Romesco Sauce (Video)

Romesco sauce is simple yet complex.  It’s basically puréed roasted peppers, tomatoes and almonds.  The sauce is also easy because it doesn’t require too much knife work and comes together rather quickly.

On the other hand, it’s complex because roasting and toasting the peppers, tomatoes and almonds does a lot of science stuff.  The heat carmelizes the sugars in the vegetables and nuts, resulting in a sweet, nutty, toasty flavor.

In addition, roasting increases the health benefits of the ingredients.  The heat increases the bell peppers’ bioavailability, allowing the body to absorb more vitamin A.  Moreover, cooking the tomatoes amps up the availability of carotenoids, lycopene and other hard-to-pronounce nutrients. 

Health benefits aside, Romesco sauce tastes luscious and is quite versatile.  Spanish fishermen originally used it as a fish condiment but it works well on chicken, lamb, or a basic crudité platter.  In essence, transforming the simple to the complex.

Check out the video to see how to make an easy Romesco sauce.

Makes 1 cup

• 1 red bell pepper, stemmed, cored and cut in half.
• 1 large tomato, cored and halved
• 5 cloves garlic, skin on
• ¼ cup almonds
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar (red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar substitute well)
• ¼ to 1/3 cup olive oil plus extra to glug on the vegetables before roasting.
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 425°F (218°C, Gas mark 7)

Place the red bell pepper, tomato and garlic in a large bowl.  Give them a generous dousing of olive oil and toss to coat.

Place the vegetables on a sheet pan in an even layer.  Put the tray in the oven and roast the vegetables for 30 minutes, or until the bell pepper skins turn black. 

Remove the tray from the oven, place the peppers in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap (cling film).  Allow the peppers to cool and the skins to loosen.  Leave the tomatoes and garlic on the stove or counter, preferably still on the tray. 

While the peppers are cooling, toast the almonds in a dry skillet until fragrant and a pleasant light brown color.

Remove the skins from the vegetables.

Place the almonds in a food processor and grind until they resemble coarse meal.  Add the vegetables and pulse a few times.

With the machine running, stream in the olive oil and process until the sauce changes to a pinkish-orange color.

Serve immediately or refrigerate in an airtight container.  The Romesco sauce will keep refrigerated for one week.

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