Traditional romesco sauce
*Plus 10 minutes of soaking
Romesco sauce is a very easy sauce to prepare, with a mild flavor and a touch of heat. It originates in the Catalan region of Camp de Tarragona, where it has been traditionally eaten since at least the end of the 19th century, as the written references of the time show.
It owes its name to the Mozarabic term remescolar, which could be translated as "to mix" or "to stir", and that is exactly how this sauce is made. It is eaten throughout Catalonia and over the last century it has crossed borders and become known worldwide.
It is a sauce that captivates everyone who tries it, whether cold or hot, served with salads, potatoes, toast, or grilled or baked vegetables, especially calçots, a kind of long, tender onion that is eaten from November to April, during autumn and winter, mainly between January and March.
The key to its prized flavor lies in the rich combination of its ingredients: the ñoras and spices bring vibrancy, the garlic and vinegar bring punch, the tomatoes bring juiciness and flavor, and the almonds and hazelnuts bring smoothness and aroma.
This sauce is rich in carbohydrates, protein, beta-carotene, lycopene, phytosterols, capsanthin, glutathione, quercetin, allicin, alliin, inulin, omegas 3, 6 and 9; fiber, vitamins C, A, E and B (B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B7 and B9, or folic acid), calcium, phosphorus, iron, magnesium, manganese, potassium, selenium, sodium, iodine and zinc.
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Notes
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- Step 1In a bowl of boiling water, soak the ñoras for 10 minutes so that they rehydrate and their skin softens.
- Step 2Preheat the oven to 175 °C for 10 minutes, then roast the tomatoes and garlic for 30 minutes. Set aside.
- Step 3In a grinder or food processor, put the almonds and hazelnuts and grind them until finely ground. Set aside.
- Step 4Take the rehydrated ñoras out of the bowl, remove the stem and open them. Remove the seeds and, with the tip of a knife, scrape the skin to separate the pulp, putting it into a mortar as you go.
- Step 5Add the skinned, seeded tomatoes and the peeled garlic to the mortar, and begin to pound (crush) with the pestle. Add the ground almonds and hazelnuts and keep pounding until everything is well combined.
- Step 6Add the vinegar, pepper and salt and pound a little more so that all the ingredients bind well.
- Step 7Add the oil little by little, stirring as you go so that it mixes with the rest of the ingredients and the sauce is smooth. Add the paprika to give it a more intense color, stirring again so that it is well blended. Transfer it to a bowl or to individual bowls and serve.