romesco sauce

There are a lot of different foods and flavors that I crave but one of my favorites is romesco sauce. Romesco sauce is a nut and red pepper based sauce that originates from Northeastern Spain. It is often served with seafood but honestly this stuff is good as a dip, a spread, as a pesto sauce, as a marinade or even added to soups and sauces for flavor. 

INGREDIENTS:

3 red bell peppers

2 tomatos

1/2 red onion

5 cloves of garlic

1 cup almond slivers

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/8 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/8 cup red wine vinegar

Start by roasting the red bell peppers, tomatoes, onions and garlic in the oven at 425 degrees until soft (about 20 minutes for garlic and about 30-40 minutes for onions, peppers and tomatoes). 

Peel the skin from the peppers and tomatoes.

Add the almonds to a food processor and pulse.

Next, add all the ingredients to a food processor and pulse until smooth.

The result is a really rich, smokey sauce that is crazy delicious!! One of my favorite ways to use it is as dipping sauce for oven baked mozzarella sticks.

INGREDIENTS

1 package of mozarella string cheese sticks (12 cheese sticks)

1 egg

2-3 Tsp flour

1/2 cup of panko bread crumbs

pinch of salt and pepper

Unwrap all of the cheese sticks, cut them in half and place them in the freezer until frozen.

In a bowl, add the beaten egg.

In another bowl, add the flour.

In a third bowl, add the panko bread crumbs.

Remove cheese sticks from the freezer.

Dip each cheese stick in the flour, then in the egg and then in the bread crumbs.

Lay cheese sticks on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper.

Bake the cheese sticks at 375 degree for about 5 minutes and then flip them over to the other side and bake for another 5  minutes.

Remove from the oven and let them cool for a few minutes then serve warm.