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Romesco Sauce
Romesco Sauce combines roasted tomatoes, garlic, red peppers and chiles, almonds, and toasted bread, with herbs, spices, olive oil, and a splash of vinegar. This combination of ingredients creates an incredibly delicious sauce for seafood, pasta, vegetables, poultry, and other meats.
Ingredients
2 Nora, Ancho, California, or Poblano dried chile peppers
1–2 thick slices of dense bread such as ciabatta, country loaf, sour dough, or baguette
6 Roma tomatoes
1/2 cup plus one tablespoon good quality extra virgin olive oil, divided
3/4 cup blanched almonds (we bought slivered almonds since they are already peeled)
1 16-ounce jar roasted red peppers, drained
3 large garlic cloves, peeled and coarsely cut up
2 tablespoons fresh Italian flat leaf parsley, coarsely chopped
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons sweet paprika
2 teaspoons chili powder
3 tablespoons sherry vinegar, or red wine vinegar
Instructions
- Preheat oven or toaster oven to 350 degrees F.
- After removing seeds and stems from dried peppers, place in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Cover top and let the peppers rehydrate for at least 15 minutes, longer if possible, while you prepare the other ingredients. Once rehydrated, discard the soaking water.
- Take the slices of bread and place in the oven to bake. The baking process will dry out the bread as well as get the outside toasted. This method is preferable over just toasting the bread in a toaster. Once toasted and dried out, about 10-15 minutes, cool then place in a food processor and process to a fine crumb. You will need ½ cup of the finished crumbs for the sauce.
- Cut the tomatoes end-to-end and cut off the stem end. Lay the half slices on a small sheet tray, cut side up and brush with the one tablespoon of oil.
- Broil the tomatoes on both sides until charred and slightly blackened. Depending on your broiler, this may take ten minutes or more.
- Remove the tomatoes to a strainer and strain out and discard all liquid.
- Place the almonds in a dry skillet and dry toast over medium heat until lightly browned. Remove from heat and cool.
- Place the jarred roasted red bell peppers over a strainer and strain out and discard all liquid.
- To make the sauce, place the rehydrated dried peppers in the food processor, along with the fresh garlic and the toasted almonds and process until grainy in texture.
- Add the drained roasted tomatoes and the drained roasted red peppers and process to a paste.
- Add the parsley, salt, pepper, chili powder and paprika and process to combine.
- Add the vinegar and a half-cup only of the toasted bread crumbs and process smooth.
- With food processor running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil. Do not blend for too long after adding the oil or the oil will become bitter.
- Taste and season with more salt and pepper only if needed.
- At this point, the sauce is complete and does not need to be cooked. It is best however if you let it sit for an hour before using to blend the flavors.
- Simply use it as you would a pesto by tossing it in with cooked pasta, smeared on toasted baguette slices, served with roasted vegetables, or served with cooked shrimp, fish or chicken.
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Find it online: https://www.afamilyfeast.com/romesco-sauce/
