I am the queen of roasted things.  It’s pretty much my answer to everything.  Broccoli? Roast it.  Zucchini?  Roast it.  Almonds/cashews/hazelnuts? Roast it. Sweet potatoes.  Roast it.  Annoying relatives that randomly drop in for the weekend without calling?  Roast it.

Ok, maybe not the last one but still.  Whenever I have food that can be roasted, I’m gonna roast it.  So I was shocked that I had never roasted peppers before.  It’s not like it’s a hard process.  It couldn’t be simpler.  I just never looked at a pepper and felt the need to roast it.  Well, that time is over because roasted peppers are delicious.  They add a wonderfully smoky flavor to whatever you use them for and smoky is always good.

I put this sauce over gluten free linguine and it was fantastic.  You could use this over zoodles, in lasagna, over vegetables (roasted of course), or you know just eat it straight out of the pot.  I won’t judge.

Roasted Red Pepper Sauce- slightly adapted from Minimalist Baker’s Vegan Roasted Red Pepper Pasta

• 2 large red bell peppers
• 1/2 cup caramelized onions (or regular onion), diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 to 1 cup coconut milk
• 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 400.  Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and place the peppers on the sheet.  Roast the peppers for 20 minutes and then flip them over and roast for another 20 minutes.  The pepper should have a little char on it once it’s done.
2. Remove the peppers from the oven and place a glass bowl over them to allow the steam to loosen the skins.  Let them sit for about 15 minutes.
3. While the peppers are steaming, heat a little oil in a medium pan over medium-high heat.  Saute the onions and garlic until soft and translucent, about 5 to 7 minutes.  Remove from heat and place in a blender.
4. Take the peppers out from under the bowl and remove the skins.  The skins should slip off pretty easily.  You can leave a little bit of the char on for a more intense smoky flavor.
5. Add the peppers, nutritional yeast, salt, and pepper to the blender.  Pulse a few times to break everything up and then add in 1/2 cup of the coconut milk.  Blend until smooth.  If the sauce is still really thick add in more coconut milk, up to 1 cup.
6. Pour the sauce into a saucepan and heat through, about 5 minutes.  Serve over pasta, vegetables, or even rice.

At first glance, it looks like there are a lot of complicated steps but you’re really just roasting peppers and then blending everything together.  You could even roast the peppers ahead of time and then when you’re ready for dinner you can just throw everything into the blender and you have dinner in no time!  You can also roast the peppers in a few different ways, I just like the oven because it doesn’t take a lot of effort.  

Anyone have any fun weekend plans besides making this awesome and simple dinner?  I’m looking forward to spending some time with Adam since we haven’t been able to do that for over two weeks!  Have a great weekend everyone!