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Home Mediterranean Recipes

Spanish Romesco Sauce / Dip (capsicum sauce)

By:Nagi
Published:13 Jan '16Updated:19 Apr '20
65 Comments
Recipe v

Romesco Sauce – 45 million Spaniards can’t be wrong. There is a reason this capsicum sauce is the national sauce of Spain. Because it’s magic! Use it as a dip, marinade, spread, pesto, sauce, with vegetables, proteins, seafood, even eggs….the list is almost endless. The ultimate standby – and a terrific unique way to use capsicum (bell peppers) for something that’s incredibly delicious!

Magic Spanish Romesco Sauce - This miracle sauce is simple to make and fabulous to use as a dip, sauce, spread, pesto, as a marinade or even to flavour and thicken soups!

You can find bottled sauces in stores that claim to be a “magic sauce”. But I am so confident that Spanish Romesco Sauce is THE ultimate magic sauce that I’m willing to put a bet on it.

If someone can show me a sauce / dip that is tastier and more versatile, then….hmm….what’s a good punishment for me?

I know! I’ll be VEGAN for a month. No meat, no eggs, no dairy and….shudder at the thought…no cheese. Oooohh…that’s a BIG BET!!! 🙂

The reason I have so much confidence in Romesco Sauce is because Spaniards have been devouring it for centuries and once the Western world started discovering it in the 21st century, chefs all around the world jumped on it. Because the pros knew they had stumbled on something really special. 😉

It’s smoky from the chargrilled capsicum/bell peppers. It’s creamy and tastes rich, it’s like a dip – but a softer consistency. And like pesto – but so much healthier (far less oil). It’s a sauce to put on food, to add into things for cooking (soups, stews, sauces), it’s a marinade, a spread.

Magic Spanish Romesco Sauce - This miracle sauce is simple to make and fabulous to use as a dip, sauce, spread, pesto, as a marinade or even to flavour and thicken soups!
Magic Spanish Romesco Sauce - This miracle sauce is simple to make and fabulous to use as a dip, sauce, spread, pesto, as a marinade or even to flavour and thicken soups!

Magic Spanish Romesco Sauce - This miracle sauce is simple to make and fabulous to use as a dip, sauce, spread, pesto, as a marinade or even to flavour and thicken soups! Magic Spanish Romesco Sauce - This miracle sauce is simple to make and fabulous to use as a dip, sauce, spread, pesto, as a marinade or even to flavour and thicken soups!

And here’s more validation for Romesco Sauce – if you need it! Each month, Super Food Ideas magazine (Australia’s largest food magazine – woo hoo!) asks me to submit ideas for a feature. I love that brainstorming phase. The floodgates open and I send them lists of theme ideas and use an excessive amount of exclamation marks (due to overexcitement) when I describe the recipes. (Oh wait – let me add some here – !!!!)

A brief description of the magic of Romesco Sauce was all it took for Super Food Ideas to jump on it.

See? The PROS know an amazing sauce when they see it!!! 😉

Look, here’s the spread!!! It’s available now, finally! I did these recipes months ago, I’ve been waiting so impatiently for this to hit the stands!

Super Food Ideas | Nagi RecipeTin Eats feature

Here’s a little run down on each of the recipes I created for Super Food Ideas using Romesco Sauce.

1. Spanish Roast Chicken with Grilled Veg (below left) – marinated in Romesco Sauce which transforms into the most amazing crust when baked!

2. Barbecued Marinated Lamb with Smashed Potatoes (below right), drizzled with Romesco Sauce – I know I should tell you how amazing the lamb is (and it really is!) but those smashed potatoes…..Courtesy of Claire from Sprinkles and Sprouts, a fellow Aussie food blogger! See her Smashed Crispy Thyme Potatoes recipe here.

Romesco-Roast-Chicken-and-Lamb

3. Barbecued Seafood Skewers with Romesco Sauce (below left) – Prawns, fish and squid skewers served with Romesco Sauce on the side. This is the original purpose for which Romesco Sauce was invented by Spanish fishermen, and just one bite is all it takes to know that smoky creamy Romesco sauce and fresh seafood is a match made in heaven. 🙂

4. Summer Pasta Salad (below middle) – Romesco Sauce is brilliant to use as a pesto!

5. Romesco Eggs with Chorizo (below right)- Breakfast, lunch or dinner, just make sure you serve this with plenty of crusty bread to mop up the incredible tomato-Romesco sauce!

