We’ve been talking a lot about sauces the past few weeks, and deservedly so.
Sauces are workhorses during the summer grilling season; they add flavor, interest, color, and sometimes even texture to meals featuring grilled and roasted proteins and vegetables. Chilled sauces can even help you play the temperature game with foods, which can be especially refreshing during these dog days of summer.
I’m not sure where we first came across the recipe for this Easy Romesco Sauce, but it’s become one of our favorites this summer. The careful application of fire and time renders bell peppers (and perhaps a Mediterraneo Dulce) – for the pepper tolerant – tender and almost smokey in flavor. Let them steam covered for 20 minutes and the skins slip off in your fingers, and they’re a cinch to stem, seed, and chop.
Romesco sauces originated in Spain and most that I’ve run across are tomato based with either almonds or hazelnuts added; this is one of those sauces that allows you to shake things up and build it to suit your (family) palate. The roasted pepper base in this recipe simply resonates with our palates at home.
This sauce brings together a cast of players you might not think of at first blush, though most of us in the ancestral food space appreciate the nifty flavor of almond butter; add in a bit of garlic, tart acid in the form of a flavorful vinegar, and a pinch of spice, and you’re in for genuine treat.
We had this again a few nights ago with an ancho-cumin-coffee rubbed pork tenderloin and a spicy pepita jalapeño cauliflower rice; I made a batch of this Columbian Aji Sauce to have a red and green (thank you New Mexico) effect for the sauces – it’s was amazing…
2 large red bell peppers, whole
1 red Mediterraneo Dulce pepper, whole (optional)
Avocado oil or EVOO for grill grate
1 garlic clove, grated
2 tbsp almond butter (unsweetened)
2 tbsp red wine vinegar (sherry or rice wine vinegar in a pinch)
1 tbsp avocado oil or EVOO
1 tsp good salt + more to taste
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
Grill the whole peppers over high heat, on the grill is best but you can char them over a gas burner or under the broiler as well. Place in a large bowl, cover, and let steam and rest until cool enough to handle (15-20 minutes).
Skin, stem, and seed the peppers, then place the flesh in your trusty blender along with the garlic, almond butter, vinegar, oil, salt, smoked paprika, and the cayenne. Blend until smooth, taste for salt, and thin if needed with a splash of oil or more vinegar.
Best served immediately, though can hold in the fridge (covered, airtight) for a few days.
Enjoy.
