Romesco () is a tomato-based

sauce In cooking, a sauce is a liquid, cream, or semi-solid food, served on or used in preparing other foods. Most sauces are not normally consumed by themselves; they add flavor, moisture, and visual appeal to a dish. ''Sauce'' is a French word t ...

that originated from

Valls Valls () is a city and municipality in the province of Tarragona in Catalonia, Spain. According to the 2014 census it has a population of 24,570. Valls is known for its calçots – a type of scallion or green onion – and the human towers tradi ...

province of Tarragona Tarragona (, ) is a province of eastern Spain, in the southern part of the autonomous community of Catalonia. It is bordered by the provinces of Castellón, Teruel, Zaragoza, Lérida and Barcelona and by the Mediterranean Sea. The province's p ...

, in Catalonia. The fishermen in this area made this sauce to be eaten with fish. It is typically made from any mixture of roasted

tomato The tomato is the edible berry of the plant ''Solanum lycopersicum'', commonly known as the tomato plant. The species originated in western South America, Mexico, and Central America. The Mexican Nahuatl word gave rise to the Spanish word ...

es and

garlic Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plant in the genus ''Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, Allium fistulosum, Welsh onion and Allium chinense, Chinese onion. It is native to South A ...

, toasted

almond The almond (''Prunus amygdalus'', syn. ''Prunus dulcis'') is a species of tree native to Iran and surrounding countries, including the Levant. The almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of this tree. Within the genus ...

s, pine nuts, and/or

hazelnut The hazelnut is the fruit of the hazel tree and therefore includes any of the nuts deriving from species of the genus ''Corylus'', especially the nuts of the species ''Corylus avellana''. They are also known as cobnuts or filberts according t ...

olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' ...

sunflower oil Sunflower oil is the non-volatile oil pressed from the seeds of the sunflower (''Helianthus annuus''). Sunflower oil is commonly used in food as a frying oil, and in cosmetic formulations as an emollient. Sunflower oil is primarily composed ...

, and ''

ñora ''Capsicum annuum'' is a species of the plant genus ''Capsicum'' native to southern North America, the Caribbean, and northern South America. This species is the most common and extensively cultivated of the five domesticated capsicums. The spec ...

'' peppers ('' capsicum annuum'', a sun-dried, small, round variety of red

bell pepper The bell pepper (also known as paprika, sweet pepper, pepper, or capsicum ) is the fruit of plants in the Grossum Group of the species ''Capsicum annuum''. Cultivars of the plant produce fruits in different colors, including red, yellow, orange ...

Flour Flour is a powder made by grinding raw grains, roots, beans, nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many culture ...

or ground stale

bread Bread is a staple food prepared from a dough of flour (usually wheat) and water, usually by baking. Throughout recorded history and around the world, it has been an important part of many cultures' diet. It is one of the oldest human-made f ...

may be used as a thickener or to provide texture. Other common ingredients include sherry vinegar, red wine vinegar, and onions. Leaves of fennel or mint may be added, particularly if served with fish or escargot. It is very often served with

seafood Seafood is any form of sea life regarded as food by humans, prominently including fish and shellfish. Shellfish include various species of molluscs (e.g. bivalve molluscs such as clams, oysters and mussels, and cephalopods such as octopus an ...

, but can also be served with a wide variety of other foods, including poultry, some red meats like lamb, and vegetables. According to food writer Melissa Clark, cookbook author Penelope Casas was considered the recognized authority on romesco recipes for English-speaking readers. When touring Catalonia, though, Clark discovered that there was no single correct recipe and encountered several variations. Clark described romesco as "a rich and piquant purée made from sweet dried Spanish peppers along with tomato, garlic, almonds, vinegar, and oil, pounded with breadcrumbs as a binder." Some variations were thick, others were thin, and one substituted crushed almond biscotti for the almonds and bread crumbs and incorporated hard-boiled eggs. Clark's version uses hazelnuts instead of almonds. Romesco sauce is often confused with similar sauces, particularly salsa de calçots or

salvitxada Salsa de calçots (''Calçots' sauce'') is a Catalan sauce originating in Valls, province of Tarragona in the region of Catalonia, which is served almost exclusively with calçots at the '' calçotades'', a traditional local barbecue. It is s ...

. During the springtime, salsa de calçots is served as an accompanying dip for calçots, a spring onion typical to Catalonia, during traditional springtime calçot barbecues called " calçotades." During calçotades, calçots are roasted over an open fire until their outer layer is charred. The charred layer is then removed, and the tender part of the onion may be dipped into the sauce.

References

External links

Recipe for romesco sauce
{{Authority control Catalan cuisine Sauces Almonds

See also

References

External links