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–+ servings
Bowl of romesco sauce with crushed hazelnuts sprinkled in a half-moon shape on the top for garnish

Romesco Sauce

Smoky flavorful sauce featuring red bell peppers, tomatoes, hazelnuts, and bread crumbs. Use it as a sandwich spread, topping for roasted or grilled veggies, over pasta, or as a dipping sauce for fresh bread.
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Makes 12 servings (1/4 cup each)

Special Equipment

  • Food processor

Ingredients
  

  • 5 Tbsp olive oil divided (plus more, listed separately)
  • 1 lb Roma tomatoes cut in half and cores removed (keep seeds and juice inside)
  • 1 red bell pepper OR 1 prepared roasted red bell pepper
  • 2 cups unseasoned dried bread cubes (like for stuffing) OR 2 one-inch thick slices of Italian-style bread OR 1 1/2 cups panko / bread crumbs
  • 1 cup roasted hazelnuts unsalted
  • 3 garlic cloves chopped large
  • 1 tsp red pepper flakes (optional but highly recommended)
  • ¾ tsp Spanish smoked paprika
  • ½ tsp table salt
  • ¼ tsp ground black pepper
  • ¼ cup dry red wine or dry white wine (alternate: 1/8 cup red or white wine vinegar plus 1/8 cup water)
  • ¼ cup olive oil

Instructions
 

Preparation:

  • Preheat oven to 400 F.

Roast red pepper:

  • Cut the pepper in half and remove the seeds and stem.
  • Put the pepper halves on a baking sheet, skin-side-up.
  • Bake for 10 minutes (while preparing the tomatoes).

Roast tomatoes:

  • In a large bowl, toss tomato halves in 3 Tbsp oil.
  • Remove the baking sheet from the oven.
  • Put the tomato halves onto the hot baking sheet, cut-side up, with the pepper halves still on the sheet.
  • Bake the tomatoes AND pepper halves for 15 minutes.
  • Turn the tomatoes over (skin-side up) and continue roasting for another 7 minutes. Both the tomato skins and pepper skins should darken, crack, and pull away from the flesh. Ideally the pepper skins will begin to blacken. If unsure, bake for extra time - too roasted is better than not roasted enough.
  • Remove pan from the oven and set aside until peppers and tomatoes are cool enough to handle.

Prepare bread:

  • If using dried bread cubes / crumbs / panko, heat 2 Tbsp oil on medium heat in a skillet. Add the bread cubes. Fry the bread, stirring every few minutes, until most sides are golden brown. Remove from skillet and let cool. (We are basically making unflavored croutons).
  • **If using whole slices of bread, put them in the toaster, a couple times if needed, until the bread is well-toasted but not burnt. Cut into medium pieces.

Put it all together:

  • Remove the skins from the cooled tomatoes, keeping the juices (discard the skins). Put tomatoes and juices in the food processor.
  • Remove the skins from the bell pepper (discard the skins). Add the roasted bell pepper to the food processor.
  • Add the toasted bread, roasted hazelnuts, garlic, red pepper flakes, paprika / chili powder, salt, and ground black pepper to the food processor. NOT THE WINE YET.
  • Process until smooth-ish (it will have a somewhat grainy appearance because of the bread and nuts).
  • With the machine running, add the wine. Let the motor run for a moment then stop it and scrape down the sides of the bowl.
  • Turn the motor back on and add the remaining 1/4 cup of oil in a slow, steady, very thin stream.
  • If it seems too thick, drizzle in a little bit of hot water with the machine running.
  • Taste and add extra salt / wine if needed to balance the flavors (since tomatoes and peppers will have different flavors).

Notes

Will store in the fridge for a week or two.
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