By Chef Ken Dempsey

When you spend the time, effort, and money preparing and cooking a meal, whether the main dish be chicken, steak, pork, beef, or even fish, you have an expectation. You expect it to be loaded with flavor and something you could see making again…because let’s be honest that’s the real test…would you make it again? If the answer is “yes,” then you obviously have a winner.

What if the dish was good, but there was just something missing. For me, it’s on to the next recipe. Which can be frustrating because no one wants to spend two hours prepping and cooking a meal you expect to be in your menu rotation, only to be disappointed and feel like you just wasted two hours.

Honestly, that’s why I started keeping “The Green Stuff” sauce in the fridge, just in case dinner needed a boost. But what I found is the sauce was good on almost EVERYTHING. We seriously put it on everything from scrambled eggs, brisket tacos, sandwiches, grilled chicken, blackened fish, roasted vegetables, and anything else we may be having for dinner. My wife’s parents started making this sauce and now they keep some at the ready.

If you’ve ever finished eating a home cooked meal and thought there was something missing (I think we all have), then this recipe is for you! It’s a little spicy with a bright, citrus punch on the front end, with an herb-y, slightly sweet and savory finish.

Roasted Green Chile Sauce – “The Green Stuff”

Ingredients
-5-6 Poblano peppers – roasted in the oven or on a grill until the skin blisters, then peel most of the skin off and seed
-3 green bell peppers –roasted in the oven or on a grill until the skin blisters, then peel most of the skin off and seed
-2 green apples – peeled and chopped
-2 bunches cilantro – stems mostly discarded
-2 tbsp. chopped jarred jalapenos
-1 tbsp. jarred jalapeno juice
-2 tbsp. lime juice
-2 tbsp. honey
-2 tsp. white sugar
-1 tsp. kosher salt
-1 tsp. garlic powder
-1 tsp. cumin powder

Directions
This is the easy part. Put all ingredients in a blender or large food processor and blend until fairly smooth. There will be some texture left in the sauce. Refrigerate overnight (this is important if you want the full flavor of the sauce) and enjoy the next day. I recently used Hatch chiles (since they are in season) instead of Poblanos, and the results were amazing!