Catalan romesco sauce with roasted peppers and almonds

Name: Catalan romesco sauce with roasted peppers and almonds
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 4 portions
Ingredients: 4 pcs red bell pepper; 2 pcs tomatoes; 3 cloves garlic; 80 g almonds; 40 g hazelnuts; 1 slice bread; 120 ml extra virgin olive oil; 1 teaspoon smoked paprika; 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar; salt

Jakub SýkoraBakedSpanish Cuisine x se líbilo

Romesco is a sunny Catalan sauce of roasted red peppers, toasted almonds and hazelnuts, tomatoes and garlic, blended with olive oil and sherry vinegar. The fried bread gives it body and the toasted nuts a smoky, nutty depth. It is served warm or cold with grilled vegetables, fish and meat, and works just as well as a dip for bread. You can make it in minutes, and it tastes even better the next day from the fridge.

Příprava: 20min

Vaření: 35min

CELKOVÝ ČAS: 55min

Step by step process

Roasting the vegetables

1
For romesco, first heat the oven to 220 °C. Wash the red peppers and tomatoes, rub them with olive oil and spread them on a baking tray together with the unpeeled garlic. Roast for about 25 minutes, until the skins char and blister.
2
Transfer the hot peppers to a bowl, cover them and let them steam for 10 minutes, the skin will then slip off easily. Peel the peppers, remove the cores and tear them into pieces. Slip the skin off the tomatoes and squeeze the garlic out of its skins.

Toasting the nuts and bread

3
Spread the almonds and hazelnuts in a dry pan and toast them over medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly, until fragrant and lightly golden. Tip them onto a plate right away so they do not turn bitter.
4
Add a little olive oil to the hot pan and fry the slice of bread golden on both sides. The toasted bread is the traditional binder that gives the sauce its body.

Blending the sauce

5
Put the toasted nuts in a blender and grind them coarsely. Add the roasted peppers, tomatoes, garlic, fried bread, smoked paprika and sherry vinegar, then blend everything into a coarse paste.
6
With the blender running, slowly pour in the remaining olive oil until the sauce thickens to a creamy, slightly grainy texture. Finally season it with salt, add another pinch of vinegar to taste and serve at room temperature.