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Traditional Romesco

By Nicole Konstantinakos

Published on July 4, 2023

Time

1¼ hours

Yield

Serves 8 (Makes about 2 cups)

Traditional Romesco

Ingredients

¾ ounce dried ñora chiles, stemmed, seeded, and torn into large pieces4 plum tomatoes, cored and halved lengthwise6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided, plus extra for drizzling1 teaspoon table salt, divided1 (2-inch) piece baguette (1 ounce), cut into 3 slices¼ cup whole blanched almonds 6 garlic cloves, lightly crushed and peeled4 teaspoons sherry or red wine vinegar, plus extra for seasoning

Before You Begin

If you can't find ñora chiles (available online), you can substitute ancho chiles. Be sure to thoroughly seed the chiles before soaking them; otherwise, the sauce can become too bitter. You can substitute skinned hazelnuts for the almonds, if desired.

Instructions

  1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Place ñoras in liquid measuring cup, cover with boiling water, and let sit until softened, 20 to 30 minutes. Reserve ½ cup ñora soaking liquid and drain ñoras; transfer ñoras to food processor.
  2. Meanwhile, toss tomatoes with 1 tablespoon oil and ½ teaspoon salt in large bowl. Arrange tomatoes cut sides up on prepared sheet and roast until tomatoes have begun to collapse and bottoms are well browned, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove sheet from oven and flip tomatoes cut sides down.
  3. Toss baguette, almonds, and garlic with 1 tablespoon oil in now-empty bowl. Arrange bread mixture on sheet around tomatoes. Roast until bread and almonds are deep golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes.
  4. Transfer tomato-bread mixture to food processor with ñoras, along with any accumulated pan juices. Pulse until mixture is coarsely ground, 6 to 8 pulses, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.
  5. Add vinegar, ¼ cup reserved ñora soaking liquid, remaining ¼ cup oil, and remaining ½ teaspoon salt and process until mixture is mostly smooth, about 2 minutes. (Add up to ¼ cup remaining ñora soaking liquid, 1 tablespoon at a time, as needed to achieve consistency of thick mayonnaise.)
  6. Season romesco with salt, pepper, and extra vinegar to taste. Transfer to bowl and drizzle with extra oil. Serve. (Romesco can be refrigerated for up to 4 days; bring to room temperature and season with salt, pepper, and vinegar to taste before serving.)
Traditional Romesco
Photography by Steve Klise. Styling by Elle SimonE.

Traditional Romesco

Headshot of Nicole Konstantinakos
By Nicole Konstantinakos
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Time

1¼ hours

Yield

Serves 8 (Makes about 2 cups)

Ingredients

¾ ounce dried ñora chiles, stemmed, seeded, and torn into large pieces
4 plum tomatoes, cored and halved lengthwise
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided, plus extra for drizzling
1 teaspoon table salt, divided
1 (2-inch) piece baguette (1 ounce), cut into 3 slices
¼ cup whole blanched almonds
6 garlic cloves, lightly crushed and peeled
4 teaspoons sherry or red wine vinegar, plus extra for seasoning

Test Kitchen Techniques

Ingredients

¾ ounce dried ñora chiles, stemmed, seeded, and torn into large pieces
4 plum tomatoes, cored and halved lengthwise
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided, plus extra for drizzling
1 teaspoon table salt, divided
1 (2-inch) piece baguette (1 ounce), cut into 3 slices
¼ cup whole blanched almonds
6 garlic cloves, lightly crushed and peeled
4 teaspoons sherry or red wine vinegar, plus extra for seasoning

Test Kitchen Techniques

Ingredients

¾ ounce dried ñora chiles, stemmed, seeded, and torn into large pieces
4 plum tomatoes, cored and halved lengthwise
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided, plus extra for drizzling
1 teaspoon table salt, divided
1 (2-inch) piece baguette (1 ounce), cut into 3 slices
¼ cup whole blanched almonds
6 garlic cloves, lightly crushed and peeled
4 teaspoons sherry or red wine vinegar, plus extra for seasoning

Test Kitchen Techniques

Why This Recipe Works

This earthy, fruity, tangy sauce, made from a blend of dried chiles (known as ñoras), tomatoes, garlic, nuts (usually almonds or hazelnuts), bread, olive oil, and vinegar, is a classic of Catalan cuisine. It's traditionally served as a dipping sauce for spring onions, known as calçots. For a version we could serve with grilled scallions (which are more readily available than calçots), we started by soaking dried ñora chiles in hot water to rehydrate and soften them while we roasted plum tomatoes in the oven to concentrate their flavors. When the tomatoes were nearly done, we added bread, garlic, and almonds to the baking sheet and roasted everything together until all the components were well browned and toasty. Quickly blitzing everything in the food processor, along with olive oil, punchy vinegar, and some of the reserved soaking liquid from the ñoras, made for a rich, deeply flavorful dip (with a consistency similar to hummus).

Before You Begin

If you can't find ñora chiles (available online), you can substitute ancho chiles. Be sure to thoroughly seed the chiles before soaking them; otherwise, the sauce can become too bitter. You can substitute skinned hazelnuts for the almonds, if desired.

Instructions

  1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Place ñoras in liquid measuring cup, cover with boiling water, and let sit until softened, 20 to 30 minutes. Reserve ½ cup ñora soaking liquid and drain ñoras; transfer ñoras to food processor.
  2. Meanwhile, toss tomatoes with 1 tablespoon oil and ½ teaspoon salt in large bowl. Arrange tomatoes cut sides up on prepared sheet and roast until tomatoes have begun to collapse and bottoms are well browned, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove sheet from oven and flip tomatoes cut sides down.
  3. Toss baguette, almonds, and garlic with 1 tablespoon oil in now-empty bowl. Arrange bread mixture on sheet around tomatoes. Roast until bread and almonds are deep golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes.
  4. Transfer tomato-bread mixture to food processor with ñoras, along with any accumulated pan juices. Pulse until mixture is coarsely ground, 6 to 8 pulses, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.
  5. Add vinegar, ¼ cup reserved ñora soaking liquid, remaining ¼ cup oil, and remaining ½ teaspoon salt and process until mixture is mostly smooth, about 2 minutes. (Add up to ¼ cup remaining ñora soaking liquid, 1 tablespoon at a time, as needed to achieve consistency of thick mayonnaise.)
  6. Season romesco with salt, pepper, and extra vinegar to taste. Transfer to bowl and drizzle with extra oil. Serve. (Romesco can be refrigerated for up to 4 days; bring to room temperature and season with salt, pepper, and vinegar to taste before serving.)

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