Piquillo Pepper Mousse

A pretty dip/spread to serve with pita chips. I used to make this for a caterer I cooked for. It was her recipe, I don't know where she got it from. Of course, we made it in much larger quantities. If you have trouble finding jarred piquillo peppers, you could substitute roasted red bell peppers, but use a good tasting brand. Prep time does not include chill time.

• Ready In: 7 mins
• Serves: 12

Ingredients

• 15  ounces  piquillo peppers, drained well
• 3  tablespoons  coarsely chopped fresh basil
• 2  garlic cloves
• 1⁄2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1  teaspoon salt
• 1  teaspoon unflavored gelatin
• 2  tablespoons cold water
• 2⁄3 cup heavy cream

Directions

1. Place in food processor the peppers, basil, garlic, lemon juice and the salt. Puree until smooth.
2. Sprinkle the gelatin over the water in a small saucepan and let sit for about 1 minute. Heat over low heat until the gelatin is dissolved, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and stir 1/4 of the pepper puree into the gelatin mixture. Fold the gelatin into the remaining pepper puree.
3. Beat the heavy cream to the soft peak stage. Fold this into the pepper puree. Spoon mousse into a serving bowl and refrigerate, covered, for at least 2 hours.
4. Serve with pita chips.