Romesco sauce

How to make romesco sauce . This sauce recipe  has a great tradition within the Catalan community, more specifically in the province of Tarragona. It is a preparation based on tomato, onion, ñoras, nuts, bread and oil.

Vegetables are traditionally roasted and mixed with the rest of the ingredients in a mortar. As it is mashed, olive oil is added until it becomes a homogeneous and linked sauce. To facilitate the work I have used a traditional hand mixer. Vegetables are made in the traditional style such as roasted vegetables blanched .

It seems that this sauce originates from the seafaring neighborhood of Serrallo, in Tarragona. It is mainly used as an accompaniment to all kinds of grilled fish, although it will be delicious with vegetables and meats made in the same way. It is an obligatory accompaniment with the traditional calçots , a kind of onion that is cultivated in the area and which is prepared over the fire on the grill in the popular calçotas .

This sauce has been a discovery for its deliciousness and I would even dare to say that it is addictive. Its texture and intense flavor is a luxury. At home it has become part of the essentials for any self-respecting barbecue or meeting, and I assure you that it is a sure success.

Preparation of the Romesco sauce base

1. We put the ñoras in a bowl with hot water to rehydrate them. We will leave them for about 30 minutes, until they are fully hydrated. We reserve.
2. Peel the onion and place the tomatoes, onion and garlic cloves in a baking dish. Bake, with the oven previously heated to 180º C, for 30 minutes, until the vegetables are roasted. To prevent the tomatoes from bursting, we will give them a superficial cut on the skin.
3. While the vegetables cook, we prepare the rest of the ingredients. We remove the ñoras from the water and remove the inner seeds. With the tip of a knife or a teaspoon, we separate its internal meat.
4. We roast the hazelnuts in a frying pan and remove, if possible, the outer skin. Toast the almonds and walnuts in a pan for a few minutes. Once the vegetables are cooked, peel the tomatoes and the garlic cloves.

Crushed and final presentation of romesco sauce

1. We have two standard recipes, one with and one without mortar (the express with a mixer). If you want to prepare it as it was done in the past, you must give it to the mortar. A little patience and following the list of ingredients that I comment on in the next step.
2. In this case we have prepared it in the express version, with the mixer. It is much easier to prepare, add the meat of the ñoras, hazelnuts, walnuts and almonds to the blender glass.
3. Add the chopped bread, the tomatoes, the onion and the chopped garlic cloves. Add a pinch of salt, sherry vinegar and part of the oil.
4. We crush while we are incorporating the rest of the oil until obtaining a linked cream and the finest possible.
5. If we have a sauce that is too thick we can add some more extra virgin olive oil. At home we like it that way, that the calçot has a good grip, but it suits the taste, it can be more loose with a little liquid.
6. We taste the romesco and rectify it normally with a touch of salt. And that’s it! This would be the famous Catalan sauce.

In a moment we have this wonderful sauce as traditional as an accompaniment to the typical calçots or any type of grilled fish or vegetables.

I encourage you to try making this sauce at home, nothing to do with the purchased. You can see all the step by step photos of this romesco sauce  in this album.