Romesco Sauce
Mar 4th, 2012 by Em-i-lis
Summary: A Spanish sauce with a robust, unique flavor.
Ingredients
- 1 dried ancho chile
- 4 T extra virgin olive oil
- 25 marcona almonds
- 15 skinned hazelnuts (or additional almonds; I used roasted hazelnuts)
- 1 c cmall cubes of stale sourdough bread (mine was not stale so I toasted it on low heat for a while)
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled and slivered
- 2 jarred piquillo peppers, drained and chopped (I got mine from the Whole Foods olive bar)
- 2/3 c medium, ripe tomato, peeled, seeded and chopped
- 2/3 c dry white wine
- 1/2 – 1 T sherry vinegar
- 1/2 tsp pimentón (or any smoked paprika, sweet or hot)
- salt
Instructions
- Cut the ancho chile in half, place in a bowl and cover with boiling water, weighting it down to keep submerged. Set aside for 30 minutes.
- Heat oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add almonds, hazelnuts and bread cubes, and stir until they start to brown, 6-8 minutes. Add the garlic, and stir until lightly browned. Add the piquillo peppers, stir and remove skillet from heat.
- Drain the ancho chile, and remove stem and seeds. Chop coarsely, add them to the pan, heat briefly and stir. Add the tomato, stir and cook a minute or so until softened. Remove from heat.
- Transfer to a food processor and pulse until a rough paste is formed. With the machine running, slowly pour in the wine. Turn off the machine, add vinegar, paprika and salt to taste, then pulse briefly to blend. The sauce will have a slightly nubby texture.
Quick notes
I found this in the New York Times Dining section. I don’t think I’d want to eat this every day, but it’s a lovely, unique way to spice up simple crostini, grilled chicken, etc. Makes about 1.5 cups.
My rating
