Vegan Month of Food recipe: Basic romesco sauce

[Guest guest]

When we first published this recipe for a classic romesco sauce, readers went

nuts for it. It remained on the " most e-mailed " list for quite some time, and

it's easy to see why.

 

It's a great dip for entertaining, or slathering on a sandwich.

 

It's our vegan recipe for the day -- just make sure you're using an appropriate

vegan substitute for the white bread.

 

-- Rene Lynch

 

Total time: 45 minutes

 

Servings: Makes about 2 cups.

 

Note: Ñora peppers are available from Spanish importers such as La Espanola in

Harbor City (laespanola) and La Tienda (tienda.com), as well as amazon.com. You

can substitute Cascabels for the Ñora peppers (they're hotter than Ñoras).

Marcona almonds are widely available; if using salted Marconas, omit the salt

from the recipe or add to taste.

 

2 ounces Ñora peppers (about 8 to 10 peppers)

 

1/4 cup hazelnuts

 

1/4 cup Marcona almonds

 

4 Roma tomatoes

 

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons best-quality olive oil, divided

 

1 ounce good-quality country white bread, sliced, crusts removed

 

3 cloves garlic

 

1 teaspoon sea salt

 

1 teaspoon sweet paprika (preferably Spanish)

 

2 tablespoons sherry vinegar (preferably Jerez)

 

1. Place a rack in the upper third of the oven and heat the oven to 375 degrees.

Cover the peppers with boiling water and allow to soften for at least 30

minutes, then stem, seed and reserve.

 

2. While the peppers are softening, toast the nuts separately until golden and

aromatic, 8 to 10 minutes. If the hazelnuts have skins, remove their skins by

rolling them in a kitchen towel once they are cool. Set the nuts aside and raise

the oven temperature to broil.

 

3. Halve the tomatoes lengthwise and place them, skin side up, on a foil-lined

baking sheet. Brush 1 tablespoon of oil over the tomatoes and broil the tomatoes

until the skins begin to darken and crack, about 5 minutes. Cool on their tray,

then peel, core and set aside.

 

4. In a skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of oil and fry the bread until golden brown.

Cool and set aside.

 

5. In a food processor, coarsely chop the garlic, salt, fried bread and nuts.

Add the peppers, tomatoes, paprika and vinegar and process to a rough paste.

Slowly pour in the remaining olive oil in a steady stream and process until just

combined.

 

Each tablespoon: 40 calories; 1 gram protein; 1 gram carbohydrate; 0 fiber; 4

grams fat; 0 saturated fat; 0 cholesterol; 78 mg. sodium.

, The Los Angeles Times