So, so good and such great flavors! Romesco Sauce is a sauce that started in Catalonia and was meant primarily for fresh fish. Modern days, it’s used on fish, chicken, pasta and so much more! A great depth of flavor from roasting the veggies slow and low. The dollop of basil pesto adds a great extra dimension.
Spaghetti with Romesco Sauce and Basil Pesto
Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients
Romesco Sauce:
- 3-4 sweet bell peppers seeds and stems removed, cut into 2-3” slices
- Head of garlic
- 1 medium sweet onion quartered
- 1 sprig of rosemary
- Salt pepper, olive oil and sherry vinegar to taste
- 1/2 c Marconi almonds or toasted sunflower seeds
- 4 oz sundried tomatoes in oil
-
Basil Pesto:
- 2 cups fresh basil stems removed
- 3-4 cloves of garlic
- ¾ tsp kosher salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1/3 cup nuts of choice I like to use pine nuts or slivered almonds; ensure nuts are unsalted and can be roasted
- ¼ cup to 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- ½ cup to ¾ cup olive oil
Serve with:
- 1 package spaghetti noodles can easily sub for gluten free
- Parmesan cheese grated, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees to prepare Romesco sauce. Slice the head of garlic in half. In a small deep pan or baking dish, place onion, garlic, and peppers. Drizzle with olive oil, kosher salt, and pepper. Cover the dish with aluminum foil. Cook for about 2 – 2 1/2 hours or until the onion is tender and garlic is soft.
- Once cool, remove from oven. Squeeze garlic cloves out of skin. Place garlic, onions, peppers, and remaining oil in a blender. Blend until completely smooth. Add sundried tomatoes and blend until smooth. Add in the Marconi almonds. Blend again until thick. Taste. Add salt and vinegar if desired. If consistency is too thick, add a few tablespoons of olive oil. Consistency should be like hummus. Place sauce in a small bowl and set aside until ready to use.
- Fill a large stockpot with water, roughly 3/4 full. Heat over high heat and bring to a boil. Liberally salt water. Once boiling, add pasta. Cook according to package instructions, roughly 7-9 minutes.
- While pasta is cooking, prepare pesto. Place all ingredients except olive oil in Cuisinart or blender.
- Begin to blend and drizzle olive oil into blender while going to emulsify. Adjust level of olive oil needed to drive desired consistency. Place pesto in a small bowl and set aside until ready to use.
- Drain pasta, reserving 1/2-1 cup of cooking water.
- In a large bowl, combine pasta and Romesco sauce, tossing well. If sauce is too thick, add a small amount of reserved pasta water to slightly thin.
- Plate with small amount of pasta on each plate. Top with dollop of basil pesto. Garnish with grated Parmesan.
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