Romesco sauce originated in Northeastern Spain and was traditionally made with roasted bell peppers and nuts to be served with fish. It’s filled with the bold flavor of roasted bell pepper and has a really satisfying, creamy consistency.
These days most romesco sauce recipes contain flour or bread to thicken it up. I used a little bit of flax meal to replace the grains, and kept the rest of the ingredients very close to the traditional ones. It’s incredibly tasty!
There are endless ways to serve this sauce, over noodles being the most obvious. I love the idea of serving it over baked, white fish, like the ancient fishermen of Spain. In fact, you could serve a dollop over White Fish en Papillote!
3 red bell peppers
1 large tomato
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons garlic, minced
¼ cup pecans, chopped
2 teaspoons flax meal
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
½ teaspoon sweet paprika
½ teaspoon sea salt
pinch of black pepper, ground
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced (optional garnish)
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes, (optional garnish)
zucchini noodles, optional for serving
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Place the whole bell peppers on the foil, stems pointing to the side. Roast for 20 minutes, remove from oven and turn the pepper using tongs, then return to the oven for another 20 minutes. Continue roasting until the skin is blistered and blackened on all sides. Remove from oven, place in a bowl and cover with a plate. Cool for 15 minutes before peeling the skin and removing the seeds.
Place the roasted peppers in a food processor.
In a small skillet, place the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the garlic and pecans and cook for 3 minutes, or until golden brown. Add to the food processor.
Add the flax meal, vinegar, paprika, salt and a pinch of black pepper to the food processor and blend until smooth.
Serve the sauce over zucchini noodles with a sprinkle of parsley and nutritional yeast. Enjoy!
Calories: 115
Fat: 9g
Carbohydrates: 8g
Sodium: 162mg
Fiber: 3g
Protein: 3g
Sugar: 4g