Romesco Sauce

This romesco sauce could have a lot of uses.

McCormick's suggests using it as a salad dressing. Smitten Kitchen recommends it poured over roasted potatoes. The Kitchn provides countless ideas, including adding a layer to your sandwich for lunch and drizzling some over your favorite fish dish. Art & Lemons says its the perfect vegetable dip. Jamie Oliver uses it to dress squid.

I didn't use it in any of those ways. I will.  I'm thankful I've got an extra jarful frozen for just those purposes.

I used it on a Spanish tortilla.

The http://makingmichaelpollanproud.blogspot.com/2011/09/spanish-tortilla-with-artichokes-and.htmlSpanish tortilla is simple and unadorned in its natural state. That makes it the perfect base for this complex, fiery sauce, rich with almonds, roasted peppers and tomatoes, and cayenne. It's got a bit of smokiness and a bit of heat to it.

When I had guests over for dinner, we all drizzled it on top of our tortilla. But later, when eating leftover tortilla by myself, I slathered it on top, totally coating the top of my tortilla with the sauce. The later is what I'd recommend you do.




Romesco Sauce
recipe adapted from McCormick Gourmet

Ingredients
1 Spanish tortilla (I made this one, omitting the artichokes and roasted red peppers to add authenticity)
1 red bell pepper, roasted, skin removed and chopped
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, roasted
1/4 cup olive oil
10 almonds, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper to taste

Turn the oven on to broil. Halve and core the red peppers, removing all the ribs and the seeds, and place on a baking sheet. Add cherry tomatoes (untouched but washed!) to the baking sheet. Broil for 5 to 9 minutes, until the tops of the peppers are blackened. Remove from the heat.

Immediately transfer the red peppers to a paper bag or a Tupperware container. Allow the peppers to cool, and then peel the skins off. Dice the peppers roughly.

In the bowl of a food processor, combine all ingredients. Blend until smooth, which could take several minutes. Alternatively, a blender can be used or an immersion blender.

Taste. Adjust the seasoning, adding additional salt, pepper, cayenne or sherry vinegar, as needed.

Serve over a Spanish tortilla or in any other way you can imagine.