While this IC Friendly recipe is quick and easy, it's vibrant color and rich flavor will appeal to everyone. This simple, yet flavorful sauce is the perfect sauce for pasta, fish, scallops and crustini's.

Roasted red bell peppers provide the base for this sauce and are the key to the great color. You can easily roast your own (instructions follow this recipe) or buy them pre made.  We are fortunate to get fresh roasted peppers for cheap at our local Farmers market.

Ingredients

4 roasted red bell peppers, chopped
1/4 cup pine nuts, divided
1/2 medium onion, finely diced
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1/2 cup fresh basil
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Optional Ingredients (to make it a cream sauce)
1/2 cup organic cream (sub half and half or whole milk as desired)
1/4 cup grated cheese (Parmeson preferred, but if it bothers your bladder, use shredded Mozerella)
3 tablespoons butter
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

• In a large sauce pan, saute olive oil and onions over medium heat until softened
• Add the garlic, roasted bell peppers and basil and continue cooking over medium heat for 10 minutes to allow flavors to blend
  
• While the pepper mixture is cooking, lightly toast the pine nuts in a skillet for 5 - 7 minutes over medium high heat (stir frequently to prevent burning)
• Remove the pine nuts from the heat and set aside to cool
• Place red pepper mixture and the toasted pine nuts in a blender and puree to desired consistency (careful, the mixture is hot and can easily blow the top off the blender).
  

To turn it into a cream sauce:

• Return puree to sauce pan and reheat until it begins to bubble.
• Stir in the cream and the cheese;cook and stir until the cheese melts
• Add the butter (if desired for extra richness), and stir until melted.
• Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Simmer for 5 minutes

Roasting Your Own Bell Peppers

• Broil red bell peppers on a sheet pan in the oven.  The bell peppers need to be within 2 inches of the broiler to achieve proper charring.
  
• Broil until the surface of the peppers bubble and then turn black, about 15 minutes.
• After the peppers are done roasting, place in a sealed plastic baggie so they can steam, making skin removal easier.
• After 5-10 minutes, you should be able to remove the skin from the peppers quite easily.