A Catalan classic, romesco sauce is made from grilled peppers with toasted nuts to be eaten with calçots (a type of allium exclusively grown in Spain). It's sweet, rich and tangy, and with the addition of spicy paprika makes for a delicious spread to enjoy with crudités (see below), pasta, or a myriad other ways!
Romesco
Makes 1 kilner jar
Takes 35 minutes (15 prep, 30 cook)
3 romano peppers or 2 large red bell peppers
100g hazelnuts
100g almonds or ground almond
2 cloves of garlic
50g olive oil
Zest and juice of 1 lemons
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp hot smoked paprika
1 tbsp tomato purée
Preheat the grill to 200C.
Use a sharp knife to punch a couple of holes in the peppers. Arrange them on a baking tray and grill them for 30 minutes, turning every 10 minutes, until they’re blackened and burnt.
Chop and toast the nuts. Place all the remaining ingredients in a blender.
Remove the peppers from the grill when cooked and place them straight into a mixing bowl, placing a plate on top. When they have cooled to touch, peel off the skin and deseed, discarding both seeds and skin.
Add the peppers to the blender and blend until smooth. Decant into a jar and store. Keeps for 1 week.
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