Recipe: Romesco Sauce

Long overlooked, Spain is finally gaining world wide recognition for its amazing food. In my home I prepare a number of Spanish dishes including paella, pinchos mouros, batatas bravas and others. Among my favorites is salsa romesco from Tarragona, in Spain's northeast region of Catalonia.

As with many popular foods, the variations of romesco are limitless, but at its core are some standard ingredients. Among these are nuts, garlic, red peppers, tomatoes and wine vinegar. Often other ingredients are added to better match the romesco with the food that it is to be served with. Among these other ingredients are things like dried or smoked chillies or herbs like fennel or mint.

My introduction to romesco sauce came in the form of a condiment on a turkey sandwich that I ordered at a popular soup and sandwich chain. I loved romesco immediately. The complexities and interaction of the nuts, red peppers, tomatoes and red wine vinegar result in a delicious and versatile sauce that enhances the flavors of many other foods.

Traditionally, romesco was most often served with seafood. Today romesco sauce is used in a wide variety of other dishes. I've used it with great success not only as a condiment on sandwiches and grilled chicken and beef, but also as a dip, pasta sauce, baked potato topping and a host of other things. My children love Israeli couscous mixed with a dollop of romesco. sauce. I'm looking forward to trying it on hot dogs and hamburgers. Like I said: I love it!

For my version below I opted to use several different varieties of nuts for a more complex flavor. I also roasted the red peppers and tomatoes for a sauce with a richer flavor. This recipe also makes a good amount of romesco sauce. It is easier and economical to make it in larger quantities and then portion it out and freeze it so that you'll always have some on hand when you need/want it.

Romesco Sauce

1 ancho chile
1 cup of almonds
1/3 cup of peanuts
1/3 cup of pistachios
1/3 cup cashews
6-8 cloves of garlic
4 plum tomatoes
2 large or 4 small red peppers
2-1/2 tsp sea salt
3 tsp paprika (Spanish sweet preferred)
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (or to taste)
3/4 cup red wine vinegar
Olive oil

Soak the ancho chile in water for 4 hours or overnight. Carefully remove the stem and seeds and cut the ancho chile peppers up into small pieces. Set aside.

Set the oven to 450°F allow it time to heat. Place all the nuts, garlic and bread cubes into an ovenproof skillet. Place the skillet in the oven and allow the nuts, garlic to roast and the bread to toast. Stir occasionally. Be careful not to burn anything. Remove from oven, place in a bowl to cool and set aside.

Set your oven to broil. Place the tomatoes and red peppers in the skillet and place under the broiler. Turn the peppers as each side blackens. When mostly black remove from broiler and place in a paper bag to cool. Roast the tomatoes until the surfaces blister and soften. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.

Remove roasted pepper from bag and carefully remove blackened skins, stems and seeds. Cut the peppers into large pieces and set aside.

Take the tomatoes and remove the stems. Cut into large pieces and set aside.

Place the nuts, garlic and bread together in a food processor and chop until the pieces are uniform and well blended.

Add the tomatoes, red peppers, ancho chile, sea salt, paprika, red pepper flakes and red wine vinegar to the nut blend and chop and blend until almost paste-like.

While the food processor is running SLOWLY add a fine stream of olive oil to the mix until you achieve your desired consistency. For pastas you'll want a smoother sauce, for dips or for use on sandwiches you'll want something a little thicker.
Recipe: Romesco Sauce from Chop Onions, Boil Water - World Food at Home by Henry Krauzyk http://www.choponionsboilwater.com

Recipe: Chunky Style Guacamole

Guacamole was one of those things that took me a long time to try. For the longest time the guacamole I encountered just didn't look edible. It always looked like a dark, olive drab or worse colored goop. Who wants to eat goop? Eventually I ran into a chunky style guacamole somewhere and I was hooked. After that I went to avoiding it at all cost, to making is regularly.

Due to the volatile nature of avocado flesh once exposed to the air, guacamole is best served fresh. So I keep my batches small so that there is minimum leftover. Though, if you do have some leftover you may get an extra day out of it but placing it in a ziplock plastic bag and removing all excess air and placing it in the freezer.

I keep mine pretty chunky you, of course will do what you like. Just keep folding it with a spoon while cutting with the steak knife to your ideal level of "chunky". Though, even if you are serving it with tortilla chips keep it a little chunky! No one should have to eat green goop? Well, not until they lose their teeth.

The recipe to the right should be sufficient for about eight people. Scale it up or down as necessary.

Chunky Style Guacamole

4 ripe avocados
2 ripe tomatoes (coarsely chopped)
1 tsp lime juice
1/2 small onion (chopped)
1/4 cup of cilantro (chopped)
Fresh jalapeno pepper (minced) to taste
Salt to taste

This one is pretty easy, folks.

Remove meat from the avocado whole and place in a mixing bowl.

Add the tomatoes, lime juice, onion, cilantro, jalapeno pepper and salt to the mixing bowl.

Using a steak knife and a spoon mix the ingredients together. It is important to blend it well while still keeping it chunky.

Cover and place in the fridge and allow the flavors to blend and the guacamole to thicken a little (about 1 hour).

Recipe: Chunky Style Guacamole from Chop Onions, Boil Water - World Food at Home by Henry Krauzyk http://www.choponionsboilwater.com

Recipe: Tomato Salsa (Salsa Fresca or Pico de Gallo)

There are all kinds of salsa out there, but for me, there's nothing quite as satisfying as a good fresh tomato salsa (also known as "Salsa Fresca" or "Pico de Gallo"). None of that goop that you see on the shelves in the supermarket can even compare to the simplest of fresh salsa. It's easy-to-prepare, delicious and a healthy addition to many meals.

The other great thing about a basic recipe like this is its adaptability. You like more tomatoes? Add them. More garlic or cilantro? Add it. This basic tomato salsa can be personalized quite easily. You can also take it in a number of directions and come up with some great recipes. Try it with roasted tomatoes (really good), or add some sweet corn kernels or black beans and you start to get some great variations.

You'll also probably want to make a little more than you think you need. It goes pretty quickly.

Another suggestion I'll make is that you always sample a small piece of the chopped chile that you decide to use. I find that the heat in supermarket chiles can vary dramatically (especially jalapenos). What was mild one week can be extremely hot the next week, even amongst peppers that look exactly the same. Sampling a small piece will avoid any unpleasant surprises in your salsa!

Tomato Salsa (Salsa Fresca or Pico de Gallo)

2 medium-small regular tomatoes or 4 or 5 plum tomatoes
Fresh jalapeno or serrano peppers to taste (scorch over an open flame until skin turns black, place in paper bag, put aside)
12 large sprigs of cilantro (chopped, stems and all)
1 large garlic clove (minced)
1 small onion (chopped and rinsed in a strainer under cold water.)
1-1/2 tsp fresh lime juice
3/4 tsp sea salt

Finely chop tomatoes and add to a bowl.

Remove the jalapenos from the paper bag and rinse the skin off under running water. Cut open, remove seeds and chop finely. Test for desired heat and add to tomato mix. (BE CAREFUL NOT TO TOUCH YOUR EYES. WASH HANDS WHEN FINISHED)

Add the cilantro to the tomatoes and chilies.

Add the chopped onion.

Add the lime juice and salt (to taste) to the mix. Blend together well and set aside for flavors to blend.

Some folks will chuck this into a food processor and chop it until smooth. I don't like my salsa that way, you might.

Tomato Salsa from Chop Onions, Boil Water - World Food at Home by Henry Krauzyk http://www.choponionsboilwater.com