Description
Flavorful Romesco Sauce! You’ll find a million uses for this robust & flavorful Spanish condiment. Earthy, smoky and deep, it’s made with simple ingredients you probably already have on hand. EASY, Vegan & Gluten-free ( See 5-minute version in Notes)
Ingredients
- 1 large bell pepper (or sub 1 cup roasted bell pepper)
- 1/2 an onion
- 2 garlic cloves, smashed
- 1/4 cup olive oil, divided
- 3 tablespoons water
- 1/2 cup toasted almonds or hazelnuts
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon chili flakes
- 1/2–3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon sherry wine vinegar (or red wine vinegar)
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
Instructions
Stovetop method (20 mins)
Dice the red bell pepper and onion. Heat a skillet over medium heat and add 1 tablespoon olive oil, and saute onion and pepper until tender and fragrant, about 8 minutes. Add smashed garlic cloves and continue sauteing until onions and peppers start to caramelize.
Roasting Method (40 mins)
Preheat oven to 425 F. Cut bell pepper in half, remove seeds and place open side down on a greased sheet pan. Add the onion, cutting ½ inch rings, add the garlic cloves whole, brush or spray with olive oil and roast 25-30 minutes, checking on garlic halfway through. Remove garlic when tender and golden. Continue roasting pepper and onion another 10 minutes, or until all are tender and slightly charred.
Blend Romesco Sauce:
Place the pepper-onion mixture a food processor with all the remaining ingredients (except the parsley). Pulse until combined. You can keep this quite coarse, with more texture, or blend until very smooth and creamy.
Add the chopped parsley and pulse a few times. Taste, adjust salt and heat.
To serve, place in bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with parsley and crushed nuts if you like.
Notes
Extra Heat: Feel free to add fresh chilies to the cooking/roasting onion-pepper mixture. Or rehydrated dried chilies to the food processor.
5-minute version: Substitute jarred or canned Roasted Peppers (one cup, drained) (In this case, simply brown the onions and garlic on the stovetop- or use 1-2 teaspoons of each, granulated.
Store in a sealed jar, covering the sauce with a layer of olive oil to prevent discoloring.
The vinegar extends its shelf life- and will keep for 10 days in the fridge.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 tablespoons
- Calories: 75
- Sugar: 1.4 g
- Sodium: 296.3 mg
- Fat: 7.2 g
- Saturated Fat: 1 g
- Carbohydrates: 2.9 g
- Fiber: 0.8 g
- Protein: 0.6 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg