ROMESCO SAUCE

 This delicious red pepper and nut sauce originates from Northeastern Spain. It's simple to make and is great as an accompaniment for fish, meat, vegetables, or even spread on a slice of rustic bread. I'll be using it to go along with a Chard and Potato Spanish Tortilla that I'm making tonight.

All you do is throw some almonds (I used marcona almonds) in the blender or food processor with some chopped red bell peppers, ripe tomatoes, garlic, parsley, and sherry vinegar. Give it a whirl and it's good to go. I added a couple of dashes of cayenne pepper to zip it up. This sauce is so good I had to stop myself from eating it by the spoonful.

ROMESCO SAUCE

1/2 cup blanched almonds (I used Marcona almonds)

1 large red bell pepper, roughly chopped

1 large or 2 medium ripe tomatoes, cored and roughly chopped

1 garlic clove

1 packed cup fresh parsley

2 TBSP. sherry vinegar

dash or two of cayenne pepper

Combine the almonds, bell pepper, tomato, garlic, parsley, and vinegar in a food processor or blender. With machine running, slowly add the remaining 2 TBSP. oil; puree into a thick paste, adding more oil if necessary to keep the machine running and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Season with salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper.

Recipe slightly adapted from The Food Matters Cookbook.