Massa de Pimentao - Roasted Red Pepper Paste

It's one of those things that is often used in Portuguese cooking, or at least for me. I find that it's the best marinade for not only pork but beef, chicken and even fish.

You can find it at the store but I've always made it at home, it's simple and it's really good too and I'm a huge believer in that if I can make it at home and see what I'm actually putting into it, I would rather do that :)



Massa de Pimentao - Roasted Red Pepper Paste

4 large red peppers
100 ml olive oil (that's about 1/2 cup)
10 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon salt (you can add more or less according to your taste)

First I start by roasting the red peppers, all I do is line a baking pan with foil, wash the red peppers well, then lay them on their side.



I turn the oven to 400 degrees, set the timer for 15 minutes and start roasting. After 15 minutes, I take my tongs and turn the pepper about 1/4 turn.



Pop back in for another 15 minutes and I keep doing that until it's nice and soft with black charred skin.

I remove them from the oven and let them cool down on the baking sheet. Once cool, remove all the skin, open them up and remove the seeds too. Set aside.



Pat them dry with a paper towel to remove any excess liquid.

Then pop them into a blender, add the olive oil, garlic cloves and salt and blend until smooth.



Pour into a mason jar and add a bit of olive oil on top to cover, it will help keep it from going moldy and will also preserve it longer :)



That's all there is to it.