Mediterranean Sauce

Mediterranean Sauce

Mediterranean Sauce is a perfect combination with pan seared fish.  Made with Vitamin C rich vegetables such as tomatoes and capsicums, this sauce is definitely a healthier option as compared to a butter or cream based sauce.

Besides serving it with fish, you can also toss it with pasta or switch it up as a filling/topping for a quick snack like Pizza Roll and Cheesy Bruschetta.

Traditional Mediterranean Sauce calls for white wine and olive in the recipe.  However, as Asian families rarely keep these ingredients in their kitchen, I've twigged the recipe a little to suit Asian home cooking.
  
 

Mediterranean Sauce (Yield about 250ml)

Ingredients:

3 tbsp                Olive Oil
1/2 cup              Big Onion, chopped 

1/2 cup              Red Capsicum, chopped

1/2 cup              Yellow Capsicum, chopped

2 gloves             Garlic, minced

200ml                 Canned Tomato (whole or diced)

1 pc                   Bay Leaf

1 tsp                  Worcestershire Sauce

1 tsp                  Salt

1 tsp                  Sugar

1/2 tsp               Black Ground Pepper

1 tsp                  Dried Parsley*

1 tsp                  Dried Oregano*

                         A dash of lemon juice (optional)






*You can used 'Italian Spice' or 'Pizza Topping Herbs' instead, if available.

Direction:  

1. Heat up olive oil in a pot.  Sautee onion and garlic for about 1 minute.  
2. Add in chopped red & yellow capsicums.  Fry briefly. Then add in 200ml of canned tomato.  If using whole tomato, use a spoon to break the tomato into smaller pieces gently.  Add in a piece of bay leave and let it simmer under low heat for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Add in all the rest of the ingredients to season the sauce.  
4. Remove the bay leave. Blend the sauce using an electric blender by giving it a few quick pulses.  Add a dash of lemon juice (optional).  

Tips

• You can also use fresh tomatoes for this recipe.  Scald the tomato in hot water for 1-2 minutes, then remove the skin and chop into small pieces.  However, you may need to increase the amount of sugar used in this recipe, as fresh tomato tends to be less sweet as compared to the canned ones.
• I will usually blend the sauce a little as my children do not like big chunks of vegetable in it.  But do not over-blend it, as you do not want to end up having baby food.
• Use your leftover Mediterranean Sauce to whip up other delicious food like   Mediterranean Penne Pasta, Pizza Roll and Cheesy Bruschetta.