Whenever I decide to fire up my grill I will plan out several days worth of meals to utilize all that smoky, fire kissed flavor. Per usual, I grilled a bunch of different vegetables, including a red and orange bell pepper and the following sauce was born. I chose to serve it over spaghetti, as I have quite the collection of dried pastas in my pantry, but it could easily be served on anything from potatoes to polenta to fish or chicken. As a side note, I sneaked in a good bit of leftover grilled veggies so the sauce would also be a perfect way to hide those from any picky eaters.

Fire Roasted Bell Pepper Sauce

Ingredients:

1 Red Bell pepper

1 Orange Bell pepper

1/2 cup chopped leftover grilled Mushrooms

1/2 cup chopped leftover grilled Asparagus

2 lg Tomatoes, chopped

1/2 Sweet Onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, skin removed

1/2 cup loosely packed fresh Oregano

1 cup dry Red Wine

Salt and Pepper to taste

Method:

Prepare a charcoal grill. Once the coals are white hot, sear the red and orange bell peppers over the hottest section of coals until the skin is blistered and blackened. Remove from the grill and cover in aluminum foil to allow the peppers to steam. Once cooled remove the blackened skin and discard. Grill the mushrooms and asparagus until tender. In a large food processor, puree the bell peppers, grilled veggies, tomatoes, and fresh oregano in batches if needed. Transfer the puree to a sauce pan, add the red wine, salt and pepper, and over med low heat simmer the sauce until the sauce has reduced and thickened, about 20 to 30 minutes. Adjust seasonings as needed. Serve sauce over pasta of choice.

Garnishes: Red Pepper Flakes, Cracked Black Pepper, Grated Fresh Parmesan, and Broccoli Sprouts