Romesco sauce is a Spanish roasted red pepper sauce made from peppers, tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, spices, herbs, and nuts. It's full of flavor and color. This vibrant sauce is perfect for everything. It's great on sandwiches, pasta, on a crostini, roasted vegetables, and so much more. I love having romesco with a short tubular pasta (penne, rigatoni, etc.) with peas and arugula. The sauce coats the noodles well while the peas and arugula hide in the tubes, so when you bite into the pasta you get a burst of peas and arugula. This recipe is by no means the traditional way of serving romesco since it is usually served with meat or roasted vegetables. I just love how it pairs with the pasta, peas, and arugula which is why I'm obsessed with this recipe.
When making romesco sauce, you can roast your own red peppers or use some from a jar. I recommend using Cento's Roasted Red Peppers if you plan on using jarred peppers. Typically I use jarred peppers to save time. Romesco is super easy to make, since all you have to do is add all your ingredients into a food processor and blend. Then serve it with whatever you like.
TOTAL TIME: 20 minutes
SERVINGS: 2 cups of sauce, enough for 4 servings of pasta
INGREDIENTS:
12 oz. jar Cento roasted red peppers (drained)
1 tomato diced or ¼ cup sun dried tomatoes
½ extra virgin olive oil
4 medium peeled garlic cloves
¼ cup roasted almonds (optional)
1-2 tablespoons sherry, red wine, or balsamic vinegar
Cayenne (to taste)
Salt (to taste)
Pepper (to taste)
½ cup peas
Handful of arugula
Handful of chopped basil
1 lb rigatoni
RECIPE:
Start boiling the pasta according to the box instructions. Make sure to salt your water and boil your pasta until al dente.
While the pasta is boiling, combine the red peppers, tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, vinegar, cayenne, salt, and pepper together in a food processor until it reaches a sauce consistency. Add more tomatoes if the sauce tastes a little bitter and blend
Once the pasta is done boiling, reserve a cup of the pasta water and then drain the pasta. Add the sauce to a pan and then add the drained pasta. Start mixing the sauce and pasta together on medium heat. Add pasta water to thin out the sauce a little and cook until you reach your desired consistency. Then mix in the peas, arugula, and basil. Serve warm with some more peas or basil on top.