Romesco-sauce-seafood-pasta-eggs

Though traditionally made with bell peppers / capsicum that is cooked until black on the BBQ, directly over the flame of gas stoves, or in a cranked up oven, it can also be made with store-bought chargrilled capsicum. Still delicious – but the wonderful smoky flavour is even more intense if you make your own chargrilled capsicum!

Romesco Sauce. I am unnaturally obsessed with this. I really hope you give it a go! – Nagi x

PS Isn’t the colour sensational? Makes me smile just looking at it!

Magic Spanish Romesco Sauce - This miracle sauce is simple to make and fabulous to use as a dip, sauce, spread, pesto, as a marinade or even to flavour and thicken soups!

PPS I hate to play favorites…..but my gosh, this Spanish Romesco Marinated Chicken is incredible. Incredible! (If I do say so myself!). The Romesco Sauce crust that forms when the chicken is roasted is so good!!! The recipe is in this months’ Super Food Ideas – along with all the other ones pictured above! 🙂

Magic Spanish Romesco Sauce - This miracle sauce is simple to make and fabulous to use as a dip, sauce, spread, pesto, as a marinade or even to flavour and thicken soups!

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Magic Spanish Romesco Sauce - This miracle sauce is simple to make and fabulous to use as a dip, sauce, spread, pesto, as a marinade or even to flavour and thicken soups!

Magic Spanish Romesco Sauce / Dip

Author: Nagi | RecipeTin Eats
Prep: 5 mins
Cook: 30 mins
Total: 35 mins
Marinade, Sauce
Spanish
4.89 from 9 votes
Servings2 1/4 cups
Tap or hover to scale
Print
45 million Spaniards can't be wrong! There is a reason why this is the national sauce of Spain - it's incredibly versatile and delicious! Use it as a sauce, dip, spread and as pesto - or even as a marinade! Romesco sauce is smoky and creamy, but so much healthier than normal dips. It's like pesto - with a fraction of the calories!

Ingredients

  • 2 red capsicum / bell peppers (Note 1)
  • 1 tomato
  • 5 garlic cloves
  • 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 slices white sandwich bread , crusts removed (Note 2)
  • 1/2 cup natural almonds (Note 3)
  • 1 tbsp sherry vinegar (or red or white wine vinegar)
  • 1 tbsp smoked paprika
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
  • 1 tsp salt

Instructions

  • Preheat barbecue grill OR gas stove on high and chargrill capsicum using until black and blistered all over. (Note 4)
  • Place in a bowl and cover for at least 20 minutes. The capsicum will cool down and sweat, allowing the skin to slide off easily. Peel and discard the skin, and the seeds, place in blender.
  • Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Place tomato and garlic on foil, drizzle with 2 tsp oil, and wrap.
  • Place foil packet on a tray, add bread and almonds onto the tray. Bake for 5 minutes until bread is golden, remove almonds and bread. Tear bread into pieces, place in blender with almonds.
  • Bake garlic and tomato for a further 25 minutes or until tomato is tender. Open foil, allow to cool until you can handle it. Peel tomato, add to blender. Squeeze garlic from skins, place in blender.
  • Add remaining ingredients, whizz until smooth. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.
  • Store in the fridge for up to 1 week. Refer to Notes for ideas for how to use!

Recipe Notes:

1. You can use 1 1/2 cups tightly packed store bought chargrilled bell peppers/capsicum (drained). The smokiness isn't as intense, but the flavour is still very similar.
Omit the red wine vinegar from the recipe and just add according to taste at the end (because capsicum in jars is a bit more sour than fresh capsicum).
2. This is best made with ordinary white sandwich bread because it blends up easily into the sauce. But you can use fancy bread if you wish.
3. You can use roasted almonds instead, just toast them in the oven for a few minutes less.
4. The char is how you get the smoky flavour in this sauce! I just plonk the capsicum on the grill or on the actual flames on a gas stove, leave it for a few minutes until it turns black, turn with tongs and repeat until black all over.
To do it in the oven, crank the oven up as high as it will go and put the capsicum directly on the rack (whole). Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, until it's nicely charred. The flavour is not quite as smoky as using a BBQ or gas stove.
5. Ways to use Romesco Sauce - traditionally used by Spanish fishermen as a sauce for cooked seafood, Romesco Sauce is a fabulous way to jazz up even the plainest of cooked foods! Simply BBQ/cook meat, vegetables or seafoods and serve with (plenty of!) Romesco Sauce. Here are other suggestions for using Romesco Sauce:
- Dip for chips, veggie sticks, crackers and fries
- Spread - on crostini, sandwiches, burgers (oh my, so good!)
- As a pesto
- Stirred into sauces to add flavour and richness
- Stirred into soups and stews
- As a marinade or crust for roasted meats
Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @RecipeTinEats.

