Prep Time 10 min cook time 10 min
Once in a while one comes across a quick way to magically bring a simple dish to life. Romesco sauce does just that.
Originally from Spain, this sauce is used by fishermen to spice up a fish stew like what a Rouille does for the French bouillabaisse. The sauce has now found its way into countless other uses from a condiment for seared or grilled fish, seafood, meat, poultry and vegetables to a dip and even a salad dressing.
It is a highly addictive, spicy and creamy combination of smoked red pepper, laced with crushed garlic, tomato and sweet smoked paprika blended with toasted crushed almonds. There are numerous recipes but I modified the traditional one slightly and also kept the ground almonds coarse to give the sauce a little crunch.
The recipe will make more than you need for a meal but don’t worry. It will keep refrigerated for a couple of weeks and is so delicious it will not last that long. Like me, you will be having it with everything including your omelet or fried eggs on toast for breakfast.
If you want to use Romesco as a dip, just double up on the amount of almonds to make it thicker.
Romesco Sauce
by
Derek Farwagi
Ingredients
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 medium sized garlic clove
- 3 tbsp tomato purée
- 1 tbsp sherry vinegar
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
- ¼ cup slivered almonds, toasted ( For a thicker sauce, use up to 1/2 cup)
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
Instructions
- Sear a red pepper over a gas flame till its skin is scorched and the flesh is cooked – about 5 minutes. A knife should easily pierce the flesh when cooked. ( If you do not have a gas cooker, cut the stem off the pepper, cut it in half, deseed it and grill it under a broiler skin side till it starts blistering. Then peel, cut it up then follow the recipe).
- Peel pepper by scraping charred skin with a sharp knife and remove all the charred bits.
- Peel, remove the stem, de-seed and rinse off any charred bits and seeds. Cut up in 1/2 inch chunks and set aside.
- Toast the almonds for about 3 minutes then pulse in a food processor keeping the almonds coarse. Set aside in a bowl.
- Pulse all the other ingredients until puréed.
- Mix in the almonds and pulse a few times to mix.
- Season with salt and pepper and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
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