Romesco Sauce

1/4 cup unsalted almonds*
2 cloves fresh garlic
1 teaspoon dried rosemary or 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves
1 teaspoon dried oregano or 1 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves or
1 large jar (12 ounces) roasted red bell peppers or 2 large roasted red peppers
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt*
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Place almonds in work bowl of a food processor. Process on high until almonds are finely chopped. Peel garlic, and add it to work bowl. Rinse rosemary and oregano leaves (if using fresh), and pat dry. Add fresh or dried herbs to work bowl. Pulse motor to finely chop.

Drain peppers, and add work bowl. Add vinegar, sugar, salt*, and cayenne pepper to bowl. Pulse motor to chop peppers and mix ingredients.

With motor running, drizzle oil through feed tube a little at a time, until all oil is added. Process just a few more seconds to thoroughly blend. Serve immediately, or store sauce in the refrigerator in a covered container for up to a week. Allow sauce to come to room temperature before serving.

* Notes

Unsalted almonds work best, but it is fine to use lightly salted if you adjust the additional salt to taste. Sliced, slivered or whole almonds will work.

Leftovers will keep for up to a week in a covered container in the refrigerator (allow the sauce to come to room temperature before serving).

This unbelievably tasty Romesco sauce comes from our friend Sheri Castle, a cooking teacher and food writer who lives in Chapel Hill, N.C. Instead of the traditional combination of peppers and tomatoes Sheri uses red peppers only, and since the already-roasted peppers in the jar work great, it makes this fancy sauce a quick possibility.

It’s great served on steak, fish, chicken, pork tenderloin, and even hamburgers. When we serve baked potatoes, a little sauce always ends up over the potatoes, too. Sautéed summer squash and onions? A drizzle here or there is delicious.

Approximate Values Per Tablespoon: 59 calories (86% from fat), 5.5 g fat (.71 g saturated), 0 mg cholesterol, .5 g protein, 1.6 g carbohydrates, .6 g dietary fiber, 143 mg sodium

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