Spanish Romesco Sauce

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 1-inch thick slice of crusty bread, torn into pieces
• 1/2 cup blanched almonds, chopped or slivered (can substitute hazelnuts, peeled)
• 5-6 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 425g can of crushed tomatoes, or canned whole tomatoes (including the juice) that have been de-seeded, (you can use fresh tomatoes when in season)
•  200g roasted red bell peppers, (drained if using from a jar)
• 1/2 Tbsp smoked paprika (preferred) or sweet paprika
• 2-3 Tbsp sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar

Method

1 Preheat the oven to 180°C. Heat the olive oil in a medium sauté pan over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, sauté the bread and almonds, stirring often, until they just begin to brown. Add the garlic and sauté another 1-2 minutes, stirring once or twice.
2 Place the contents of the sauté pan into a food processor with the remaining ingredients—salt, tomatoes, roasted bell peppers, smoked paprika, vinegar. Purée until smooth. Spread the sauce out on a baking sheet in a pan and bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes, or until the edges begin to caramelize. Allow to cool and scrape into a container to store.
To use romesco sauce, mix with pasta, shrimp, chicken or vegetables either before or after they are cooked, much like you would a pesto. I prefer it best with chicken skewers
Kept in a sealed container, Romesco sauce will last for a week or more in the fridge. It freezes well, too.


Yield: Makes about 1 1/2 cups