Romesco is a versatile chile-nut-tomato-bread sauce that can be spread on an egg sandwich, dolloped next to a piece of roasted chicken, spooned on a charcuterie and cheese board, or used as a dip for crackers and veggies. It is incredibly flavorful and easy to make if you have a food processor on hand.
Use a variety of dried chiles to deepen the flavor of the Romesco. I used a mix of Espelette, Ancho, Guajillo, and 2 Yahualica chiles which definitely added some heat. If you only have one variety on hand, that's okay too!
2 plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped (or 1 cup fire roasted chopped canned tomato)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon smoky Piment d’Ville or smoked paprika
2-3 tablespoons sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
Directions
Place whole dried chiles into a heatproof bowl and pour enough boiling water over to just cover them. Cover and soak for 20 to 30 minutes, depending on the thickness of your peppers. Drain chiles, reserving about a cup of soaking liquid.
Meanwhile, add garlic, bread, almonds, and hazelnuts to a blender or food processor. Blend or pulse until nuts are a sandy texture.
Add drained chiles, tomatoes, salt, chile powder, and vinegar. Blend or process until smooth. With blender/processor running, stream in olive oil. If mixture is still thicker than you’d like, stream in remaining soaking liquid to adjust consistency.
