments from these wood fire-roasted peppers. Firstly, I show you how I use some of the roasted peppers for a sweet and sour condiment that I put in salads. Secondly, I show you how I make a semi-sweet and sour roasted pepper sauce. Lastly, then I show you how to make a romesco style/inspired sauce. I will conclude by showing you how I make a wild greens salad with all the condiments/sauces.

1. Sweet and Sour Roasted Pepper Strips

After I roasted the peppers, I find the darkest or most well-done peppers with some charring on them still. I cut these peppers into strips of a centimetre long and throw some sugar and vinegar on them. I also put some of the roasted pepper "water" that accumulated at the bottom of the pan. This water is super smokey and adds a ton of flavour.

The sweet and sour with the smokey element I used here as well as in sauce two (below) is simply 1 part vinegar, 1 part sugar, and one part smokey water. (Here I used three kinds of vinegar: Apple cider, brown spirit vinegar and Lemon juice (which is not vinegar).)

(Here you can see the smokey water that accumulated at the bottom.)

(After the smokey water is added.)

2. Smokey Roasted Pepper Sauce

This sauce is similar to Tabasco Jalapeño, but it is not fermented. I used the same sweet and sour base which I threw over the pepper strips, but I then blended it all smooth. I strained the liquid and used it in sauces (like the salad dressing at the bottom of the post).

3. Romesco Inspired/Style Sauce

This roasted pepper base sauce (inspired by the romesco style sauce) is so versatile and I love to use it on so many things. I make a pizza sauce with it, I make sauces for pasta with it, the creativity this sauce can be used for is endless. It is also such a simple recipe. I use the peppers in combination with the "pulp" I gathered from straining the previous sauce. This strained pulp is already sweet and acidic, so no need to add more of these elements. I give some onions a light browning in the pan with some tomatoes, and then I add a healthy amount of olive oil and tomato paste. I blits them with the blender only until the sauce starts to form. I like it chunky and with heterogeneous bits (if you watch the YouTuber Adam Ragusea you will understand the reference).

The Salad

I like to make complicated salads which are complicated for no reason other than I can do it. This salad contains some of the roasted pepper strips and the roasted pepper sauce. It also contains roasted pumpkin pieces, olives, salami and feta cheese. The leaves all come from the garden: Dandelion greens, rocket leaves, wild rocket leaves and mustard greens.

I hope you have the opportunity to make this! I know that peppers are expensive. Maybe you will be lucky enough to grow them yourself, or that you have a friend that grows too much. In any case, this is such a versatile ingredient, it makes for the best sauces! I hope you try it and stay healthy!