Romesco Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 jar of roasted red peppers, drained
• 80 g blanched almonds
• 1 thick slice of stale bread, torn
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 120 ml olive oil
• a pinch of cayenne

Method

1. Toast the almonds

   Toast the almonds in a dry pan until they smell nutty and are lightly coloured. Untoasted they taste of nothing and the sauce stays flat.

   5 min

2. Fry the bread and garlic

   Fry the torn bread and whole garlic cloves in a little of the oil until both are golden. The fried bread is the thickener — it is why romesco holds together without cream or egg.

   4 min

3. Blend the solids

   Blitz the almonds, bread, garlic, peppers, paprika, vinegar and cayenne to a coarse paste. Stop while it still has grain; a smooth purée reads as soup.

4. Stream in the oil

   With the motor running, pour in the oil in a thin stream until it thickens and turns brick red. Tipped in all at once it will not emulsify and the sauce splits.

5. Rest before serving

   Season and leave it half an hour before eating. The paprika needs that time in the oil to stop tasting dusty. It keeps five days in the fridge and improves for the first two.

   30 min