Romesco Sauce with Simple Blistered Shishitos

FOOD AS MEDICINE

Romesco sauce is a Spanish tomato-based sauce that is traditionally served with seafood but we think it pairs well with just about anything! It uses red bell peppers, tomatoes and a heavy hit of garlic as a base and almonds are added to give it a creamy texture and good punch of healthy fat. You can use roasted red peppers if desired but roasting them yourself along with the tomatoes and garlic marries the flavors, plus it avoids any crappy oils that might be in jarred roasted red peppers! This sauce is super versatile and goes great with flaky white fish, seafood and eggs as a condiment and can also be used as a dip for crudite or shishito peppers.

INGREDIENTS

For the romesco sauce:

6 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed

2 red bell peppers, sliced into 1/2 inch strips

1/2 pound cherry or roma tomatoes

4 Tbsp olive oil, divided

1 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/2 cup Marcona almonds

For the shishito peppers:

6 oz shishito peppers (about 20 peppers)

1 Tbsp avocado oil

flaky sea salt

DIRECTIONS

To make the romesco sauce, preheat the oven to 375. Place the bell peppers, tomatoes and garlic cloves on a baking sheet and coat with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Sprinkle with sea salt and black pepper and pop in the oven for 30-35 minutes, shaking once halfway through, until peppers are soft and tomatoes burst. Allow to cool about 10 minutes, then place in the blender or food processor. Add the Marcona almonds and blend until thick and creamy, about 2-3 minutes. Slowly stream in the olive oil and blend 1 minute longer until a creamy sauce develops. You can add water if needed to thin. Store in the fridge until ready to use.

To blister the shishitos, heat a medium sized cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Add the shishito peppers and toast dry for about 2 minutes, until the surface starts to get toasted. Add the avocado oil and stir to coat. Continue to cook, turning to blister each side, about 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat and sprinkle with sea salt. Serve with the romesco sauce for dipping.