Poblano Lime Sauce

This simple sauce is great for dipping veggies in (cauliflower, broccoli, and mushrooms especially), or as a dressing over salad like the cucumber avocado dressing from a few weeks ago.  It is also a great condiment over top of the grilled chicken recipe we’ve got lined up for tomorrow.  It will also keep for several days in the fridge without turning color like avocado-based dressings and sauces tend to do, which is good because it does make quite a bit.

Gather Up:

• 1 poblano chile, roasted until the skin is black
• 1 cup fresh baby spinach, loosely packed
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and pressed
• 1 medium shallot clove, peeled and chopped fine (this shallot was about the side of a lime, but made of two cloves – so we used one)
• 3/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped (stems and all)
• juice of 2 limes
• 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1/4 ~ 1/2 cup EVOO (adjust for desired consistency)
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper

After peeling and chopping, put everything but the poblano chile into a blender, starting with 1/4 cup EVOO.  Roast the poblano in the oven on broil, as described in this recipe (another great use of poblanos), until the skin is black.  Once it has cooled enough to peel the skin off, do so.  Cut the top off and scrape out any seeds, then toss the whole chile into the blender as well.

Puree until completely blended, then add more EVOO as desired to adjust the consistency from a thick paste (which I prefer) to a thinner dressing.  You can also use juice of an additional lime to further thin the consistency if you prefer.