A new look at cooking and home decorating...with an attempt to add more greens to the plate, more vegetarian options & hopefully lots of new ideas to explore

Friday, March 13, 2009

Picante Sauce


Picante sauce is a Spanish(from Spain) sauce which is tomato based. There are many, many versions of Picante. Often the sauce has a roux mixed in to make it a little thicker and lighter in color. Sometimes mushrooms are added. Somewhere between a sauce and a salsa, it has a tart/sweet thing going on that makes it unlike an Italian tomato sauce. The "heat" can come from pepper, pepper flakes or one recipe used bloody Mary mix to speed up the process... I like this version which is simple enough for anyone to make.

3 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium yellow onions, peeled and cut into a small dice
5 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
2 teaspoons sweet (dulce) Paprika
1/4 cup water
1 can of crushed tomatoes
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
pinch of salt
1 1/2 tablespoons sherry
1/2 teaspoon brown sugar

Heat olive oil over medium - medium low heat in a small pot or saucepan (about 4 quart). Add the onions and cook 5-7 minutes (do not brown). Add in the garlic and cook 1 minute. Add the remaining ingredients and bring the heat up to a simmer then let the mixture cook for 15-20 minutes, stirring often.

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