Cooking Time: 1 hour
Yield: About 2 cups
Plan-Overs: Because of the high acid content, this sauce will keep in the fridge for 3 to 4 weeks
INGREDIENTS
2 large red bell peppers
1 large tomato, cored
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 large red onion, roughly chopped
3/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
10 small fresh red Thai chilis, stemmed, or 10 dried chile de árbol, rehydrated in 1/2 cup of water, or in a pinch, 2 fresh serrano chilis
1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2 bay leaves
Zest of 2 lemons
1/2 cup olive oil
METHOD
Blacken the red peppers and tomato over a gas burner or barbecue.
Transfer to a bag for 5 minutes, then peel off and discard the skins along with the seeds and stems.
Reserve.
To a food processor, add the bell pepper, tomato, garlic, onion, lemon juice, vinegar, chilis, paprika, oregano, salt and pepper.
Purée until smooth.
Transfer the sauce to a medium saucepan over medium heat and add the bay leaves.
Bring the sauce to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook uncovered for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally
to incorporate the bits that sink to the bottom. Sauce should reduce by about 30% to 50%.
Let the sauce cool, remove the bay leaves, and then return the sauce to the food processor.
Add the lemon zest. With the processor running, drizzle in the olive oil until it is all incorporated.
Here is How To Cook the Perfect Piri Piri Chicken
Gastronaut, author, and eight-time Guinness World Record holder Bob Blumer is best known as the creator and host of Food Network’s award-winning shows Surreal Gourmet, Glutton for Punishment, and World’s Weirdest Restaurants. He has also written seven cookbooks in which he transforms ordinary ingredients into wow-inspiring dishes through simple cooking methods and whimsical presentations that have become his culinary trademark. His 7th book Flavorbomb: A Rogue Guide to Making Everything Taste Better is a collection of the tricks, tips, hacks and techniques he gleaned as he ate his way around the globe for the past 25 years. The Toronto Sun says “Blumer once again pushes boundaries, but in a way that encourages readers to let go their own culinary hesitations to create simple meals built on layers of flavor.”
Bob is a long-term ambassador for Second Harvest, Toronto, a perishable food bank. He is also the ambassador for Love Food/Hate Waste, a national Canadian zero-waste initiative. When he is not traveling for work or pleasure, the transplanted Canadian cycles daily in the canyons near his home in the Hollywood Hills, doing his best to stay in shape for his next big adventure.
