Easy Romesco Sauce Recipe
This tomato-based sauce is delicious, comes together quickly, and keeps well. Great with fish, chicken, for pasta, sandwiches, and more.
Servings 2 cups aprox.
Ingredients
- 1 large tomato
- ½ cup roasted red peppers homemade or store-bought see Notes, below
- ½ cup bread cubes no crust
- 4 garlic cloves unpeeled
- ½ cup olive oil
- ½ cup almonds whole or peeled (skinned)
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh chili jalapeño type or in adobo (optional)
- ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
- Pinch of ground cumin
- Pinch of coriander
- A few gratings of black pepper or to taste
Instructions
- Turn on the oven at 350°F (180ºC).
- Put a piece of aluminum foil over a baking dish.
- Arrange 1 large tomato in quarters, chunks of ½ red pepper (if not from a jar) and 4 garlic cloves. If you separate them in rows, they're easier to remove as they are done.
- Drizzle with som of the olive oil, salt, and pepper and cook until each ingredient is done, about 10 minutes for the bread (which is golden but not burned), half an hour for the garlic, and a little more for the tomato and peppers until they are charred and juices flow. Don't throw away the juice that collects in the bottom!
- Peel the almonds if you want to: put them in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Leave 5-10 and peel them. The skin comes off easy, like chickpeas. If it still won't come off, drain the water and add boiling water and repeat the process again. Dry them with a cloth, chop them just like that and reserve.
- Put all the ingredients (except oil) in the jar of the immersion blender: roasted tomato with the juice that was released, roasted garlic pulp, ½ cup bread cubes, almonds, drained peppers if using from a jar, 1 teaspoon chopped chili if using, ½ teaspoon salt, pinch of ground cumin, pinch of ground coriander and a few gratings of black pepper.
- Add a little oil until you begin to process, them add more gradually, until you have a thick sauce. Taste and adjust seasonings. If you want a more fluid sauce, you can thin it a bit with a few teaspoons of water.
- Store in a glass jar with a thin layer of olive oil on top. It lasts a couple of weeks in the refrigerator.
Notes
Red peppers: you can buy roasted peppers online.
Vegetables: you can roast the vegetables a week ahead and keep in a jar with olive oil and a tight lid. Don't drain them and make sure to add less oil when making the sauce.
Almonds: you can skin them several days before, dry them in a very low oven (don't let them toast, only dry out so they don't become soggy), and keep them in a jar with a tight lid. Some recipes call for pine nuts also, instead of almonds or in addition to. They work very well with the rest of the ingredients.
Garlic: you can roast it before hand and keep it in the refrigerator. And, you might want the addition of raw garlic for a sharper flavor. I don't usually do it, but I know a friend who does, so know that it's an option.
Tomato paste: some like to add a tiny bit of concentrated tomato paste for an extra boost of flavor.
Red pepper flakes: another way to add spice is with red pepper flakes.
Red wine vinegar: a teaspoon or two is a good addition to this sauce as it adds some acid.