Romesco Sauce

Makes 2 cups

1     dried ancho chile pepper, rinsed, stemmed, and seeded
1     ½-inch slice sourdough or country-style bread (roughly 2 ounces)
1     large red bell pepper, stemmed
1     large ripe tomato, or 2 plum tomatoes, cored
½    cup whole, raw almonds, blanched (see Tip)
1     large garlic clove, peeled
1     teaspoon smoked paprika
1     pinch crushed red pepper flakes
½    teaspoon kosher salt
2     tablespoons sherry vinegar
¼    cup loosely packed parsley leaves
½    cup extra virgin olive oil

Nutritional information per serving (¼ cup):
Calories 195 (18% from fat) • carb. 7g • pro. 3g • fat 18g • sat. fat 2g• chol. 0mg • sod. 75mg • calc. 33mg • fiber 2g

1. Place the ancho chile in a bowl and cover with hot water. Let soak for 15 minutes,
until softened.
2. Meanwhile, preheat the broiler on high with a rack positioned in the upper third
of the oven. Place the slice of bread onto the rack and broil 2 to 3 minutes on
each side, using tongs to flip, until toasted. Remove crust and tear into 1-inch
pieces; reserve.
3. Place the pepper and tomato (or tomatoes) on a sheet tray and broil, rotating
frequently with the tongs, until evenly blackened and blistered on all sides.
Place charred tomato and pepper in a bowl; cover with plastic wrap and set
aside for 10 minutes. The steam will help to loosen the skins.
4. Turn off the broiler and preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the almonds on the sheet
pan and toast in the preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes, until just fragrant.
5. When the bell pepper and tomato are cool enough to handle, peel away skins.
Slice the pepper to remove core and seeds. Use a knife to roughly chop the tomato
and bell pepper, set aside. Then use the knife to gently scrape the softened flesh
of the ancho chile from its papery skin; discard skin.
6. Put the garlic clove in the work bowl. Run on Chop continuously to finely chop,
about 5 seconds. Add the almonds and pulse on Chop to start processing, about 10
to 12 pulses. Add the reserved bell pepper, tomato, ancho chile, and toasted bread,
and continue to pulse on Chop until mostly incorporated.
7. Scrape down the bowl and add the paprika, crushed red pepper, salt, vinegar
and parsley leaves. With the machine running, add the olive oil in a steady stream.
Scrape down the bowl. Run on Grind continuously until desired consistency is
achieved. The final sauce should have some remaining texture from the almonds.
8. Taste and adjust seasoning and/or acidity, if needed. Serve as desired.
Tip: If you cannot find blanched almonds, you can easily blanch your own. Place whole
almonds (with skins) in a bowl, cover with boiling water and let stand for 1 minute.
Drain almonds and immediately rinse under cold water. Gently squeeze almonds to loosen and slip off skins.