From the Nest

We'd like to dub Wednesdays From the Nest days, where we focus on homey (not homely) things like cooking in and making your home lovely. We'll post some recipes, highlight some home wares we love, and get all cozy-like. So, this Wednesday, we've got a recipe for you. This one's Roasted Red Pepper Sauce and it's pretty versatile. You can use it as a dip for toasted bread or pita, vegan meatballs (recipe to come), or top off a vegan meatloaf with it. So here we go:

Roasted Red Pepper Sauce
- 1 tomato, cut into 1/8's
- 3 medium red bell peppers, cut into 2" squares
- 5 cloves of garlic, smashed and peeled
- 10 leaves of fresh sage (Totally optional. Gives it more of a robust taste.)
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast (Again, optional. Makes it a little more creamy/cheesy.)
- 2 tbsp canola oil
- 1 tsp salt, more to taste

If you're new to cooking, here's the deal with garlic—if you cut off the end that was originally attached to the plant (the more dried, brown end), you can then smash it down with a large knife. After you do that, peeling the skin off is a cinch. A million times better than trying to do it otherwise.

So, in a skillet (preferably cast iron...they're the BEST), roast the pepper, tomato, and garlic on high in a very little bit of oil. Cook for 5 minutes and then turn/stir the peppers, tomato, and garlic, evening out the layer so that everything is making contact with the skillet as much as possible. Cook another 20 minutes or so, turning and evening out the layer every
five minutes. Allow the red pepper to blacken a little, but not burn all over. After 20 minutes, throw in the sage leaves and cook for about 2 minutes, letting the sage brown a little, but not entirely. It should still show green in the middle of the leaves. Remove from heat and allow it to cool for at least ten minutes. More's fine. Place the vegetables form the skillet into a blender and add the salt, nutritional yeast, and oil. Blend on high, stirring to make it consistent. And you're done!