The Best World Sauces: How Many Have You Tried?

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Romesco - Spain

This vibrant, rich and nutty sauce hails from the Catalonia region of Spain. It's commonly made with roasted tomatoes, garlic, toasted almonds, hazelnuts (and/or pine nuts), olive oil and nyora peppers, which are small sun-dried bell peppers native to Spain. Ground stale bread may be added to help thicken the texture. This sauce goes best with seafood, but you can also serve it with meat, poultry or vegetables or slathered on a slice of toast.

Ingredients:

• 4 small plum tomatoes
• 1 whole head of garlic
• Olive oil
• 1 ancho chili pepper, halved, seeded and stemmed
• Hot water
• 10 hazelnuts, toasted
• 10 almonds, toasted
• 1 cup stale bread cubes
• 1 tbsp vinegar
• 6 tbsp olive oil
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Place the tomatoes and head of garlic on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Cover the pan with aluminum foil, and roast for 30 min. Let cool.
2. In a small frying pan on medium-high heat, sear the ancho chili pepper on both sides for 15 sec. each. Use a spatula to apply pressure and get it nice and blistered. Transfer the pepper to a bowl filled with hot water and let soften for 15 min. Roughly chop the pepper and set aside.
3. When cooled, peel the garlic and tomatoes, and add them to a blender with the toasted hazelnuts, toasted almonds, ancho chili pepper, stale bread cubes, vinegar and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm or at room temperature.