Romesco Sauce

Romesco Sauce by Bill Devin
From http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/romesco_sauce.aspx

This garlicky sauce, which originated in the city of Tarragona, has tons of variations and many uses—it's served with salads, grilled vegetables, meat, chicken, or fish, or stirred into fish stews. Try it tossed with pasta or as a sandwich spread. It keeps in the refrigerator for at least a week.

Yields 2-1/2 cups.

Ingredients tomatoes ancho chiles almonds more more
hazelnuts kosher salt red wine vinegar dry red wine garlic

4 medium-size ripe tomatoes (1-3/4 lb. total), cored
1 head garlic, sliced in half crosswise
2 Tbs. plus 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1-1/2 oz. (1/4 cup) blanched almonds
1-1/4 oz. (1/4 cup) peeled hazelnuts
1 dried ancho chile, cored, seeded, slit, and opened so it lies fairly flat
1 tsp. kosher salt or sea salt; more to taste
2 to 3 Tbs. red-wine vinegar
2 Tbs. red wine (dry or fruity, but not oaky), if needed
1 slice stale white bread, torn, if needed

Heat the oven to 375°F. Put the tomatoes and one half of the garlic head in a baking pan. Drizzle about 1 Tbs. of the olive oil into the cored tomato wells and on top of the garlic half. Roast until the tomatoes and garlic are well caramelized but not burnt, about 90 minutes. From the remaining half head of garlic, coarsely chop 1 Tbs. garlic and put it in a food processor.

Slow oven roasting brings out the sugars in tomatoes and garlic. Get them caramelized but not burnt.

While the tomatoes roast, heat about 1 Tbs. of the olive oil in a small sauté pan over medium heat. Toast the almonds and hazelnuts in the pan, shaking the pan or stirring so they don't burn, until golden brown, 5 to 6 minutes. Cool the nuts on a paper towel and then put them in the food processor.

If using a dried chile, sear it in the same small pan over medium-high heat (keep it flat with a spatula or a fork) until a smoke wisp appears, about 10 seconds per side. Soak it in 1 cup hot tap water until soft, about 15 minutes. Drain and put the chile in the food processor.

Start with the toasted nuts, chile, and tomatoes to get the purée underway.

When the tomatoes and garlic are caramelized, let them cool. Pinch off the tomato skins (discard them) and squeeze out the garlic pulp. Put the tomatoes and garlic pulp in the processor. Add the salt and start the processor, pouring in the remaining 1/3 cup olive oil in a slow, steady stream, as if making mayonnaise. Add the vinegar, pulse to incorporate, and taste; the sauce should have some zing, so add more if needed. Add salt to taste. Process the romesco until it comes together as a sauce but not so much as to lose its coarse, nutty texture. The sauce should be thick and creamy. If it seems too thick, add 1 or 2 Tbs. red wine. If it's too thin, add bread, pulsing a few more times.


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Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:

* 12 blanched almonds or almond slivers
* 10-12 hazelnuts
* 1 head garlic
* 1 slice stale bread
* 2 ripe medium size tomatoes, or 1 large tomato
* 2 large roasted red peppers, well-drained
* 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
* 1/2 cup red wine or sherry vinegar (approximately)
* 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes or small hot pepper (optional)

Preparation:

Note: Add approximately 15 minutes to preparation time if blanching almonds.

This romesco sauce recipe makes about 2 cups of sauce.

Roast garlic by first rubbing off excess dry skin from garlic head. Then place on baking sheet and drizzle a bit of olive oil on top. Roast in oven (or toaster oven) for 20 minutes at 300F degrees or until garlic on inside is roasted and soft.

If almonds are not already blanched: While garlic is roasting, blanch almonds, then peel. For easy step-by-step instructions on blanching almonds, read About.com Greek Food Guide's, How to Make Blanched Almonds.

Make sure almonds are completely dry after blanching. Place almonds and hazelnuts into food processor and process until finely ground.

