Romesco Hazelnut Sauce

Recipe Ingredients

2		Red bell peppers
1		Country-style white bread
		Olive oil - for frying
1/2 cup	118ml	Toasted hazelnuts
3		Garlic cloves
1 1/2 teaspoons	7.5ml	Ground red chile or hot paprika
4 teaspoons	20ml	Plum tomatoes - roughly chopped (small)
1 tablespoon	15ml	Chopped parsley
		Salt - to taste
		Freshly-ground black pepper - to taste
1 teaspoon	5ml	Sweet paprika
1/4 cup	59ml	Sherry vinegar
1/2 cup	118ml	Extra-virgin olive oil - plus
2 tablespoons	30ml	Extra-virgin olive oil - preferably Spanish

Recipe Instructions

Broil the peppers 4 inches from the heat, turning to blacken all the sides, about 10 minutes. (You can also roast the peppers on top of a gas flame.) Place the peppers in a paper bag 10 to 15 minutes, then peel off the charred skins. Cut out the membranes and seeds and set the peppers aside.

Fry the bread in a little olive oil until golden and crisp. When cool, grind the nuts, bread and garlic in a food processor until they are fairly fine. Add the ground chile, tomatoes, parsley, salt and pepper to taste, paprika, bell peppers, and Sherry vinegar and process until smooth. With the machine running, gradually pour in the oil. Taste and make sure the sauce has plenty of piquancy and enough salt.

Serve this thick sauce with roasted potatoes, grilled leeks and grilled fish. Or spread it on garlic-rubbed croutons and cover with sliced green olives and parsley for a little appetizer.

This recipe yields 3 cups.

Each tablespoon: 40 calories; 28 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 4 grams fat; 1 gram carbohydrates; 0 protein; 0.15 gram fiber.

Source:
The Los Angeles Times, 01-31-2001

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