Grocery order pick-up has become a go-to for reducing shopping exposure during the pandemic. You send in your order, and either pick it up or have it delivered. Some interpretations have been surprising, like a bag of six eggplants instead of two zucchini, or eighteen single instead of eighteen ounces of Brussels Sprouts. In one of our orders instead of one Fresno pepper, we received a packet of eight.
With some Bell and Jalapeño peppers, it made a great fresh salsa of sorts. A few months have gone by now since that first packet of Fresnos arrived, and I find myself ordering by the packet now, simply to make this sauce.
It’s excellent on fish, chicken, eggs, or any dish that would be complemented by a fresh, flavourful sauce with a bit of heat. Although expected to be spicy, it tends to be bright with a bit of a kick, versus hot.
Ingredients:
2 Bell peppers (red, orange or yellow)
2 Jalapeño peppers
5-7 Fresno or similar red peppers
6 cloves garlic, peeled and coarsely chopped
1½ t kosher salt
3 T lemon juice
2 T olive oil
1½ t ground coriander
1½ t ground cumin
Directions:
Char the bell peppers using either a flame on a gas range top, or on a BBQ, as shown.
When charred well, put on a plate and cover with a bowl.
Let sit for about an hour, this will help loosen the skin.
Peel off all the skin, and remove the stem, core and seeds.
Blot dry.
Coarsely chop.
Remove the core and seeds from the rest of the peppers. Chop coarsely. Wearing a glove on the hand that holds the pepper, or hold it using a piece of paper towel, will keep your hand relatively clean of pepper oils.
Put into the bowl of a processor:
Prepared and chopped bell peppers, chopped Jalapeños, Fresno peppers & garlic.
Add in the remaining ingredients.
Process until small bits of pepper still show – don’t puree until completely uniform.
The colour of the Bell peppers will affect the colour of the finished sauce.
Put into a glass jar, cover and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.
farmhouse cook 