May 07 2008
Spicy mint crème fraiche sauce
Published by Laylita at 4:40 am under All, Condiments, Pacific Northwest, Quick, Sauces, Spicy
Most of the sauces I make are either experiments or accidents and they usually end up being used for more than their original purpose. This crème fraiche sauce was supposed to have some herbs in it, I was thinking about cilantro and parsley, but then I felt it needed some spice, so I thought about how much I love aji criollo and added some garlic, serrano peppers and lemon juice, and it was good, but something was missing. It just happened that I had a bunch of mint that I got at the farmers market but I had no plans for the mint (maybe some tea), so I added a little bit of mint, and my sauce got better, then I added all the mint and the sauce was perfect.
I made this sauce to serve with a leek and potato soup for lunch, I love having a sauce to go with creamy soups. Well, I had a good amount of this sauce leftover and I made some empanadas stuffed with Swiss chard, beet and goat cheese in the afternoon, and I also love to have a dipping sauce for empanadas, and this experimental spicy mint crème fraiche sauce ended up being a perfect match for my experimental empanadas. I’m sure I’ll be making this sauce again and will find yet another use for it.
Ingredients:
8 oz crème fraiche
1 medium sized bunch of mint, about ½ cup coarsely chopped
¼ cup coarsely chopped cilantro
¼ cup coarsely chopped parsley leaves
2 garlic cloves
1-2 serrano or other hot peppers, seeded
3 tbs lemon juice, about ½ lemon
Salt to taste
Preparation:
Place all of the ingredients in the blender and blend well, the sauce will be very liquid after you blend it, but if you return it to the refrigerator it will thicken.
