Red Sauce From Benin Food

CLASSIC RED SAUCE

Steps:

• Puree the tomatoes to a smooth, creamy consistency in a food processor or with an immersion blender. (If you like a more country feel, you can wait and break them up in the pan later with a wooden spoon.)
• Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a large saucepan. When hot, add the onion and saute 5 to 6 minutes, or until soft. Add the garlic and cook 2 to 3 minutes, until you see the color start changing. If you'd like to make the sauce spicy, add the red pepper flakes.
• Add the tomatoes and season with salt and pepper to taste. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer about 30 minutes. (If you did not puree the tomatoes, use a wooden spoon to break them into pieces while they cook.) Strive for balance in the consistency of the sauce: It has to be fluid, but it should not look overly wet. Add the basil and remove from the heat. Toss with just-cooked pasta.

RED SAUCE FROM BENIN

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a pan, add the onions and fry for a minute then add the tomatoes, garlic and chillies. Fry for 5 minutes then pour over water and add the vegetable boullion cube(or use veg. stock). Cover and allow to boil for about 20 minutes until all the ingredients have blended together and the tomatoes have broken down. Season with black pepper and serve.
• In addition to the basic sauce given above you can also add 3 more Scotch Bonnet chillies to make it hotter. You can also add 500g cubed meat or 4 whole fish cut into steaks.

HOW TO MAKE THE PERFECT RED SAUCE

Steps:

• Pour the olive oil into a 12 inch skillet and heat on low heat. Add the diced onion and saute' until the onions are slightly golden. In the meantime, crush the canned tomatoes with your hands until smooth and then add them to the skillet. Cook 10 to 15 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. Then chop the basil leaves and add them to the sauce. Add crushed pepper flakes if you want to make it more spicy, or eggplant or zucchini. I like to add about 4 cloves minced garlic in with the onion at the beginning for added flavor.

CHICKEN MEATBALLS WITH RED SAUCE (BENIN)

Steps:

• Take about half of the peanut butter and mix it with a little bit of hot water. It should still be a paste, but it should be just thin enough so you can stir it. Set aside.
• Take the remaining peanut butter, the chicken, the habanero, the green onions and salt and put them in a food processor. Pulse until smooth.
• Shape the mixture into meatballs.
• Chop the blanched tomatoes and the onions and toss them with the peanut butter/water paste.
• Melt the palm oil in a pan and fry the meatballs in the palm oil until they are nicely golden all over.
• Add the onion, tomato and peanut butter mixture. Cover the pan and reduce the temperature to low. Simmer for 15 minutes or so, then remove the lid and check the internal temperature of the meatballs (they should be at 165 degrees or higher).