Name: Romesco Sauce
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 1 servings
Cuisine: Spanish
Ingredients: 1 large bell pepper (or sub 1 cup roasted bell pepper); ½ an onion; 2 garlic cloves, smashed; ¼ cup olive oil, divided; 3 tablespoons water; ½ cup toasted almonds or hazelnuts; 1 tablespoon tomato paste; 1 teaspoon cumin; 1 teaspoon smoked paprika; ½ teaspoon chili flakes; ½-¾ teaspoon salt; 1 tablespoon sherry wine vinegar (or red wine vinegar); ¼ cup chopped fresh Italian parsley

1

Dice the red bell pepper and onion. Heat a skillet over medium heat and add 1 tablespoon olive oil, and saute onion and pepper until tender and fragrant, about 8 minutes. Add smashed garlic cloves and continue sauteing until onions and peppers start to caramelize.

2

Preheat oven to 425 F. Cut bell pepper in half, remove seeds and place open side down on a greased sheet pan. Add the onion, cutting ½ inch rings, add the garlic cloves whole, brush or spray with olive oil and roast 25-30 minutes, checking on garlic halfway through. Remove garlic when tender and golden. Continue roasting pepper and onion another 10 minutes, or until all are tender and slightly charred.

3

Place the pepper-onion mixture a food processor with all the remaining ingredients (except the parsley). Pulse until combined. You can keep this quite coarse, with more texture, or blend until very smooth and creamy.

4

Add the chopped parsley and pulse a few times. Taste, adjust salt and heat.

5

To serve, place in bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with parsley and crushed nuts if you like.