Smashing Green Sauce

I made this sauce the last time we grilled chicken, and my 3-year-old son looked at the blender and said, “it’s ALL GREEN!” Which made me think of The Hulk (I love The Avengers), and then made me think, “SMASH!” And Smashing Green Sauce was invented!

The bright flavors in this sauce go perfectly with grilled meats or vegetables – especially sweet potatoes and chicken. We store this sauce in a squeeze bottle in the refrigerator, and it keeps well for about 2 weeks, if it lasts that long. It’s delicious on so many foods, from pizza and sandwiches to spicy Indian dishes.

Grilling Poblano Peppers

Poblano peppers are long, dark green chiles with a slight heat, mostly in the seeds and ribs. When grilled, they develop a rich, smoky flavor. It usually takes about 10 minutes to char the peppers all over. Turn them as they begin to blacken. You don’t want them to get too overly burnt, as this can introduce a bitter flavor into the sauce. If your sauce seems too bitter after it’s blended, you can compensate for this by adding a bit of extra agave nectar.

Blending the Sauce

I use a Vitamix blender (affiliate link) for making blended sauces, but a food processor would also work.

If you rinse the cilantro right before blending and give it a few shakes to remove most of the excess water, there should be just the right amount of water left to make the sauce easy to blend. The cilantro stems are full of flavor and blend right into the sauce. Just twist the bunch of cilantro to break it in half before blending. I scrape the sides of the blender at least once during the process to make sure the mixture blends evenly.

Whatever you’re grilling this summer, grab a couple of poblano peppers and blend up some Smashing Green Sauce! Don’t forget to snap a photo and post it on Instagram – tag @how_do_you_food and let me see what you’ve made.

Smashing Green Sauce

Fresh and vibrant with cilantro, lime, and roasted poblano chiles, this is the perfect sauce to brighten up ordinary grilled chicken, beef, or tofu. Just add a couple of poblano peppers to your grill, and blend up a sauce while the grilled goodies rest.

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Servings 12

Calories 48 kcal

Ingredients

  

• 2 poblano peppers
• 3 oz cilantro one large bunch, including stems
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp agave nectar
• 1/4 cup greek olive oil

Instructions

 

• Roast the peppers: place whole poblano peppers on the grill and roast until blistered, but not totally blackened. Remove peppers from grill and allow to cool.
• Fill the blender: while peppers are cooling, rinse cilantro in a colander and drain well. Add to blender with all remaining ingredients.
• Seed poblanos: when poblano peppers are cool, slice them in half lengthwise and remove the stem and seeds. Add to blender.
• Blend it up: blend on high speed until smooth, about 30 seconds, scraping sides if necessary.
• Store in an airtight container or squeeze bottle in the refrigerator.

Notes

If you like a spicier sauce, you can leave a few seeds in the poblano pepper. The seeds and ribs contain most of the pepper’s heat.

Keyword cilantro, lime, sauces