I'll put this sauce on everything

My loveliest of loves had a small gathering at her place this past weekend. I eagerly offered to bring some delectable bites upon receiving the invite. I offered with the highest of aspirations and the best of intentions. I set to looking through my fancy cookbooks and selected barley risotto cakes with a smoked onion-chipotle sauce. Yum.

Long story short? It was a disaster. Seven pm rolled around and I had this soupy messy of al dente barley, that laughed at the thought of being formed into a ball. Luckily I had also made cookies (rosemary shortbread cookies, which you will be seeing soon), so I didn't feel too bad abandoning the risotto balls.

Heres the deal though: I had already made the smoked onion-chipotle sauce, which was like fiery angels dancing on my tongue. Legit, my roommates and I were gathered around the bowl with spoons and dumb smiles on our faces. Except for resplendent R, who hates eating spicy foods after napping. I was so excited to share it, and it really saddened me to pour it into a tupperwear container and store it in the fridge while I went galavanting.

But alas, the plot thickens. Turns out this is the most delicious sauce and it can be put on anything. Or eaten by the spoonful. Whatever. Sunday evening, it made its way onto some pizza, per the suggestion of nebulous N. A sweet potato and kale pizza, to be exact. More to be said on that later.

My suggestion? Go make this sauce. Then figure out what you are going to do with it. It is like a cross between tomato sauce, salsa, and barbecue sauce. And anyone who knows me knows my feelings on barbecue sauce. I could spend at least 30 minutes proclaiming my love of and strange habits with barbecue sauce, but that isn't a digression we are going to take now. So basically, you could use this sauce on anything that calls for any of the above. I can also imagine that it freezes well, so having a baggy or two of this in the freezer seems like a good idea to me.  

Smoked Onion-Chipotle Sauce

Adapted from The Millennium Cookbook

Materials:

• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 2 red onions, smoked and sliced (or 2 onions, sliced + 2 teaspoons liquid smoke)
• 1/4 dry red wine
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar 
• 2 cups fresh or canned crushed tomatoes
• 1/4 cup canned chipotles in adobo
• 1 cup vegetable stock
• 2 teaspoons salt

Methods:

1. Saute the onions in the canola oil and red wine over medium heat for about 12 minutes.
2. Add the cumin and oregano and sauté for 2 additional minutes.
3. Add the honey, vinegar, tomatoes, chipotle, stock, and salt and simmer for about 15 minutes.
4. Carefully transfer to blender (in batches) and blend until smooth.
5. Enjoy immensely!