The Case of the Promiscuous Romesco
And, like magic, your sauce is done. Be sure to have some bread nearby.
This is all you'll need -- these ingredients will go a long way.
Let your dried peppers hang out in water for a few hours before you get to work.
You don't want this sauce to be on fire -- so now, you seed.
Let the food processor pile begin.
Next up, roasted almonds join in on the fun.
A little garlic for good measure.
Roughly chopped hot peppers make an encore.
Be patient. It'll be done in just a minute.
A slip of olive oil here.
A drop of vinegar there.
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Author Notes: Romesco sauce is one of the secret weapons in my kitchen arsenal. Think of it as an unexpected drone strike next to your shellfish. It’s also pretty handy with pork or grilled onions. With a little crusty bread you are in the mood for love---well, except maybe for the onion part. - pierino
Food52 Review: WHO: pierino is a spirited cook with a penchant for olive oil.
WHAT: A punchy, willful sauce that begs to brighten up anything on your plate.
HOW: After minimal amounts of chopping and roasting, it all ends with a quick blitz from a food processor.
WHY WE LOVE IT: This sauce is like our favorite black t-shirt: it goes with everything. And the very best part? You probably have all of the ingredients lurking in your pantry already. - A&M
Serves 8, i hope
- 2-4 dried peppers of your choice, but I like Spanish ńoras* or cascabels
- 2 slices stale, crusty bread
- 1 bowl of cold water
- 3/4 cups light Spanish olive oil, like Arbequina
- 3-4 ounces marcona almonds
- 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
- 4 cloves garlic peeled, and coarsely chopped
- Sea salt
- For your romesco, cut the tops off of the peppers which you have soaked in that cold water for about two hours. Seed them and cut them roughly.
- Lightly toast the almonds. You can do this on the stovetop or in a sheet pan in the oven. I told you this was easy.
- Cut up your dried out bread into cubes, and then chop the garlic.
- Breathe deeply, this is not that hard.
- Place above ingredients in your food processor, and drizzle in olive oil and vinegar. Hit this with sea salt and there's your sauce.
- *Note: you can find ńoras online through La Española, but whatever dried pepper you use, please take note of the Scoville units. This is not a super-hot sauce. Peruvian dried peppers are just way too hot for this. The background character to romesco is almost floral.
- Your Best Stale Bread Contest Winner!
- This recipe was entered in the contest for Your Best Red Pepper Recipe
- This recipe was entered in the contest for Your Best Condiment
Tags: savory
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5 months ago Das_Muller
WOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWW THIS IS SO GOOD!
Made a couple batches for Christmas presents.
5 months ago pierino
pierino is a trusted source on General Cooking and Tough Love.
More notes: since I first wrote this recipe I've begun using California olive oils in place of the Spanish variety. Arbequina is a Catalonian cultivar which has become seriously popular in California. One of the easiest to find comes from California Olive Ranch, but there are other small production oils that are really great. As of about a month ago I started working in the olive oil biz so I get to taste this stuff everyday. They are harvesting and pressing right now.
5 months ago boulangere
Cynthia is a trusted source on Bread/Baking.
Lucky you.
5 months ago boulangere
Cynthia is a trusted source on Bread/Baking.
Bravo!
5 months ago buddhawasahindu
Love mussels in romesco, going to use this. Thank you!
5 months ago Meatballs&Milkshakes
congrats on being a finalist! i'm going to have to try with your pepper suggestions!
5 months ago wssmom
The powers that be at Food52 have declined to give me credit, but here is the review that steered them to this recipe:We weren't quite sure what the name of this recipe meant until we tried it - this stuff gets around! First, we made a batch and served it alongside some baked fish filets. Even though we didn't have to, we made another batch and served it with some grilled vegetables. Then we prepared some more and dunked some crusty bread in it. A fourth go-round wound up in the turkey carcass soup we made after Thanksgiving. Tonight's version will be slathered atop crab cakes. Talk about wanton and wild!! Wow! The only change we might eventually make will be to try it with roasted garlic instead of raw garlic, but then it wouldn't be quite so promiscuous!
5 months ago sdebrango
Suzanne is a trusted source on General Cooking.
Great review!