 

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65 Comments

  1. Nancy | Plus Ate Six says

    January 18, 2016 at 1:10 pm

    5 stars
    Congratulations on the magazine spread – although I’m hardly surprised because you work like a trojan and your recipes rock. I have to say I love the idea of how you’ve used one sauce and come up with different recipes for it. There’s not a single one I don’t want to try.

    Reply
    • Nagi | RecipeTin says

      January 18, 2016 at 6:17 pm

      Awww, shucks, thanks Nancy!! <3

      Reply
  2. Jem @ Lost in Utensils says

    January 18, 2016 at 11:39 am

    5 stars
    This would taste awesome. I’ve eaten it before but haven’t made it so thanks so much for the recipe.

    Reply
    • Nagi | RecipeTin says

      January 18, 2016 at 6:16 pm

      You must try it at home!! It’s truly incredible, promise!! 🙂

      Reply
  3. Sabrina says

    January 17, 2016 at 1:01 am

    I love all the dishes you made to go with the romesco sauce! I just made this sauce recently as well and served it up with pork tenderloin 🙂

    Reply
    • Nagi | RecipeTin says

      January 18, 2016 at 5:59 pm

      Thanks so much Sabrina!!! 🙂

      Reply
  4. Jan (agluttonouswife) says

    January 15, 2016 at 12:23 pm

    I’ve bookmarked this recipe – sounds delicious and will definately be trying the marinated chicken, thanks! Jan x

    Reply
    • Nagi | RecipeTin says

      January 15, 2016 at 4:23 pm

      Hope you do try it Jan!!! 🙂

      Reply
  5. Helen @ Scrummy Lane says

    January 15, 2016 at 5:46 am

    Well, I’ll probably embarrass both myself and you if I say again that you’re a genius, but you know by now that that’s what I think. Very proud of you for getting in with the magazine people.
    As for this romesco sauce, coincidentally I have a recipe noted down to make soon using it too! You’re right, it’s such a stunner! Didn’t’ know it was so oooold!
    🙂

    Reply
    • Nagi | RecipeTin says

      January 15, 2016 at 4:22 pm

      ooh!!! I bet you do an amazing version of Romesco Helen!!!

      Reply
  6. Tara | Deliciously Declassified says

    January 15, 2016 at 12:49 am

    Congrats, Nagi! What an amazing feature! Everything looks stunning and this sauce/dip/marinade sounds delicious. I’m going to have to give this a try 🙂

    Reply
    • Nagi | RecipeTin says

      January 15, 2016 at 4:18 pm

      Thanks so much Tara, you’re so sweet!!! Hope you do give this a try, seriously SO good. Spaniards. They know GOOD FOOD!!!

      Reply
  7. Sue Smith says

    January 14, 2016 at 4:54 pm

    Love how this chicken looks…is this mag available in the states? Cant wait to try this sauce!

    Reply
    • Nagi | RecipeTin says

      January 15, 2016 at 4:16 pm

      Hi Sue! Unfortunately not….but I am going to ask the magazine if I can share the chicken recipe!! 🙂

      Reply
  8. Kathleen | Hapa Nom Nom says

    January 14, 2016 at 1:55 pm

    Ok, ok… you have me convinced. This IS on my to-do list this weekend! Recipe printed and on my fridge. There was just a very loud and audible growl from my stomach… did you hear it? Seriously can’t wait to try this! And as always, awesome spread in the magazines!

    Reply
    • Nagi | RecipeTin says

      January 15, 2016 at 4:15 pm

      OMG can’t wait to hear what you think…….

      Reply
  9. Claire | Sprinkles and Sprouts says

    January 14, 2016 at 12:19 pm

    5 stars
    I got my copy of the magazine just before Christmas, I was so excited when I saw it in the shops 🙂

    Thank you for including my potatoes, they are one of our total favs….although you know I am a massive potato fan so hard to have a favourite 😉

    I made this sauce on New Years Eve to go with our seafood platter. Sooooooooo good!
    We put the rest on crostini topped with some crumbled goats cheese also sooooooo good.
    The next batch is destined for the crusted chicken!

    I don’t think there is any chance of you having to do a Vegan diet for a month xx

    Reply
    • Nagi | RecipeTin says

      January 15, 2016 at 4:13 pm

      I didn’t know you tried it! YAY!!! (Try it with crispy smashed potatoes. You might know a good recipe….;) )

      Reply
  10. cheri says

    January 14, 2016 at 12:17 pm

    5 stars
    Hi Nagi, Congrats on your feature, love the pictures and the sauce sounds amazing. Looks like there are many ways to use it as well. You are so right the color is sensational.

