Monday, May 21, 2012

recipe: 2 great summer sauces

Recipes from my demo at the Morningside Women's Group today!
The Romesco was served with roasted shrimp, and the Sweet Pea + Mint spread was served on top of bite-sized crostini rounds with chive blossom garnish.

Romesco Sauce
makes about 2C
1 1-inch thick slice of crusty bread, crust removed and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 large tomato
5 cloves garlic
1/2 cup almonds
2 medium red bell peppers
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a baking pan with aluminum foil. Place almond, garlic,
bread and tomato on baking sheet and place in the oven. Roast almonds until
fragrant and bread is crusty and just starting to brown, about 10 minutes. Remove
almonds and bread and continue roasting garlic until soft and tomato until tender,
about 20 minutes more. Remove from oven, let cool slightly and remove skin from
tomato and peel garlic.
• While other ingredients are roasting in the oven, roast peppers over an open flame on
a gas stove or grill until the skins are blackened. Place in a bowl and cover with
plastic wrap and let sit until cool enough to handle, about 20 minutes. Remove
charred skin, seeds, and cores.
• Place tomato, almonds, peppers, olive oil, vinegar, paprika, salt, and pepper in the
bowl of a food processor. Purée until smooth. Add bread as needed to thicken, and
process until smooth. Taste and season with additional salt and cayenne pepper as
needed.
• Place in and airtight container and place in the refrigerator until cool. Store
refrigerated up to 5 days.


Sweet Pea + Mint Spread
makes approx. 1 1/2 cups

1 10 oz. bag frozen organic sweet peas, thawed (such as Sno Pac)
1/4c fresh mint leaves
Juice of 1 lemon
Olive oil
Salt + Pepper
Chive Blossoms for garnish (optional)

-Place peas, mint + lemon juice in food processor
-Pulse to incorporate
-With processor on, drizzle in olive oil until desired consistency
-Season with salt + pepper
-Serve atop crostini or crackers + garnish with chive blossoms.

This spread is also outstanding on top of fish or thinned to sauce pasta!