HAUNTED BY ROMESCO
Make this rudely vibrant roasted red pepper and almond sauce from Tarragona on the Catalan coast, and it will bring sunshine into your life.
Sometimes it’s the idea of a dish and what it represents that forces itself to the top of the what-to-cook queue in your mind. I’ve been haunted by romesco lately - stalked even, by the rudely vibrant roasted red pepper and almond sauce.
Not because I am longing to be in Barcelona or its home town of Tarragona– although I am - but because I am not yet ready to say farewell to summer.
This is it, then; the sunniest sauce in the world.
Romesco belongs to the beautiful, ancient city of Tarragona, down the coast from Barcelona, where the name lends itself to both the sauce, and the famous seafood stew known as romesco de peix.
Traditionally, romesco was simply a pounded sauce of almonds, hazelnuts and special little dried chilli peppers known as nora (nyora), flavoured with tomatoes, garlic and vinegar and thickened with bread. Then fruity red capsicum became involved, turning it into more of a sauce, and I think, a more delicious and versatile one.
Most recipes call for charring the capsicum and tomatoes on the grill until blistered, skinning them and then pounding everything together by hand, and finishing it with vinegar, olive oil and sea salt.
My romesco is different – it throws capsicum, tomatoes and garlic into the oven rather than the grill, and lets them soften and drop their juices (save them, they’re gold). Then everything gets brought together in a food processor until it is comically bright, thick, pulpy, juicy, sharp and sweet.
Just pulse it, to keep a rough texture, not too refined. It has to have PERSONALITY, or there’s no point doing it.
# No stale bread? Sub in a tablespoon or two of panko crumbs and it will thicken like a dream. Not sure it isn’t better.
# Not being a fan of raw garlic, I roast mine, unpeeled, alongside the peppers to make it soft and nutty before mixing, then squeeze it out ready to go.
Serve with grilled or pan-fried tuna or swordfish.
Brilliant with fried eggs on top.
Great with fish, chicken and lamb.
A special little part of heaven with prawns.
Excellent with roasted cauliflower, broccolini or asparagus.
Pretty damn incredible with sausages - just bake them alongside the capsicum for 30 minutes; whiz your sauce together and place on top.
ROMESCO
2 medium or 4 small tomatoes
2 red capsicum
4 garlic cloves, unpeeled
2 tbsp blanched (skinned) almonds
1 slice sourdough bread
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 to 2 tbsp strong vinegar eg sherry, red wine
half tsp smoked paprika
sea salt
HEAT the oven to 190C.
CUT the capsicum into rings or bits and pieces, discarding core and seeds, and cut tomatoes in half.
TOSS the tomatoes, capsicum and garlic (unpeeled) in half the olive oil, scatter with sea salt, and bake for 25 to 30 minutes until soft and almost scorchy; a bit of colour is good.
ADD the almonds and bread for the last 10 minutes to get a bit toasty.
WHIZ the almonds in a food processor until finely ground.
TIP the tomatoes and capsicum into the food processor with all their juices.
SQUEEZE the soft garlic out of the skins and add, then pulse.
TEAR the bread into bits and add, then pulse.
ADD vinegar, sea salt, paprika and remaining olive oil and pulse to bring together. If too thick, add more olive oil, or a dash of water; if too thin, add more breadcrumbs. You want it thick and sloppy, full of personality.
TASTE, adjust for sharpness and savouriness (vinegar and sea salt), and serve.
POSTCARD FROM TARRAGONA: The stately, dignified port city was pretty much closed on the Sunday I was there, but the sun was ferocious, bouncing off the ancient stones and churches, sending us all to huddle in the strong, sharp shadows. We drank beer and ate huge platters of grilled, oily, padrone peppers, and drank more beer.
Thanks for reading – feel free to add a comment, or share with a friend, or subscribe for more Jill Dupleix Eats in your inbox every Thursday. And special thanks to my right-hand man, Terry Durack, for going up to the shops for the capsicums, then again for the sausages, and then for the broccolini. Just as well he gets to eat it all for dinner.
I would also like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the lands and waters upon which I work, live, cook and play; the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. I fully support the Uluru Statement from the Heart, and for an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voice to be enshrined in Australia’s Constitution. It’s about time, folks.
Wonderful as always, Jill. x