Romesco Sauce

Romesco sauce is a staple within the fridge all year round. You can pair it with anything from grilled vegetables, cooked and raw seafood, meats, chicken, soups, as a dip served with eggs, and tomato braises to give a nice robust kick of flavour. Romesco is so simple to make in the Vitamix Ascent blender that you can blend less for a crunchy version or longer for a silky smooth puree. Created by Chef Tom Walton

Ingredients

Romesco Sauce 

• 2 large red capsicums
• ½ cup olive oil  
• ¼ cup each roasted almonds and hazelnuts
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 ½ Tablespoons sweet smoked paprika
• 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar or sherry vinegar
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Garnishes

• 2 bunches broccolini 
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• ½ cup natural yoghurt
• 1 lemon
• 2 teaspoons za’atar (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat an oven grill to high and line a baking tray with baking paper.
2. Cut the sides of the capsicum off in four parts from around the core, place skin side up onto the tray, brush with 1 Tablespoon of the olive oil and grill for 5 – 7 minutes, until the skin is blackened.
3. Allow to cool for 2 minutes then peel off the skin and discard.
4. Place the roast capsicum flesh into the Vitamix blender jug along with the rest of the Romesco ingredients and blend on a speed of 3 for 20 seconds to form a crunchy sauce or increase the speed to 6 and blend for a little longer to achieve a smoother sauce consistency.
5. Pour the sauce into a container and store in the fridge for up to a week.
6. Preheat a grill plate or BBQ over a high heat. Toss the broccolini with the olive oil and a little salt and pepper then grill for approximately 2 – 3 minutes, turning until it gets a little charred.
7. While the broccolini cooks, spoon the yoghurt onto a serving plate and then spoon 4 Tablespoons of Romesco over the yoghurt and swirl around.
8. Place the cooked broccolini over the Romesco yoghurt, spoon over a little more Romesco sauce, squeeze over the lemon and sprinkle with za’atar if using.