Romesco sauce
Ingredients
- 12 blanched almonds
- 10-12 hazelnuts
- 1 head garlic
- 1 slice stale bread
- 2 ripe medium size tomatoes
- 2 nyores, dried red peppers or roasted red peppers, drained
- 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup red wine or sherry vinegar
Preparation: Rub off excess dry skin from garlic head, then drizzle a bit of olive oil on top. Roast in oven over some baking paper for 20 minutes at 150C degrees (gas mark 2) until insude of garlic head is soft.
Make sure almonds are completely dry and place almonds and hazelnuts into a food processor. Process until finely ground.
Pour 2-3 tablespoons of virgin olive oil into a small frying pan and quickly fry the stale bread until both sides are browned. Remove from the heat, reserving the pan and oil and allow the bread to cool on a paper towel.
Quarters the tomatoes and sauté for 4-5 minutes in the pan and oil used for the bread, adding more oil if needed. Sauté for 4-5 minutes. Remove pan from heat.
Once bread is cooled, tear into large pieces and process with the nuts. Add sautéed tomatoes and continue to process. Squeeze each roasted garlic clove from its skin into the processor. Finally, place your nyores or red peppers into the processor and process until you get a thick puree.
With the processor still running, drizzle in the oil and vinegar. Add salt to taste.
Presentation: Romesco is typically used to dip barbecued poultry, meat, fish or vegetables. Serve on a large earth plate to share or give each of your diners their individual dips dish.
Cooking tip: Make sure not to make too fine a puree. Also, when adding the oil and vinegar at the end look out for the moment the oil is emulsified in the puree and gives it its characteristic texture.
Leaves of fennel or mint may be added, particularly if served with fish or escargot.
About this dish: Romesco is a sauce originating in Tarragona, Catalonia, that is typically made from almonds and hazelnuts, roasted garlic, olive oil and nyores – small, dried red peppers. It is perhaps most often served with seafood, but can also be served with a wide variety of other foods including poultry and vegetables, particularly calçots.
Curiosity: Romesco is key for the most traditional way of eating calçots: a calçotada, a popular event held between the end of winter and March or April, where calçots dipped in Romesco are consumed massively.
