05.08.09
Romesco Fresco…
All photos by Cecilia (cecilia@gourmetsenses.com)
I’ve been getting a number of requests to share more recipes here. So when I was making more Romesco sauce last night, I remembered to take a few pictures and document the process. As I mentioned in a previous blog Spring Onions… (April 26, 2009), my friend Rachel Zemser the Intrepid Culinologist got me hooked on this smoky, nutty, and peppery sauce that pairs well with vegetables, meat, and seafood. After running out of her complimentary trial lab batches, I found myself craving for it from time to time. I went to various gourmet stores in the area, but I couldn’t find it off the shelf. I knew it was time I learned how to recreate it. After a couple of trials and tribulations, I decided I like the following recipe the best. This sauce can be made ahead of time. And if you keep it in an airtight container in the refrigerator, it will store for up to a week. You can gently reheat it and drizzle a little bit of extra virgin olive oil on it, and it will taste like freshly made again.
Number of servings: 6
Ingredients:
- 2 large ripe tomatoes, halved
- 4 large red bell peppers
- 1 small yellow onion, halved
- 2-3 garlic cloves
- 1/2 cup raw almonds
- 1/2 slice of bread (white or wheat), crust removed
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 Tbsp smoked sweet paprika – pimentón dulce
- 1 tsp salt (to taste)
- 1/2 tsp pepper (to taste)
- Boil some water and blanch the raw almonds for about 3 minutes.
- Put the tomato halves, whole red bell peppers, and yellow onion on a foil-lined baking sheet. Roast under the broiler in the oven for 15-20 minutes until the the skin on the peppers turned char black. Rotate the peppers and roast for another 15 minutes more to turn it all black.
- Gently crush the garlic cloves with the flat side of a chef knife. During the last 5 minutes of roasting, add the garlic to the baking sheet, leaving the skin on.
- Meanwhile, drain the raw almonds and cool them with cold water. When they are cool enough to touch, remove the skin from the almonds. It should come off quite easily.
- Pat dry the almonds. Lightly roast them in a small skillet over medium heat until you hear little crackling sounds coming from the nuts. This takes about 15-20 minutes. Remove them from the skillet to cool.
- Using the same hot skillet, add the olive oil and toast the bread with it. 3-5 minutes on each side until golden brown. Let it cool and tear it into smaller pieces.
- When the peppers are all charred, remove the whole baking sheet from the oven. Transfer the peppers to a heat-proof container and cover to steam for about 10 minutes. This makes peeling the skin much easier.
- Peel the peppers and remove the seeds. Repeat the same for the tomatoes. Peel the onions and garlic as well.
- Combine the above ingredients in a food processor or blender. Add the bread, balsamic vinegar, pimentón, cayenne, salt and pepper. Blend everything until smooth.
- Serve warm or cool with grilled vegetables, meat, or seafood.
Enjoy and let me know what you think.
