Fishers in Tarragona, south of Barcelona along Spain’s Mediterranean coast, make a sauce of roasted tomatoes thickened with almonds to eat with seafood, and it often includes the dried version of the local nyora pepper. That’s romesco. So my romesco-inspired condiment is just roasted pepper and almond sauce. No matter what you call it, it’s delicious.
From the kitchen
Chef Knife
Sheet Pan
Food Processor or Blender
Spatula
Measuring Spoons
While I’ve blackened and peeled dozens of red bell peppers to make this sauce, these days I take a simpler approach. Start with a 1 lb bag of mini sweet peppers. Spread them on a sheet pan, roast at 350F for about 30 minutes, and pull off the stems when they’re cool enough to handle.
Sometimes I’ll roast the almonds for a few minutes, but I often use them raw. Use a food processor to chop about a cup of whole almonds along with 2 or 3 cloves of garlic into a coarse meal.
Add the peppers, about a quarter cup of extra virgin olive oil, a few pinches of sea salt, a shake of silk chili and about 2 tablespoons of vinegar.
Process until you get a smooth paste, tasting and adding more olive oil, vinegar, and salt if needed. I like my romesco-adjacent sauce a little thick, more like a dip.