Smoky Romesco Recipes

SMOKY ROMESCO SAUCE

Steps:

• Prepare a medium-hot fire (400°F) in a wood-fired oven, cooker, or grill.
• Place the tomatoes and onion, cut side down, on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Using a large knife, cut the top 3/4 inch off the head of garlic and place the head on the baking sheet, cut side up. Drizzle with olive oil and roast in an oven or cooker, or cook over direct heat on a grill until the skins of the tomatoes are wrinkled and charred and the onions are slightly soft, 20 to 30 minutes.
• Remove the skins from the tomatoes and onion and coarsely chop the flesh. Place in a food processor along with any juice from the roasting. Squeeze the roasted garlic from 5 large cloves into the mixture. Add the piquillo peppers and pulse to chop. Add the nuts and torn bread. With the machine running, drizzle in one-third of the olive oil. Add the ancho, pimentón, red pepper flakes, and half of the sherry vinegar. Increase the speed to incorporate the ingredients and chop the nuts. Add salt to taste. Add more olive oil and continue to process until the desired texture is reached. Add water if too thick. Adjust the taste by adding more sherry vinegar and olive oil if needed.

SMOKY ROMESCO

Steps:

• Set up your favorite smoker and add a handful of hardwood chunks. If you have heat control, set it to whatever position will give you moderate heat: 180 to 200 degrees F. Allow the wood to smoke for approximately 30 minutes before adding food.
• While the smoker is heating, position an oven rack 5-inches below the broiler and set the broiler to high.
• Halve the peppers lengthwise, discard the seeds, place cut side-down on a sheet pan, then broil, rotating the pan halfway through, until the skins are charred, about 10 minutes. (Or you can char them over your gas cooktop burners if you have them. It's a little messy but darned efficient and fun in a medieval kind of way.)
• Transfer the peppers to a large bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap and set aside for 15 minutes, then slip the charred skins off the peppers with your hands. (Doing this under running water helps.)
• Spread the tomato paste into a thin layer on piece of parchment paper and place on a baking rack along with the peppers and garlic. Smoke for 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat a toaster oven to 400 degrees F and toast the almonds until light golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Set up a food processor with an S-blade (the normal processing blade) and load in the bread cubes, smoked peppers, garlic and tomato paste, the toasted almonds, sherry vinegar and salt. Pulse until uniform but still chunky, then leave the motor running while you add the oil in a constant stream. (Do this fairly quickly so that the sauce doesn't puree completely.)
• For full flavor, wait a couple of hours to serve at room temp. To store, cover tightly and refrigerate for up 10 days or freeze in ice cube trays for easy dosing.

GRILLED CHICKEN THIGHS WITH SMOKY ROMESCO SALAD

Steps:

• Place the chicken on a large platter and generously season with salt and pepper. Let sit at least 10 minutes and up to 1 hour.
• Whisk together the oil, paprika and garlic in a liquid measuring cup until completely combined. Put the peppers, tomatoes, onions and baguette slices on a baking sheet and generously brush with the oil mixture until completely coated, making sure to brush on bits of the garlic and paprika. Reserve the remaining oil mixture for the vinaigrette.
• Prepare a grill or large grill pan for medium-high heat. Clean and oil the grill grates.
• Grill the chicken until lightly charred and cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes per side (see Cook's Note). Transfer to a cutting board and cut into 1-inch strips.
• Grill the peppers and onions until lightly charred and tender, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Grill the tomatoes skin-side down until the skin is charred, about 4 minutes; do not grill the cut sides. Transfer to a cutting board and chop the onions and peppers into bite-size pieces. Grill the bread until toasted on both sides, about 1 minute per side. Transfer to the same baking sheet. Season the vegetables and croutons with salt and pepper.
• Whisk the vinegar, sugar and 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper into the reserved oil mixture until completely combined. Arrange the chicken on a platter and top with the peppers, onions, tomatoes, croutons and almonds. Drizzle with the vinaigrette and top with parsley. Sprinkle with red pepper flakes and serve.