Piquillo sauce

Piquillo sauce is a Spanish sauce made primarily from piquillo peppers, which are small, sweet red peppers traditionally grown in Navarre and often fire-roasted.

The sauce is known for being mildly sweet, slightly smoky, sometimes tangy very smooth and rich.  It is served with a wide range of foods, including grilled meat, fish, vegetables and tapas dishes.

Preparation Time: 15 Mins

Cooking Time: 45 Mins

Total Time: 1 Hr

Ingredients

For 4 servings…

1                    Pepper  - red           

2 tbs               Olive oil    

2                    Shallots  - chopped   

1½ cloves         Garlic  - chopped finely          

2                    Bay leaves  

1 tbs               Sugar  - caster         

50 ml              Sherry  - manzanilla  

125 ml             Water       

                     Pepper      

                     Salt          

Method

In a hot oven (200°C), dry-roast the red pepper for 30 minutes.  Let it cool for a while and then peel it, cut it open, remove the seeds and then finely slice it.

Heat 25ml of the oil in a medium-sized pan.  Add the shallots, garlic and bay leaves and gently fry for about 5 minutes, until just translucent.  Add the pepper to the pan with the caster sugar.  Stir well. Add the manzanilla Sherry and the of water, bring to the boil, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for another 5 minutes.  Remove the pan from the heat and allow it to cool a little.  Pour the sauce into food processor and blitz until smooth.  Season with salt and pepper and use.