Smooth Sweet Red Pepper Sauce

• 2 cups water
• 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 plump garlic cloves, peeled
• 1 medium onion (about 4 ounces), peeled and quartered
• 2 large shallots, peeled and sliced in half
• 1 cup roasted red peppers (brine-packed), drained and cut in 1-inch pieces
• 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons roughly chopped drained sun-dried tomatoes (oil-packed)
• 1/4 teaspoon peperoncino (hot red pepper flakes), or more or less to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon salt, or more to taste
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 tablespoons poaching liquid, or more as needed
• A food processor

1. Pour the water and vinegar into a small saucepan and drop in the bay leaves, garlic cloves, onion, and shallots.
2. Bring to a boil, and cook, uncovered, at a gentle boil for 25 minutes or so, until the vegetables are cooked through, translucent, and easily pierced with a fork.
3. Turn off the heat, lift out the vegetables, and let them drain and cool briefly.
4. Discard the bay leaves, and reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid.
5. Puree the poached vegetables along with the remaining sauce ingredients in a food processor fitted with the metal blade for about 1 1/2 minutes, scraping down the bowl now and then, until absolutely smooth.
6. Taste the sauce, and add more salt, peperoncino, or other seasonings if you like; mix in a little more poaching liquid for a thinner consistency.
7. Serve the sauce at room temperature.
8. Store for a week in the refrigerator.
9. A dipping sauce for the crisp turkey tenders on page 310.
10. A second sauce for the Poached Veal Tongue on page 360 or the Poached Chicken on page 328.
11. I love the body and flavor that eggplant lends to this sauce.
12. Follow the main recipe exactly, but add to the poaching pot 1 1/2 cups of firm eggplant peeled and cut in 2-inch chunks.
13. (In summertime, I poach young tender-skinned eggplant without peeling.)
14. Cook and drain the eggplant along with the onions and garlic.
15. Before adding the eggplant to the food processor, remove any seeds from the chunks.
16. And one more suggestion:
17. If you happen to have on hand some homemade marinated eggplant allUccelletto (Poached Eggplant with Vinegar, Garlic, and Mint; page 252), you can use that instead.
18. Take a cup (or two) of the eggplant wedges, with some of the mint in which they are marinating, and puree with all the other red-pepper sauce ingredients.
19. This version of the sauce is so good, you should make the marinated eggplants just to try it!

water, red wine vinegar, bay leaves, garlic, onion, shallots, red peppers, tomatoes, peperoncino, salt, extravirgin olive oil, poaching liquid, processor

Taken from www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/smooth-sweet-red-pepper-sauce-384537 (may not work)