April 20, 2013 Grouper with Grilled Vegetables and Romesco Sauce

DSC_9807-copyVer-sa-tile   adj.

  1. Capable of doing many things competently
  2. Having varied uses or serving many functions.

Versatile, that’s a word that accurately describes Romesco sauce. This rich, vibrant condiment is from the coastal town of Tarragona in northeastern Spain. It’s origin is often credited to the local fishermen who added it to seafood dishes. Authentically made with dried Spanish Nora peppers, most of the recipes I consulted used fresh or jarred roasted peppers. As with many traditional sauces, there are many variations on the recipe. My version combines roasted red peppers, almonds, some toasted bread, tomatoes, sherry vinegar and smoked paprika. These traditional Mediterranean ingredients are transformed into a luscious sauce that complements a wide variety of dishes. Romesco sauce can be served as a sauce with chicken, fish or grilled vegetables. It can be tossed with pasta, layered on a sandwich or used as a dip for crudites.

Romesco is a thick sauce, like pesto, and like pesto it is traditionally made with a mortar and pestle but a food processor brings it together in no time at all. If it were late summer I would be using my own roasted peppers, instead I used spicy and sweet piquillo, or bird’s beak peppers that also originate from northern Spain.  Be sure to toast the almonds to enhance their nutty flavor, Spanish Marcona almonds would fill in nicely too.

 
Romesco sauce plays a part in a festival in northern Spain called Calcotada. It is an early spring event that celebrates the harvest of calcots, slender onions similar to baby leeks. After the calcot harvest, community festivals are held where the onions are grilled along with meat and other vegetables on outdoor barbecues. Once charred, the onions are wrapped in newspaper to steam and finish cooking. The not so proper way to eat a calcot is to put on a bib, pull back the blackened exterior, dip it in Romesco sauce, tilt your head back and pop the onion in your mouth, sword-swallower style.  We don’t have calcots in our garden, but Joe was able to harvest some of last season’s leeks before they had a chance to go to seed. He grilled the leeks along with some asparagus and peppers to accompany our meal. I topped grouper with this sauce, but other firm fleshed white fish such as monkfish or mahi-mahi would work as well.

Grouper with Grilled Vegetables and Romesco Sauce

Serves four

Romesco Sauce

Ingredients

  • 1 c(1/2-inch cubes) stale whole grain bread
  • 1/2 c toasted whole almonds
  • 1 1/2c  roasted red peppers in water, drained
  • 1/2c sun dried tomatoes packed in oil, drained
  • 1 clove garlic, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
  • 1/4 teaspoon pimentón de la vera (smoked paprika)
  • Kosher salt and pepper
  • Dash of cayenne pepper
Directions
  1. Toast almonds on a cookie sheet, shaking it occcasionally to ensure even browning.
  2. Combine bread and almonds in a food processor and process until finely ground.
  3. Add peppers, tomato, garlic, vinegar and pimentón; process until a thick puree forms, stopping to scrape down sides of the bowl as needed. Season to taste with salt, pepper and a dash of cayenne pepper.

Grouper and Vegetables

Ingredients

  • 4 6oz  grouper filets (or other firm fleshed white fish such as halibut, mahi-mahi)
  • Assorted vegetables, peppers, onions, asparagus, cut and trimmed for the grill
  • Olive oil
  • Kosher salt and pepper

Directions

  1. Toss the vegetables with olive oil, salt and pepper to coat.
  2. Grill the vegetables in batches, flipping once, until both sides are nicely charred and the vegetables are just tender, about 12 minutes total.
  3. Set aside in a warm oven while cooking the fish
  4. Meanwhile, generously coat both sides of the fish with the oil and season both sides with salt. Let the fish sit at room temperature for 15 minutes. Bake the fish in a 450F oven using the Canadian fisheries method to determine cooking time. I will discuss cooking fish on the grill in a future post. Warm about a cup of sauce, thinned out with a little stock or water to your desired consistency. Top fish with the sauce.
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Ingredients for the romesco sauce.

  

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I love to cook, garden, entertain and celebrate holidays with family and friends in Bucks County Pa. I was an off-premise caterer for over 20 years with events ranging from ten to four hundred guests.