Recipe: Basic Romesco Sauce (food processor)

BASIC ROMESCO SAUCE

2 ounces Nora peppers (8 to 10 peppers)*
1/4 cup hazelnuts
1/4 cup Marcona almonds**
4 Roma tomatoes
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons best-quality olive oil, divided use
1 ounce good-quality country white bread, sliced, crusts removed
3 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon sweet paprika (preferably Spanish)
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar (preferably Jerez)

Place a rack in the upper third of the oven, and heat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Cover the peppers with boiling water and allow to soften for at least 30 minutes, then stem, seed and reserve.

While the peppers are softening, toast the nuts separately until golden and aromatic, 8 to 10 minutes. If the hazelnuts have skins, remove their skins by rolling them in a kitchen towel once they are cool. Set the nuts aside, and raise the oven temperature to broil.

Halve the tomatoes lengthwise and place them, skin side up, on a foil-lined baking sheet. Brush 1 tablespoon of oil over the tomatoes and broil the tomatoes until the skins begin to darken and crack, about 5 minutes. Cool on their tray, then peel, core and set aside.

In a skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of oil, and fry the bread until golden brown. Cool and set aside.

In a food processor, coarsely chop the garlic, salt, fried bread and nuts. Add the peppers, tomatoes, paprika and vinegar and process to a rough paste. Slowly pour in the remaining olive oil in a steady stream and process until just combined.

*Instead of Nora peppers, use 2 dried Cascabel peppers and 1 large red pepper. Stick forks in the Cascabels to keep them submerged in the boiling water. Roast the red pepper whole. After all the peppers are cool, peel, stem and seed them. Follow the rest of the recipe above.

**If almonds are salted in the bag, omit the salt from the recipe.

NOTES:
The recipe is one of those that will take on the personality of the person making it, depending on preferred tastes and which ingredients are available. The ingredients that are common to all the recipes I found are hazelnuts, almonds, tomatoes and paprika.

It's a pepper sauce, but the type used can vary. Traditional romesco sauce uses Nora peppers, but Cascabel or ancho peppers or roasted red peppers may be substituted. Make it a little hotter by adding a jalapeno, split and seeded. If a milder pepper is used, such as the roasted red peppers, add a little more paprika.

Makes about 2 cups
From: Lisa Sandmeyer, The Capital-Journal, July 02, 2008
Source: Amy Scattergood, Los Angeles Times