Poivronnade

Poivronnade is a roasted red pepper spread that hails from the South of France (home to the ubiquitous olive tapenade). Poivrannade comes together quickly – make it early in the day, pop it in the fridge and carry on with the rest of items on your company to-do list.  It looks like you spent hours on it, it is visually pleasing, and it tastes great. That is hard to beat. Poivronade is delicious mounded on bite size pieces of pain au levain.

This recipe is adapted from the blog Pardon Your French.

1. 1. Roast the peppers over a preheated grill or by roasting them on a foil-lined pan in a 180°C (350°F), oven, turning halfway through. Put the blackened peppers into a paper bag, allow to cool, then remove the skins, core, and seeds. Roughly chop them, and set aside.

2. In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the pine nuts and Parmesan cheese until ground.  Add feta, paprika, garlic, lemon juice, basil, and a grinding of black pepper; do not salt at this stage.  Pulse until the mixture is crumbly paste.

3. Add red peppers and olive oil, and pulse until smooth. Add a pinch of kosher salt, pulse, taste, and adjust salt as needed.

4. Transfer to a serving bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 5+ hours. One hour before serving, remove the poivrannade from the refrigerator and garnish with the reserved pine nuts, a sprinkle of smoked paprika, crumbled feta, a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil and torn basil leaves. Serve with bite-size pieces of pain au levain, ciabatta, or other crunchy bread.