[CH] Romesco Sauce Recipe

Bloechl, Sharen Rund (sharen.rund.bloechl@lmco.com)
Sun, 11 Jul 1999 08:29:59 -0700 

Friday someone asked about a sauce someone sold in baby-food jars - I got
home & my new "Ladies Home Journal" was waiting for me - inside they had
recipes "Taste of the Mediterranean" - here's a recipe that sounds (and
looks) like what you may be talking about:

Spain: A classic sauce from the coastal region of Catalonia, Romesco is a
finely ground mixture of nuts, dried chiles, tomatoes, garlic and fried
bread cubes. It's a great sauce for grilled fish, pork or beef.

3 dried ancho chiles
2 large tomatoes
4 TBS extra-virgin olive oil, divided
4 TBS extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 tsp finely chopped jalapeno chile
2 one-inch-thick slices of white Italian-style country bread
1 TBS chopped garlic 
1/4 cup blanched almonds, toasted & finely ground
1/4 cup hazelnuts, toasted, skinned and finely ground
1 TBS red-wine vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
Toasted bread

*	Soak ancho chiles in enough hot water to cover. Let stand until
chiles have softened, 20 minutes. Drain. Remove seeds and chop.
*	Meanwhile, heat oven to 350-deg F. Place tomatoes and 2 TBS
extra-virgin olice oil in an ovenproof skillet. Bake tomatoes until skins
begin to peel, 15-to-20 minutes. Remove from sillet. Cool. Discard skins and
coarsely chop, reserving juice. Transfer tomatoes and juice to bowl.
*	Heat 2 TBS virgin olive oil in same skillet over medium heat. Add
reserved anchos and jalapeno. Cook until jalapeno softens, 5 minutes.
Transfer chile mix to bowl with tomatoes.
*	Wipe out skillet and heat remaining extra-virgin olive oil over
medium-high heat. Add bread and cook 1 to 2 minutes per side, until oil is
absorbed and slices are golden. Cool slightly, then cut into small pieces.
*	Puree garlic with tomatoes mixture in blender until smooth. Add
Almonds, hazelnuts and bread; puree, scraping down the sides of blender with
rubber spatula. Add vinegar, remaining 2 TBS virgin olive oil and 1/2 tsp
salt, blending until smooth
Makes 2 cups.

Serve with toasted bread.

Sharen Rund Bloechl

Lockheed Martin Enterprise Information Systems
Sunnyvale Data Center        
sharen.rund.bloechl@lmco.com        Phone: 408-756-5432 
[or]                                Fax:   408-756-0912
srund@svl.ems.lmco.com              LMnet: 8-326-5432
Pager: 408-539-5146  web:  http://webpager.lmms.lmco.com/perl/mtrocall.cgi
[or] Operator Assist:  1-800-725-5079, pin 408-539-5146