Pour a few tablespoons of virgin olive oil into a small frying pan and quickly fry bread until both sides are browned. Remove from pan and allow to cool on a plate or paper towel.

Cut tomatoes into quarters and sauté in same pan, adding oil if needed. Sauté for 4-5 minutes. Remove pan from heat.

Once bread is cooled, tear into 6 pieces and process with the nuts. Add sautéed tomatoes and continue to process. Squeeze roasted garlic from the skins into the processor. Place roasted red peppers into the processor with the other ingredients and process until ingredients are a thick puree.

While processor is running, slowly drizzle in the oil and vinegar. Add salt to taste.

Serve with meat, fish, poultry or vegetables.

Store in refrigerator for up to 7 days.


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From http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Romesco-Sauce-232504
yield: Makes about 1 1/2 cups

active time: 20 min

total time: 40 min
This dip is our version of a Catalan sauce that has many variations and tastes great with almost any type of grilled meat or fish. It's worth the extra trouble to use hazelnuts (which need peeling), as well as almonds. Even though 2 tablespoons of hazelnuts seems a small amount, they round out the flavor of the sauce.


* 1 large tomato (1/2 lb), cored
* 1 (1/2-oz) dried ancho chile*
* 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
* 2 tablespoons hazelnuts, toasted and loose skins rubbed off with a kitchen towel while warm
* 2 tablespoons blanched almonds
* 1 (1/2-inch-thick) slice firm white bread, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
* 2 large garlic cloves, sliced
* 1/8 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes
* 1/4 cup drained bottled pimientos, rinsed
* 2 tablespoons water
* 1 tablespoon red-wine vinegar
* 1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste

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Preparation

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 400°F. Line a small baking pan with foil.

Roast tomato in pan until tender and skin peels off easily, about 30 minutes.

While tomato is roasting, slit chile open lengthwise and discard stem and seeds, then tear chile into small pieces. Heat oil in an 8- to 10-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat until hot but not smoking, then add chile and cook, stirring, until fragrant and chile turns a brighter red, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Transfer chile with a slotted spoon to a heatproof bowl. Add hazelnuts to skillet along with almonds, bread, garlic, and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, until bread and garlic are golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Add mixture (including oil) to chile in bowl and cool slightly.

Peel tomato, then coarsely chop and transfer (with juices) to a food processor. Add bread and chile mixture, pimientos, water, vinegar, and 1/4 teaspoon salt and purée until smooth. Thin with water if desired and season with salt.

Cooks' note: Sauce can be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered. Bring to room temperature before serving. *Available at Latino markets, many supermarkets, and kitchenmarket.com.


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Roasted Shrimp with Romesco Sauce Recipe

From http://www.chow.com/recipes/10752-roasted-shrimp-with-romesco-sauce
Total: 30 mins
Active: 10 mins

Makes: 8 to 12 servings (24 shrimp)

INGREDIENTS
For the romesco:

* 1/2 medium tomato
* 2 medium garlic cloves, peeled
* 2 slices crusty bread (about 2 ounces)
* 1/4 cup whole raw almonds
* 1 (7.25-ounce) jar roasted red peppers, drained (about 1 cup)
* 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
* 1/4 cup olive oil
* 1 teaspoon kosher salt
* 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

For the shrimp:

* 24 large shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails left on (about 1 pound)
* 3 tablespoons olive oil


INSTRUCTIONS
For the romesco:

1. Heat the oven to 450°F and arrange a rack in the middle.
2. Arrange tomato, garlic, bread, and almonds on a rimmed baking sheet and roast until bread and almonds are lightly toasted, about 10 to 15 minutes.
3. Transfer roasted ingredients to a food processor or blender and pulse to coarsely chop. Add roasted red peppers, vinegar, olive oil, salt, and paprika and pulse again until well combined and relatively smooth.


For the shrimp:

1. Combine shrimp and oil in a mixing bowl, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and toss to coat. Spread shrimp in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast until opaque, about 6 to 8 minutes.
2. Serve roasted shrimp with sauce.


