Romesco by John
Newton
The sauce is named after a dried pepper, called either Romesco or Nyora -
an indigenous clone of the original import, now grown only
in Catalonia, and the sauce is indigenous to the province
of Tarragona. And without the Nyora, well, romesco is nice but not romesco.
The good news is that upon being politely asked, Ian Hemphill of Herbie's in
Rozelle now imports these peppers, so anyone who wants to can make a ridgy didge
Romesco. Herbie's is at: 745 Darling Street Rozelle, NSW 2039 Ph: (02)
9555 6035.
www.herbies.com.auThis is the one I like, from Colman Andrews' Catalan Cuisine,
alas out of print It's a faithfuil adapation of the original Tarragona
recipe, gathered from a place called the Hostal Vora del Mar on the Costa
Brava.
1 nyora pepper (even 2) soaked in warm water for 1 hour, seeded and minced
(Colman Andrews says if you can't get the nyora to use ancho - it works)
1 small piece of serrano or jalapeno (or any hot chilli) minced
Mild EVOO
2 tomatoes (ripe romas are good)
6 cloves garlic minced
24 almonds blanched, skinned and roasted
24 hazelnuts dry roasted and skinned
2 sprigs flatleaf parsley minced
2 slices fried bread (country style, maybe a pane casa, but not
sourdough)
2 tspsns good red wine vinegar
Salt
Preheat oven to 180C.
Saute fresh and dried peppers in small amount of oil
Bake the tomatoes in a lightly oiled baking dish for 10 minutes, remove and
cool
With a mortar and pestle (preferably) or in a food processor make a thick
paste of the galric and sauteed peppers
Work the nuts, parsley and fried bread into a mixture, mixing well
Carefully peel and seed tomatoes and coarsely chop
Work the tomatoes into the mixture then add vinegar and 2-3tblspns salt to
taste.
Mixture should be thickly liquid, and the nuts should be completely
absorbed into it - no bits!
Have it with fish, shellfish, roast vegetables. Terrific in a fish stew,
look for a recipe for romesco de peix