The romesco sauce could well be the queen of Catalan sauces. Of course there is the allioli, the samfaina and a couple more that could deserve that title too. But in my view, no other sauce is more versatile encapsulating the essence of the traditional Catalan cuisine.
The Romesco sauce is a gastronomical treasure that some even regard as a symbol for Catalan national identity. Despite the countless theories about its origins, what we know for sure is that it was first prepared in its most basic form somewhere along the coast of Tarragona.
However, the recipe we know today contains a type of dry sweet pepper, the ñoras,
Perhaps the best known use for this sauce is to serve it as a dip for calçots, a type of scallion or bigger-size spring onion which is very popular in Catalonia during the early months of the year. And it’s perhaps due to that condition of loyal squire for the calçots, that the Romesco enjoys its popularity peak every year during the last Sunday of January, when the people from the farming town of Valls flood the streets to celebrate their traditional calçotada.
But this is not the only use for this resourceful sauce. Prepared with a sofrito base made of tomato, ñora, pimenton and pulverized almonds and hazelnuts, the Romesco sauce goes well with pretty much every food, from veggie crudités and salads to white fish, meat or even rice-based dishes. Also, being such a popular sauce, there is no lack of professionals experimenting with new applications. For instance chef Jordi Cruz has created a delicious Romesco ice-cream for Abbac, his Michelin-starred restaurant in Barcelona.
The one that follows aims to recreate the original classic recipe. However, this doesn’t mean that there are not other very valid versions. This is just the one we use at home. In fact this is a simple sauce yet every household in Catalonia has its very own secret recipe for it. And that’s the beauty of it! So go on and make some Romesco sauce, create your very own version and let us know about it please!
If you have difficulties to find ñora peppers, you can buy them here.
INGREDIENTS
- 5 Tomato - Ripe, medium-sized
- 12 cloves Garlic
- 4 Ñora pepper - Alternatively use dried ancho peppers
- 2 Guindilla chillies - Alternatively use jalapeño peppers
- 40 g Almonds - Roasted
- 40 g Hazelnuts - Roasted
- 2 slices White bread - Toasted
- 500 ml Extra virgin olive oil
- 200 ml Red wine vinegar
- 2 tbsp Sweet pimenton
- Salt
METHOD
- First hydrate the dry peppers in a bowl with hot water for at least 2-3 hours. Remove the seeds and reserve the meat.
- Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4. Roast the tomatoes and the garlic cloves. Take the garlic out after 12 minutes and leave the tomatoes for another 5 minutes.
- Peel the tomatoes, the garlic, the nyoras, the almonds and the hazelnuts.
- Toast the slice of bread.
- Put everything together with the oil and the vinegar in a bowl and mix thoroughly. The orthodox way to mix it is with the help of a mortar but you can also use a hand mixer being careful not to overdo it.
- Add in the pimentón, a pinch of salt and a guindilla top to give it a kick. Mix again, taste it and correct the amount of salt and/or vinegar if needed.
