The East: Velvety Warm Mustard Pepper Sauce

Stephen Ceideburg 1 c Chopped mustard greens or

-Swiss chard 1/2 c Coarsely chopped green

-pepper 1 lg Red-ripe tomato, cored,

-quartered 1/4 c Loosely packed chopped

-cilantro 2 Fresh hot green chiles,

-stemmed and seeded 2 Garlic cloves, peeled

1 tb Mild olive oil

1/2 ts Ground cumin

1/2 ts Ground coriander

1 tb Dijon-style mustard

1 ts Sugar

1/2 ts Salt, or to taste

1/3 c Heavy cream

A full recipe of this sauce is enough for about 1 1/2 pounds of cooked fish, seafood or firm cubed tofu. Place greens, pepper, tomato, cilantro, chiles and garlic in a blender or food processor and process until smoothly pureed. Set aside. Heat oil in a 2-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Add pureed mixture and cook, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover, and cook until sauce is thick, 12 to 15 minutes. Makes about 2 cups. PER TABLESPOON: 15 calories, 0 g protein, 1 g carbohydrate, 1 g fat (1 g saturated), 3 mg cholesterol, 41 mg sodium, 0 g fiber. Laxmi Hiremath writing in the San Francisco Chronicle, 6/24/92.