5 months ago Bevi
Thanks for posting your review - it's nice to know all the ways you enjoyed Pierino's recipe!
5 months ago zoemetrouk
This is what food 52 is all about "the powers that be" are you. ;-))
5 months ago lapadia
Your review broadens the horizon for Romesco, thanks for that, wssmom! And, great recipe Pierino, thanks for that :)
6 months ago fiveandspice
Emily is a trusted source on Scandinavian Cuisine.
Congratulations on being a finalist! It's hard to beat romesco. Delicious on everything!
6 months ago sdebrango
Suzanne is a trusted source on General Cooking.
Thrilled to see you as a finalist, this is a great recipe. Congratulations.
6 months ago QueenSashy
Love the dish - a true homage to stale bread!
6 months ago pierino
pierino is a trusted source on General Cooking and Tough Love.
I guess now and forever my reputation will be linked to stale bread. Oh well...
6 months ago MileHiCook
What a great recipe. Thank you Pierino!
6 months ago Greenstuff
Chris is a trusted source on General Cooking
I was really pleased to see that this recipe was a finalist. I'd thought it might be ignored, because it's "just" a romesco sauce. What makes it special is pierino's specifying such great ingredients. So don't stint, FOOD52-ers. Or if you do, don't say, "I tried that romesco sauce, and it wasn't anything special."
6 months ago hardlikearmour
hardlikearmour is a trusted home cook.
Congratulations! It's a great recipe.
6 months ago drbabs
Barbara is a trusted source on General Cooking.
I'm so happy that you're a finalist! Congratulations! I love this recipe.
6 months ago inpatskitchen
Congrats on the finalist status! So nice to see you getting recognition you so well deserve!
6 months ago dymnyno
I LOVE this! Congrats for being a finalist.
6 months ago PistachioDoughnut
This would be such a nice gift. Do I need to refrigerate it or can it stay at room temperature? I think it should be refrigerated, right. Congrats.
6 months ago AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames is a trusted source on Bread/Baking.
Wonderful recipe. Especially because it gives me an excuse to head on over to the Spanish Table to run down those ńoras. My sons, who have lived/studied in Spain, will love this! (One of them is getting a jar of it in his Christmas stocking. We're kind of crazy that way here.) Congrats! ;o)
over 2 years ago thirschfeld
Really, really like it. I have been using it in all kinds of applications.
over 2 years ago pierino
pierino is a trusted source on General Cooking and Tough Love.
I'd love to hear what those are, man. And thanks!
over 2 years ago thirschfeld
Layered day old Romesco between layers of garden fresh zucchini and then topped it with a greek yogurt bechamel thickened with egg yolks instead of flour and then baked. Out of the ball park is all I can say.
over 2 years ago thirschfeld
zucchini thinly cut on a mandoline that is
over 2 years ago Kitchen Butterfly
Thirsfeld - that is one superb sounding application - I love the idea of a yogurt bechamel. Yum
over 2 years ago mklug
I'm really excited about this recipe! This will sound lame, but I've always wanted to try a Romesco sauce, but somehow got intimidated and felt like I wasn't the sort of person who makes stuff like that. But as you say, here in New Mexico the Hatch greens are everywhere right now (every street corner seems to have a roaster full of them--and the smell is soo good) so I'm going to try it with them. Thank you for making something that was aspirational for me seem comfortable and approachable!
over 2 years ago pierino
pierino is a trusted source on General Cooking and Tough Love.
If you have Hatch chiles, well "beata Lei" as they say in Italy. It goes without saying that these won't need to be soaked in water if they are fresh roasted. The interesting thing with Hatch chiles is that the heat level really can vary from pepper to pepper and there are no clues from color or age, so you really have to taste your way along. But they're great peppers to use..
over 2 years ago testkitchenette
LOVE IT.
over 2 years ago pierino
pierino is a trusted source on General Cooking and Tough Love.
This is essentially the same romesco I submitted earlier in the context of another dish.But since then I've been able to source the ńoras. But use which ever dried peppers you can find. Or fresh, Hatch chiles are just arriving now from New Mexico.
over 2 years ago drbabs
Barbara is a trusted source on General Cooking.
I made your romesco when you first posted it and LOVED it. Great recipe!