Well where the heck has this sauce been all my life?!? That is the question I’ve been asking myself over and over lately as I can’t seem to get enough of this smokey, slightly spicy, deeply flavored (and colored) red pepper sauce!! You can whip this special sauce up in about 5 minutes, (yes, 5 minutes!!) and then just sit back and let it be a transformational force in your life!
This sauce is similar to Romesco Sauce, which hails from the Catalan region of Spain and has a base of roasted tomatoes and a pepper that is not very common in our parts, known as a Nora pepper. Capitalizing on the interesting flavors of the Catalan original, this “Romescoish” sauce includes the use of nuts (they traditionally use almonds and sometimes a mix of almonds and hazelnuts) and smoked paprika…..but at the same time we’re keeping it super simple with jarred roasted red peppers and fresh tomatoes.
The one piece of equipment you’ll want for this is a blender or food processor. Either one will work, but I really love the results I get with my Vitamix so that’s my appliance of choice here. Simply dump everything in, besides the olive oil, whip it up, basically like making a red pepper smoothie. Then with the motor running, stream in the olive oil making sure it is fully emulsified into the pepper sauce. I like to blend everything until it’s fairly smooth and creamy looking-but it’s totally maker’s choice at this point. I think a more authentic Romesco Sauce is actually a little more rustic in texture.
This Romesco Style Sauce recipe will yield about 2 cups of lusciousness that you now get to decide what to do with besides simply eating it by the spoonful! Here are a few suggestions:
- Add it to your next charcuterie board. It is delicious slathered on crostini or rustic crackers.
- Serve with roasted veggies or potatoes.
- Serve alongside roasted white fish or chicken.
- A perfect accompaniment to a crudite platter, or the next time you’re snacking away on some veggies.
- Topping for your next Buddha bowl. I’m currently dreaming of a quinoa bowl topped with cucumber, avocado, kalamata olives, feta cheese, pear or cherry tomatoes and my Romesco Style Sauce!
And if you can’t eat it all right away, no worries! It will keep for about a week in the fridge and it freezes beautifully!
Romesco Style Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 16 oz jar roasted red peppers, drained
- 6 oz tomatoes (about 5 Campari tomatoes)
- 2 cloves garlic
- 3/4 cup roasted almonds
- 1 tablespoon Italian parsley, rough chopped
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt (if needed)
Instructions
- Place all ingredients except olive oil into a Vitamix (Alternatively you can use a different type of blender or a food processor, but I really like the results I achieve with the Vitamix.) Start on low and turn up speed as the mixture allows, blending until sauce ingredients are well incorporated.
- With motor running, remove the small cap in the lid and slowly stream in olive oil. Replace cap and continue blending until desired consistency. I like mine fairly smooth and creamy.
- Taste and add salt (up to a ¼ teaspoon) and additional crushed red pepper if desired.
[…] the cauliflower is roasting, whiz up a batch of Romesco Style Sauce (see full post here). It literally takes minutes to come together in a blender or food processor. This sauce made of […]