This week everyone is getting roasted red Carmen peppers. We roasted and froze them this summer when we had tons and what a treat it will be to have a little bit of summer in our last CSA share.

Carmen peppers are a really thick walled sweet red pepper. To prepare them from this frozen state just let the peppers thaw overnight in the refrigerator or leave them on your counter for an hour or two. Then rinse them under the faucet to get rid of the seeds and skin. They will look like this after you defrost and clean them.

The possibilities are endless with what you can do with these. I love them added to grilled cheese or any pasta dish, add them to egg or tuna salad, top a pizza with them, any rice or grain bowl would be so delicious with roasted peppers. I really like to make Romesco sauce. Like roasted Carmen peppers, this sauce makes just about anything more delicious.

The ingredients are almost exactly the same for making pesto if you swap the peppers for basil. Nuts, oil, garlic (hard to see but there) and acid (vinegar, I ended up adding lemon too) same as pesto. Anything dish you like with pesto I think you will like with Romesco sauce.

This couldn’t be any simpler to make. The hardest part is cleaning the blender or food processor, depending which you use. Oh, I usually use tomatoes or sundried tomatoes. I didn’t have any so I left them out. I didn’t miss them. I liked the texture better I think without.

Romesco Sauce

• 1 pound of roasted red peppers seeded and peeled
• ½ cup raw or roasted almonds or any nut
• 2 medium-to-large cloves garlic peeled
• 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• ½ teaspoon each of salt and pepper to taste
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tomato or 1/4 cup sundried tomatoes (optional)
• 1/2 the juice of a lemon. I added this after I tasted it. Taste yours and see if you want a little more zip

Put everything in a blender or food processor and blend until you are happy with the texture. I made it smooth this time. Sometimes I like it a little chunky so I can taste the almonds. Both ways are nice.

I was at a Farm to Table dinner one time (exactly one time) and the vegetarian meal was roasted vegetables served with Romesco sauce. It was delightful. It was made with summer vegetables but winter vegetables make just as lovely a dish I think.

Well CSA Fam. This is it. Our longest winter CSA will be in the books this Thursday. We can’t say enough how much we appreciate your support and loyalty.

Virtual hugs to all of you. Be well, hopefully we’ll see you back here in May.

Mo