Romesco

Smoky, nutty, red-pepper backbone of a Catalan feast.

Born in Tarragona for the fishermen's calçotada, romesco is charred red peppers, ñora chilli, almonds, hazelnuts, garlic and stale bread — pounded into a rust-red paste that tastes like a bonfire in the best sense.

Method

01
Char 2 red peppers and 2 vine tomatoes under a grill until blackened. Peel and deseed.
02
Toast 60g almonds + 60g hazelnuts in a dry pan until fragrant. Rub the hazelnut skins off.
03
In a food processor, pulse the peppers, tomatoes, nuts, 2 garlic cloves, a chunk of toasted stale bread and 1 tsp smoked paprika.
04
Stream in 100ml olive oil and 2 tbsp sherry vinegar. Season. Pulse — leave it slightly nubbly, never smooth.

Chef's notebook

“Sherry vinegar is essential — cider or wine vinegar taste wrong here.”
“Rests overnight it gets deeper and more haunting.”