Occasionally, there are foods that cause my self-control to go completely out the window, and I can’t help but eat embarrassing quantities of them in one sitting. One of these is romesco sauce, a Spanish salsa of garlic, nuts, olive oil, and peppers that sends me to the moon. There are probably as many recipes for romesco as there are cooks who make it, but this one is probably my favorite, and fortunately one of the simpler ones: it doesn’t require fresh tomatoes, so one needn’t be concerned if the season still seems so very far away. The sauce has a wonderfully pungent garlicky flavor that is mellowed by sweetly smoky roasted peppers, then picked up a bit by a sharp tang of vinegar and the subtle heat of ancho chile. In fact, I like it so much that last year I ate two batches in one week and made myself sick of it, but thankfully I’ve fully recovered and can now resume my feeding frenzy.
When I’m feeling piggy casual, I just scoop up the romesco sauce with hunks of bread or raw veggies, but I also love it as a spread in a sandwich stuffed with greens and veggies. It’s excellent over fish, grilled vegetables, or those charmingly tiny fingerling potatoes like the ones in the picture. No matter how you use the romesco, I really hope you’ll love it as much as I do!
Hazelnut Romesco Sauce
3 medium red bell peppers
1 dried ancho chile
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup lightly toasted skinned hazelnuts
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Place the ancho chile in a small saucepan with water just enough to cover. Bring water to a boil, then turn off heat. Let chile soak for at least 15 minutes. Meanwhile, roast the red peppers on a gas burner, on a grill, or in the oven. Set aside in a covered contained or paper bag for 15 minutes, peel off the skin, and rinse the peppers of seeds. Remove ancho chile from soaking liquid and remove seeds, then place chile, roasted peppers, garlic cloves, vinegar, salt, and hazelnuts in a food processor. Run processor, drizzling the oil in gradually, until the desired consistency is reached. You can thin it with chile soaking water if desired, or thicken it with a piece of bread with the crusts removed. Serve at room temperature.