An authentic recipe for the famous Catalan salsa Romesco, which has almost universal use. It goes well with boiled and roasted vegetables, with roasted fish and meat. However, you will most often see it served alongside grilled spring onions.

WHAT IS SALSA ROMESCO?

Salsa romesco is a traditional Catalan sauce of roasted peppers, tomatoes, onions and garlic thickened with toasted white bread and toasted almonds.

HOW IS ROMESCO SAUCE USED?

It is really a surprisingly universal sauce, which is most often served with roasted spring onions - the popular Catalan dish CALÇOTS A LA BRASA CON SALSA ROMESCO. But it goes well with any other roasted vegetables (potatoes, artichokes, peppers, carrots), baked or grilled meat or baked fish.

Romesco goes well with grilled chicken

WHAT ARE THE VARIANTS OF THIS RECIPE?

You can roast vegetables not only in the oven but also on the grill or with a little oil in a pan. In that case, however, it is easier to cut the tomato in half and fry it on the cut side.

The traditional version also features dried ñora pepper, which is ground (and sometimes strained) and added to the sauce. We have included it in this recipe as an optional ingredient, because Romesco tastes great even without it.

As for the ground pepper, it can be sweet, smoked or hot. Smoked goes well with the recipe because it pairs well with roasted vegetables. You can completely omit the vinegar if you like sweeter sauces. Use either classic wine or sherry vinegar.

RECIPE:

SALSA ROMESCO - ROMESCO SAUCE

Preparation: 5 MINUTES

Cooking: 35 MINUTES

Serving: 4

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 ripe tomatoes
• 1 ripe red pepper (capsicum) or 2 ripe smaller red peppers
• 1/2 onion - peeled
• 5 unpeeled garlic cloves
• 20 almonds
• 3 smaller slices of white bread
• 1 tablespoon of wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon of sweet or smoked paprika
• 50 ml of olive oil
• 2 dried peppers (can be omitted)
• salt

METHOD:

1. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees celsius. Place the tomatoes, peppers, peeled onions, unpeeled garlic cloves on a baking sheet (you can skip this if you have a non-stick baking tray), sprinkle with salt and cover with a layer of olive oil on all sides. Bake in the upper third of the oven for 25 minutes.
   
   
   Garlic is not peeled on purpose - after baking in the skin, it has a buttery consistency and a mild taste
   
   
2. If using dried peppers, soak them in hot water for 10 minutes, then remove the seeds and stems and grind them into a fine paste. 
3. In a small pan, fry the almonds in 2 tablespoons of olive oil on a high flame until light brown (approx. 1 minute) and fry the slices of white bread on both sides (approx. 1 minute).
4. After 25 minutes, remove the vegetables from the oven and let them cool down. Remove the skin and seeds from the peppers and tomatoes, peel the garlic. 
   
   

   
   The vegetables should be soft and well browned on the outside. The bread together with the almonds should have a nice, lighter toasted color.
   

5. Place the cleaned peppers, tomatoes and garlic in the food processor, as well as the baked onion, fried bread and almonds, a teaspoon of ground paprika ( or the paste made from the dried peppers), a tablespoon of vinegar and 6 tablespoons of olive oil. Blend into a thick fine paste. Taste if the salsa is salty enough. 

Salsa Romesco has a universal use - it goes well with vegetables, meat and fish, it is also added to sandwiches. However, it is most often served with grilled spring onions. 

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