Classic Romesco Sauce

Part of every great cooks repertoire is knowing how to make a great sauce. So many amazing tasting sauces can be traced back to one of the five famous ‘mother sauces’, the baseline recipe to create thousands of wonderful sauce flavors. In this recipe we’re going to share with you how to make a Classic Romesco Sauce, which is derived from a Tomato Sauce base which is one of those five amazing mother sauces

What is a Classic Romesco Sauce?

Romesco Sauce is a Tomato based sauce cooked with Onions that is flavored with roasted Red Peppers and Nuts (typically Almonds). The sauce is blitzed up until smooth and seasoned with Salt and that’s pretty much it! You can add some Garlic to the sauce when \cooking down the Onions for a little more punch in the flavor. It’s a very simple sauce, yet packed a ridiculous amount of flavor that pairs great with Proteins and Vegetables

Romesco Sauces origins can be traced back to Spain, specifically the Catalan region. So it is no surprise that these days you will commonly find Romesco Sauce paired with all kinds of wonderful bite-sized Tapas dishes.

How to make Romesco Sauce

The good news is that making Romesco Sauce is really easy, and anyone can do it at home. All you need are a handful of very common household ingredients, and a blender to achieve that wonderful, smooth texture

We begin making a Classic Romesco Sauce by making a Tomato Sauce. This is simply done by cooking off some Yellow or Spanish Onions that have been finely diced in a pan with some Olive Oil. Give them about five minutes until tender and starting to slightly caramelize, then add in the Tomatoes

Canned Tomatoes are more than suitable for a Romesco Sauce

Many think that fruit and vegetables out of a can aren’t as good a quality as the fresh stuff. I would argue that this is a highly subjective take, and really depends on the type of fruit and vegetable, as well as what you are using it for

In the instance of making a Tomato based pan sauce, canned Tomatoes are not only more that suitable, but the preferred choice over fresh Tomatoes. They are a perishable good, so you know that the quality of your canned Tomatoes is going to be consistent

Their flavor is slightly sweeter than fresh Tomatoes, making them perfect for using as the base for a sauce. You can choose whatever type of Tomatoes you prefer as well, as canned Tomatoes can come in any kind of variety. There’s also way less hassle, as there is no need to deseed the Tomatoes, or peel away their skin or anything like that. Simply crack open the can and you’re good to go!

It’s best to prepare the Bell Peppers in advance

Roasting Bell Peppers is one of our favorite ingredients to add to meals. The sweet and charred flavor you can achieve by simply placing a seasoned Bell Pepper into the oven for about 40 minutes is truly amazing. Simply drizzle a little bit of Olive Oil and sprinkle some Salt over the Pepper then whack it straight into the oven

Once its skin has started to blacken and char it’s cooked. Remove the cooked Bell Pepper from the Oven and allow it to cool. Then, remove the skin, seeds, and core and discard. You are left with the delicious flesh that adds that unique and distinct sweet, charred flavor to the Classic Romesco Sauce

I like to prepare the Bell Peppers in advance, as this allows enough time for the Peppers to completely cool before they are added to the blender along with the other ingredients. You want to ensure that all the ingredients (including the cooked Tomatoes and Onions) are also cool before they are blended. This will help to sustain that brilliant bright red / orange color of the Romesco Sauce

The final ingredient may seem a little strange

The final critical ingredient of a Classic Romesco Sauce is Almonds. Yep, that’s right! Those delicious chunky nuts are added to the blender and blitzed until smooth. Almonds add a subtle nutty flavor to the sauce but perhaps, more importantly, it gives the sauce some volume and body

There is no need to pass the blitzed sauce through a sieve, just give them a decent time in the blender. About 1 minute on high speed will be more than enough to achieve a wonderful consistency for the sauce

You can use regular Almonds or for even more flavor, we recommend roasting them. You can buy the roasted Almonds; however, they are often flavored with loads of seasoning. So for the best result, simply scatter your Almonds in a large sheet pan and roast them in the oven for 20 minutes at around 375F. Once they’re cool, add them to the blender

What are some ways to serve Romesco Sauce?

Romesco Sauce is extremely versatile and can simply be added to a sauce bowl and served alongside your meal. It will literally go with anything; however, its favorite pairings are with white meat like Turkey and Chicken or with Seafood

It’s very traditionally served with seafood in Spanish Tapas dishes. Try serving it alongside some beautiful buttery grilled Shrimp or some Squid for a delicious result. It pairs great with Chicken too. Simply pan fry the Chicken along with a simple seasoning of Salt and Pepper and serve alongside some warmed up Romesco and you’ll have a fantastic and hearty meal to enjoy. It’s also great with Vegetables such as Asparagus

You can thicken up the Romesco Sauce and turn it into a brilliant Tomato and Pepper Soup

This is a fun little play on Tomato and Bell Pepper Soup. The consistency of the Romesco Sauce can be thickened up by simply cooking it down on the stovetop for about 20 minutes. Simply cook it over a medium low heat while stirring constantly to thicken the sauce

You can serve it this way as a classic Soup preparation. Try pairing the Soup with some crunchy Croutons, some Sour Cream, or drizzling over a generous amount of good quality Olive Oil. It’ll go great with some crusty bread on the side too! It will also freeze well, so place what you don’t need in a Ziploc bag and freeze it for later

Classic Romesco Sauce Recipe

Ingredients

• 14 oz. can of Crushed Tomatoes
• ½ Yellow Onion, diced
• 1 Red Bell Pepper
• ½ cup Raw Almonds
• 2 tbsp. Olive Oil
• 1 tsp. Salt
  
  

Equipment needed: Blender or Food Processor

Instructions

1. Place the Bell Pepper on a sheet pan and season with 1 tbsp. of Olive Oil and ½ tsp of Salt. Roast in the oven at 375F for 40 minutes. Once charred and beginning to blacken, remove from oven and allow to cool
2. Once the Bell Pepper has cooled, peel and discard the skin, core, and seeds. Place the flesh in a Blender
3. Heat half the Olive Oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Once hot, add the Onions and cook for 5 minutes
4. Add the Tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Season with ½ tsp. of Salt then remove from heat. Allow to cool before adding to the blender
5. Scatter your Almonds on a large sheet pan and roast for 20 minutes in the oven at 400F. Allow to cool then add to the blender with the remaining ingredients
6. Blitz the ingredients in the blender for 1 minute on high until smooth. Heat the sauce in a saucepan over low heat before serving
   
   

Recipe Notes

• You can use Roasted Almonds; just ensure they are unsalted so you can best manage the seasoning in the sauce
• You can scale the recipe by simply doubling the ingredients (eg: use 2 cans of Tomatoes and 2 Bell Peppers)
  
  

That is our simply recipe for making Classic Romesco Sauce at home. Give it a try for yourself, we just know you’re going to love it!

For more wonderful sauces, why not check out our dedicated Sauces page here. We’ve got loads of great recipes there, include the following amazing sauces:

• Red Wine Sauce
• Homemade Enchilada Sauce
• Garlic Scape Chimichurri Sauce
• Spicy BBQ Sauce Kansas Style
  
  

Block