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Romesco is bold Spanish sauce typically made of peppers, nuts, tomatoes and garlic. This is also the third dish served at my recent west elm demonstration. Mild, sweet ancho chiles are blended with roasted red bell pepper, toasted hazelnuts and almonds, garlic, tomato paste and a smokey-hot blend of spices. The finished sauce is no joke. With each rich, savory bite, you will experience the most incredible depth of flavor. Seriously addicting. Enjoy Romesco on pork, chicken, seafood or beef. Or simply spread on a cracker or crostini as an appetizer. Based on the feedback I received from the event attendees, this dish was definitely the crowd favorite. Continue reading for the recipe.
Romesco Sauce with Crostini
Ingredients
- 2 ancho chiles
- 2 red bell peppers
- 1/2 cup hazelnuts
- 4 tablespoons baking soda
- 1/2 cup blanched almonds
- 3 slices of baguette or 1 larger slice of bread, fried in olive oil until golden
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 1/2 tablespoons sweet paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon hot smoked paprika
- Small pinch ground cayenne pepper
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt
- Crostini, for serving
Instructions
- Start by preparing the ancho chiles. Using a sharp knife, carefully slice from the stem end to the bottom end on one side of the chile. Pull off the stem and discard. Open the chile like a book. Using your knife, scrape out the ribs and seeds. Place the chiles in a small saucepan with water to cover. Bring to a boil over high heat, remove saucepan from heat, cover and let steep for 30 minutes.
- Turn your burner on full flame. Using a long fork, hold one of the bell peppers directly over the flame until the skin starts to bubble and blacken. Flip the pepper and blacken the other side. Once completely roasted, place the pepper in a bowl and repeat the same process with the remaining bell pepper. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap and let the peppers steam and cool for 20 minutes. If you don’t have a gas stove, you can also roast the peppers under a broiler or with a blow torch.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Place a rack in the middle of the oven. Bring a large pot 2/3 full of water to a boil. Once boiling, add baking soda and hazelnuts. Boil hazelnuts for 3 to 4 minutes. Drain and rinse hazelnuts under cold, running water, then peel off skins. Spread skinned hazelnuts out on a rimmed baking sheet and roast in the oven for 18—20 minutes, stirring occasionally. You will know the nuts are done when they become fragrant and their color deepens. Set aside. Spread almonds out on a separate rimmed baking sheet and toast for 7 to 8 minutes in the oven. They too will be done once fragrant and golden. Set aside.
- Drain ancho chiles, then chop into small pieces. Set aside. Transfer roasted peppers to a cutting board. Scrape off the blackened skin using the tip of a knife. Cut off the stem end of each pepper and slice in half. Remove the ribs and seeds. Discard skin, ribs and seeds. Chop peppers into ½ inch pieces and set aside (a rough chop is fine here).
- In a blender or food processor, combine the toasted hazelnuts, almonds, garlic and bread. Pulse until finely ground. Add the ancho chiles, roasted red peppers, sweet paprika, hot smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, tomato paste and vinegar, processing to combine. With the machine running, slowly stream in 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil and process until the sauce emulsifies. Season to taste with kosher salt, red wine vinegar and cayenne pepper.
- Transfer to a clean bowl and refrigerate until needed. Bring to room temperature before serving.
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I’m Brandon: food explorer, recipe curator, cocktail shaker, dessert lover. Kitchen Konfidence is how I document my time spent in my favorite space, the kitchen. Did you make a recipe? Tag @brandiego on Instagram so I can see the how it went!
Averie says
love the overhead shot and those plates..nice!
and i “blame” you for putting the penny bug in my head. I went ahead and ummm, booked, Mex City! And she *just* posted about it on her blog…so am thinking she may have more takers now, too.
Glad I booked it when I did b/c she’s capping it at 10 ppl and your timing and email to me..was perfect. I own you a shot of tequilla. Wanna come to Mex??
Brandon @ Kitchen Konfidence says
Thanks Averie. So glad you got in on Penny’s workshop. She is seriously amazing. So passionate. I would love to come to Mexico with you but I am already tied up that weekend. Photographing a Mexican City Market? You are going to have sooo much fun.
Brian @ A Thought For Food says
The flavors here are making my mouth water… the red pepper and the smoked paprika! Yum!
Brandon @ Kitchen Konfidence says
Haha, thanks Brian!! I looove smoked paprika too.
[email protected] says
Wow! I could eat that by the spoonfuls!
Jeff Rasmussen says
Done and done! I can’t wait to give this one a shot! I’m especially intrigued by the hazelnuts inside. Good job!
Brandon @ Kitchen Konfidence says
Thanks Jeff. The smell of blended hazelnuts, almonds, garlic and olive oil fried bread is amazing. You are definitely going to enjoy.
Nancy Buchanan says
This is one of my favorite sauces, especially in summer!! It is so good on everything so I am not surprised it was the favorite!! Lovely photo too!!!
Brandon @ Kitchen Konfidence says
Thanks Nancy! I’ve tried this sauce with a number of different proteins and it never seems to disappoint.
Jenné @ Sweet Potato Soul says
Wow, this looks soooo delicious! I know the hazelnuts have got to be good : )
Belinda @zomppa says
My, you just transported me elsewhere. What a lovely deep, sauce!
Brandon @ Kitchen Konfidence says
Thanks Belinda 🙂
Gwen~healthy mamma says
Ohhhhh my goodness. This is just the kind of thing I could swoon over. Swoon I tell you. Mamma needs some of this sauce in a bad way and serving it atop of crostini is just perfect to really savour the flavours! Don’t know if the kids would deal with the chili but then again, it’s not all about the kids now is it? 😉 Love this!
Brandon @ Kitchen Konfidence says
Mamma does need to try this sauce!! Perhaps this would be more kid friendly if served with fries? Come to think of it… I want to try this with fries now.
Joanne DiPalo says
I think this sauce will soon become a favorite in my family. They are starting to enjoy it more each time I make it. Thanks so much for sharing,
Joanne
Laura says
oohh the possibilities…. bookmarking this right away with my cookmarked.com account!