Tuscan Romesco

A sauce you will literally want to eat as a soup! Add to meats, fish, veggies, eggs, etc. etc. etc.  Delicious on just about anything you put it on! Two thumbs up, according to the family! :)

Ingredients:

- 6 Roma tomatoes, halved
- 1 large red bell pepper, quartered and seeds removed
- 12 cloves of garlic
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1 slice of bread, toasted
- 1/2 cup whole almonds
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1 tsp. smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes (use more or less depending on your likeness)
- 1 tsp. kosher salt
- Cooking spray

Preheat oven or grill to 425 degrees. Spray baking sheet with cooking spray and line with tomato halves (cut side down), quartered bell peppers (cut side down), and garlic. Brush with a little bit of the olive oil. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the veggies start to blacken slightly or the garlic is a deep golden brown. (If you can't get them to blacken, switch the oven to broil and that will do the trick.) Remove from oven and allow to cool 10 minutes. While vegetables are cooling, toast bread slice and let cool. Place vegetables into a food processor or blender. Break the bread into pieces and add to blender along with almonds, paprika, vinegar, red pepper flakes, and salt. Puree until almost smooth (still being able to taste the bits of almonds), then drizzle in the remaining olive oil while the food processor is running. ENJOY! If you'd like a printer-friendly version of this recipe, Click Here.

*TIP: Feel free to use 1/2 jar (12 oz.) of roasted red peppers if you do not have a fresh red bell pepper on hand. No need to bake or grill, just add to blender.

"Life is beautiful!" - Me