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Romesco Potatoes
From http://smittenkitchen.com/2010/03/romesco-potatoes/

Adapted from Sunday Suppers at Lucques, the potatoes more generously adapted than the sauce

Romesco Sauce
5 ancho chiles*
2 tablespoons raw almonds
2 tablespoons blanched hazelnuts (or, you can rub their skins off once they are toasted and cooled)
1 1/4 cups extra-virgin olive oil
1 slice country bread, about 1-inch thick
1/3 cup canned San Marzano tomatoes (I bought whole tomatoes, not sure why; I’d use purée next time)
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/2 lemon, for juicing
A splash of sherry vinegar (can’t find it? Use a mild wine or balsamic vinegar instead)
Kosher salt

Potatoes
1 1/2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes (full size or minis work)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 to 5 cloves garlic, unpeeled
2 bay leaves
6 springs thyme, plus 2 teaspoons thyme leaves (I left this out, accidentally; it was fine without it)
1 cup Romesco sauce (from above)
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Make the sauce: Preheat the oven to 375°F. Remove and discard the seeds and stems from the chiles, then soak them in warm water for 15 minutes to soften. Strain the chiles, and pat dry with paper towels. Meanwhile, spread the nuts on a baking sheet and toast for 8 to 10 minutes, until they smell nutty and are golden brown.

Heat a large sauté pan over high heat for 2 minutes. Add 2 tablespoon olive oil, wait a moment (for it to heat) and fry the slice of bread on both sides until golden brown. Remove the bread from the pan and cool. Cut it into 1-inch cubes and set aside.

Return the pan to the stove over high heat. Add 2 tablespoon olive oil and the chiles and sauté for a minute or two. Add the tomatoes. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring often until the tomato juices have evaporated. Turn off the heat and leave the mixture in the pan.

In a food processor, pulse together the toasted nuts, garlic and fried bread until the bread and nuts are coarsely ground. Add the chile-tomato mixture and process for 1 minute more. With the machine running, slowly pour in the remaining 1 cup of olive oil and process until you have a smooth purée. Don’t worry, the romesco will “break” (separate into solids and oil); this is normal. Add the parsley, season to taste with lemon juice, sherry vinegar and more salt, if you feel it needs it.

Make the potatoes: Place the potatoes in a roasting pan (I used my 12-inch cast iron skillet, which turned out to be a brilliant idea as I could transfer it to the stove and continue cooking there — highly recommended if you have one) and toss well with 2 tablespoons olive oil, garlic cloves, bay leaves, thyme sprigs and a heaping teaspoon of salt. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and roast the potatoes until tender when pierced (this took 30 minutes for my tiny ones, larger ones may need 50). Discard the bay and thyme and squeeze the garlic out of its skin and set aside.

Either transfer potatoes to a large sauté pan or transfer cast iron skillet to stove-top and heat on high for 2 minutes. Pour in the remaining 2 tablespoons oil (you can get away with 1 tablespoon if you are using the same cast-iron you roasted the potatoes in and it is well seasoned) turn the heat to medium-high and wait 1 minute more. Add the potatoes and smash them with your spatula or a fork until a little broken up. Season with thyme leaves, salt and pepper and sauté them for 6 to 8 minutes until they are crispy on one side. (If they are stuck to the pan, don’t try to move them, they will eventually release themselves). After they’ve browned nicely on the first side, turn them until they color on all sides. Spoon the romesco sauce and reserved garlic over the potatoes and stir. Toss in the parsley. Adjust seasoning if necessary.

Do ahead: Sauce can be made up to 2 weeks in advance and kept in the fridge. Use the extra on sandwiches, with cheese, eggs, grilled fish and roasted meats. One the dish is assembled, if you’re not ready to serve it yet, turn off the heat and leave the potatoes in the pan; just before serving reheat for a few minutes and add the parsley at the last minute.