    Reply
    • Nagi | RecipeTin says

      January 15, 2016 at 4:12 pm

      THANKS CHERI!!! 🙂 N x

      Reply
  11. Marisa Franca @ All Our Way says

    January 14, 2016 at 8:05 am

    5 stars
    Well, there is pesto, salsa, guacamole, and Romesco sauce!! I love sauces!! They add so much to any food. Now I’m going to be honest — I’ve never tried this sauce but you’ve made me want to take up the challenge to see if it is the best. I can’t wait to make it. Beautiful photos of the dishes– absolutely gorgeous!!

    Reply
    • Nagi | RecipeTin says

      January 15, 2016 at 4:12 pm

      Thank you Marisa! Your lovely messages always touch me! 🙂

      Reply
  12. Dorothy Dunton says

    January 14, 2016 at 7:27 am

    Hi Nagi! First, WOW what a wonderful magazine spread! As always your photos are gorgeous! This sauce could be dangerous! I’m drooling over the chicken and grilled veggies! 🙂

    Reply
    • Nagi | RecipeTin says

      January 15, 2016 at 4:11 pm

      Thank you Dorothy!!! It means so much that you like it!! 🙂 N x

      Reply
  13. ann says

    January 14, 2016 at 7:27 am

    Ha ha ha ha ha….Nagi, vegan for a month? I’m getting worried that I will be seeing quinoa recipes featuring soon.

    Reply
    • Nagi | RecipeTin says

      January 15, 2016 at 4:10 pm

      No chance. I won’t lose the BET!!! 😉 Happy weekend Ann!!!

      Reply
  14. Shashi at RunninSrilankan says

    January 14, 2016 at 5:38 am

    This sauce is so dreamy! Wow – one look at that first picture and, Nagi, I wanted to slather that sauce on EVERYTHING!

    Reply
    • Nagi | RecipeTin says

      January 15, 2016 at 4:09 pm

      I DO slather it on almost anything!!!! 🙂

      Reply
  15. Mariana says

    January 14, 2016 at 5:29 am

    The colour is sensational indeed! I love that the sauceis multi-use and can be used from dip to marinade.

    Reply
    • Nagi | RecipeTin says

      January 15, 2016 at 4:09 pm

      Doesn’t the colour just make you want to smile?? 😉

      Reply
  16. Barb F says

    January 14, 2016 at 5:01 am

    5 stars
    Wow, congrats on the magazine feature!! That is very exciting and I hope it leads to more opportunities for you.

    This sauce looks and sounds amazing with all the ways it can be used. And your photos are fantastic! Makes me want to jump in and eat my way out! 😀

    Reply
    • Nagi | RecipeTin says

      January 15, 2016 at 4:08 pm

      Thanks Barb!!! I’m so excited, it’s a huge opportunity!!! 🙂

      Reply
  17. Lyn says

    January 14, 2016 at 4:37 am

    That chicken has my name written all over it…The sauce…I can’t wait to try…YUM!

    Reply
    • Nagi | RecipeTin says

      January 15, 2016 at 4:08 pm

      YES it has your name all over it!!! 😉 N x

      Reply
  18. Kevin | Keviniscooking says

    January 14, 2016 at 3:11 am

    5 stars
    Such versatility indeed. Love the smoky flavor of this and the possibilities ARE endless. Big claim and I k now you wouldn’t bet on cheese so I gotta give it a try.
    It must be sauce day! 🙂
    P.S. FAB photo spreads !!!!!!

    Reply
    • Nagi | RecipeTin says

      January 15, 2016 at 4:08 pm

      THANKS Kevin! 🙂 N x

      Reply
  19. Peter @Feed Your Soul Too says

    January 14, 2016 at 3:07 am

    I love romesco sauce and have made it before too. Absolutely love how you served it with the crostini & zucchini.

    Reply
    • Nagi | RecipeTin says

      January 15, 2016 at 4:07 pm

      You have GREAT TASTE Peter!! 🙂

      Reply
  20. Linda | Brunch-n-Bites says

    January 14, 2016 at 2:06 am

    Woohoo! What an awesome feature! You’re very inspiring and now I want this sauce badly. I trust your taste when you say it’s THE ultimate sauce, even the color looks so promising. Yum! Or should I say saucy!

    Reply
    • Nagi | RecipeTin says

      January 15, 2016 at 4:07 pm

      Gosh, thanks so much Linda, you’re so kind! 🙂

      Reply
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