Traditional Spanish Dishes
Discover how to prepare Tarragona Romesco, a typical Spanish recipe
Prepare a Tarragona romesco with a thick and slightly rustic texture, with roasted tomatoes and garlic, ñoras, nuts, and a balanced touch of acidity. A versatile Catalan sauce to accompany calçots, vegetables, fish, seafood, potatoes, or bread.
This traditional sauce brings together toasted, sweet, and slightly acidic flavors in a homemade preparation of approximately 450 g. The key is to roast the vegetables well, preserve some texture in the nuts, and emulsify the oil gradually.
01
Ingredients
Have everything ready before you begin.
- ✓4 ripe tomatoes
- ✓4 cloves of garlic
- ✓2 dried ñoras
- ✓30 g of toasted almonds without salt
- ✓30 g of toasted hazelnuts without salt
- ✓1 slice of village bread, about 40 g
- ✓120 ml of extra virgin olive oil
- ✓30 ml of wine vinegar
- ✓1 teaspoon of sweet paprika
- ✓1/2 teaspoon of salt
- ✓1 pinch of black pepper
02
Step-by-step method
- 01
Hydrate the ñoras
Open the ñoras, remove the stem and seeds, and soak them in hot water for about 20 minutes. Then, scrape the pulp with the edge of a knife and reserve it. As an alternative, you can use dried chorizo pepper.
- 02
Roast tomatoes and garlic
Preheat the oven to 200 °C, with heat up and down. Wash and dry the tomatoes, place them in a tray with the unpeeled garlic and roast for 35-40 minutes, until they are very tender and slightly toasted.
- 03
Toast the bread
Brown the slice of bread in a dry pan over medium heat on both sides, watching it so it doesn't burn.
- 04
Prepare the vegetables
Let the roasted tomatoes cool. Peel the garlic and, if you're looking for a finer sauce, also the tomatoes. You can keep part of the toasted skin for a more rustic finish. Partially drain excess water from the tomatoes if necessary.
- 05
Extract the pulp
Drain the soft ñoras and scrape all the inner pulp. Discard the skin, stem, and seeds, and reserve the pulp in a bowl.
- 06
Chop the nuts
Place the almonds, hazelnuts, and chopped bread in a mortar or blender. Chop until you get fine crumbs, preserving small grains of nuts.
- 07
Form the base
Add the tomatoes, garlic, ñora pulp, paprika, salt, pepper, and vinegar. Chop until all the ingredients are integrated.
- 08
Emulsify with oil
Without stopping the chopping, incorporate the extra virgin olive oil in a thin stream and gradually, until you get a dense, shiny, and easy-to-spread sauce. For fish or seafood, it can be lightened with one or two tablespoons of water, if necessary.
- 09
Adjust the flavor
Taste the romesco and correct only with the indicated ingredients: salt, a few drops of vinegar, or a little more oil. Keep in mind that the nuts will make it thicken slightly during rest.
- 10
Rest and serve
If you want a finer texture, pass the sauce through a coarse-mesh strainer. Let it rest for at least 30 minutes and serve at room temperature or slightly cool, never frozen.
- 11
Accompany the romesco
Serve the sauce in a bowl, with a few drops of olive oil if you want. Accompany it with calçots, grilled vegetables, roasted potatoes, fish, seafood, or toasted bread. Store it covered in the refrigerator and consume it preferably within the next three days.
- Hydrate the ñoras well and scrape only their pulp to avoid a rough texture.
- Roast the tomatoes and garlic until they are very tender.
- Incorporate the oil gradually to favor emulsification.
- The rest integrates the aromas and slightly thickens the sauce.
- For a traditional result, keep the small pieces of nuts; for a finer texture, strain the romesco.
- Before serving a refrigerated sauce, stir it and let it lose some of its chill.