I think a lot of us get caught in a rut when it comes to food. We blanch, grill, or roast the same veggies for dinner each week; we pack the same sandwich, wrap, or salad day after day until we think we could never possibly eat them again. Sound familiar? Well, if you have 15 extra minutes you can jazz up literally every meal you make this week with a little Romesco sauce and all of the sudden those same old dishes become new spectacular ones that tantalize your families taste buds and make you the star of the kitchen.

There are more varieties of Romesco sauce than I can possibly mention here. Some of them have roasted tomatoes while some are spiked with spicy peppers. Others use pine nuts or hazelnuts instead of the almonds I used here and some of them use stale bread to thicken up the sauce. This version simplifies the ingredients and makes creating a sauce like this a simple weeknight affair while offering the same amazing flavor notes as one of the more in depth versions I have seen floating around on the internet.

Let’s get saucy shall we?

Step 1: Toast the almonds:

Preheat a large, heavy bottomed pan, over medium heat. Pour the almonds in the pan in a single layer. Toss frequently until fragrant and golden brown, around 5-7 minutes. The darker you toast them the richer the flavor of the Romesco sauce. Just be careful not to burn them! Allow the almonds to cool.

Step 2: Pulse the toasted almonds until they are crumbs             

Place the toasted almonds in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the “S” blade and pulse into fine crumbs. Be sure not to over process or you will have almond butter.

Step 3: Add the remaining ingredients and blend

Add minced garlic to the food processor and pulse a few times to incorporate. Add chopped roasted red peppers, olive oil, red wine vinegar, sweet paprika, and salt, to the food processor then puree until smooth. You will need to stop and scrape the sides of the food processor every now and then to ensure that everything has been incorporated and that your sauce isn’t gritty. If your food processor is having a hard time blending the sauce you can add vegetable broth 1 tablespoon at a time until there is enough liquid for the machine to operate properly.

Jazz up your veggies!

When veggies like asparagus are in season I tend to overload the dinner table with them. I blanch, roast, or grill at least 3 or 4 bunches a week and add them into everything from frittata’s to rice bowls. Although my family likes asparagus too they enjoy a little swap up every now and then. That is where having a few sauces like Romesco or flavored cashew creams come into play. I simply drizzle the asparagus with whatever sauce I have whipped up that day, or in this case pile it on because Romesco sauce is my favorite, and everyone is happy I get more asparagus and my family gets variety. Everybody wins!

Fun tips:

Use a garlic press if you have one instead of mincing the garlic. It cuts down on prep time and makes the pieces of garlic the perfect size for easy blending.

Want a really smoky Romesco sauce? Use smoked paprika instead of sweet paprika. It really amps up the flavor!

Spread Romesco sauce on your sandwich bread instead of mustard or mayo. It is a total sandwich game changer!

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Hungry for more Romesco?! Try my Black Rice, Romesco & Roasted Veggie Bowl!