romeo
romesco
romesco
on looks alone, romeo of the house of montague and romesco sauce have little in common. one is a dewy-skinned, love-drunk teenager, the other is a sauce in sanguine tones, drunk on nothing other than how good it tastes...on everything. romeo is characterized by his proclivity for grandiosity and his fine skills with a rapier. romesco is known for its bright, acidic tang of tomatoes, tempered by roasting, warm layers of olive oil-toasted nuts, and a whisper of heat from peppers and chili. romeo hails from verona, romesco from catalonia. one is a thing of fiction, the other is a sauce. to that i say: every object of the world needs something to adore it with fervor and ferocity. romeo had juliet, romesco has me. i sing its praises on slow-cooked eggs and roasted potatoes. i like it dolloped on robust cuts of meat, or a fleshy filet of fish the moment it's pulled from a charcoal grill. dunking vegetables or a warm heel of bread? yes, please. i like to sneak it by the spoonful at a party, in secret. i haven't tried eating it in costume, or on a balcony, but i fully intend to do so. though typically made in the height of summer with fresh tomatoes and peppers, i developed a recipe using canned tomatoes and jars of peppers from the pantry, so i could have it all year round. fortunately, the only tragedy involving romesco is when my supply is depleted. i prefer being starry-eyed to star-cross'd. with a bit of time in the kitchen and a short list of ingredients, romesco lives on.
romesco sauce, mostly from the pantry
(makes about 2 cups of sauce)
one 28-ounce can whole, peeled tomatoes, drained of juices (preferably san marzano)
6 large cloves of garlic, unpeeled
1 cup jarred, roasted bell peppers (about 3 whole), drained of juices
15 blanched hazelnuts
1/4 cup blanched almonds
about 3/4 cup - 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
pinch red chili flakes
sea salt & freshly cracked pepper
preheat oven to 250. coat the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch roasting pan (or similarly sized) with a slick of olive oil. cut the canned tomatoes in half, scrape out their seeds, and place them cut side down in the roasting pan. nestle the unpeeled garlic cloves in alongside them and drizzle the whole thing with about 1 - 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, and sea salt and cracked black pepper. roast for 2 - 2 1/2 hours, until the tomatoes have shrunken in size and have begun to brown.
remove the tomatoes to the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. squeeze the roasted garlic pulp from the peel onto the tomatoes.
place 3 tablespoons of the olive oil and the hazelnuts and almonds in a medium saute pan over medium-low heat. watch carefully, and as soon as the nuts are fragrant and light brown, remove from the heat, and add all the contents of the pan to the food processor.
add the jarred roasted peppers, sherry vinegar, a pinch of red chili flakes and a pinch of sea salt and black pepper to the contents of the food processor. pulse the contents until they have formed a rough paste. then, with the processor running, pour in about 1/2 cup of olive oil in a slow, steady stream. the goal is a thick sauce, with a velvety texture. add more olive oil until you have achieved your desired consistency.
notes
* romesco sauce keeps will in the refrigerator for 1.5 weeks. i like it equally served cold or at room temperature.
* as mentioned above, romesco is delicious on eggs, frittata, roasted or grilled vegetables, roasted or grilled meat or fish, crudite, or toasted bread or pita. i encourage a limitless imagination in matters of romesco.
* if you can find jarred piquillo peppers from spain, use them in lieu of jarred roasted bell pepper. it is a special treat.