Sunday, May 25, 2008

Romesco


Is not the same as Romanesco. Googling Romanesco will not lead you to the type of red pepper, almond and bread based Spanish sauce that you want to make. If you also have the inept form of the internet that does not read your mind, Google Romeso for recipes. Romanesco, by the by, is a sassy kind of cauliflower that looks like a flower. Intriguing, but no Romesco.

Friday night we had roasted farm raised tilapia with Romesco, and a side of roasted potatoes, fennel and string beans for good measure. It was enjoyed by all.

In the face of the Whole Paycheck fish counter, I often become sort of debilitated. I try to bring my chart of which fish is OK to eat if you don't want to be a bad citizen of earth, but even with that as a guide, buying raw materials for dinner is occasionally daunting. I saw several kinds of fish that weren't on the chart... butterfish being one. It looked gorgeous-- firm and lush, but clearly from a large fish. Since returning from the store, I've spent about 20 minutes trying to figure out whether or not butterfish is sustainably fished... to no avail. Does anyone have more information than I do?

In addition to butterfish, there was wild Pacific Halibut. I know that Atlantic Halibut is a no-no, but my chart didn't say whether all Pacific Halibut was OK, or just wild-caught, or just farmed.... etc. So I came home with farmed tilapia. For the record, I now know that wild Pacific Halibut is a safe choice.

Turning our attention to the Romesco! It was divine. Very fresh and clean. We were having a pregnant guest, so I wanted to give baby lots of vegetables. Online, I found oodles of recipes, and then sort of made my own. Here it is:

Romesco

Ingredients:

8-10 garlic cloves
1 piece day(s)-old white or french bread, roughly chopped
1 c raw almonds 
1-2 red peppers, chopped
1 large roasted red pepper, in oil or water, chopped
1 can crushed tomatoes, well drained
3 TB olive oil
Splash of soy sauce
1 TB sweet paprika
salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Toast garlic, bread, and almonds. Combine in food processor until the crumbs are small. Do not over-process. Add all remaining ingredients to food processor. Pulse until roughly combined, leaving the sauce fairly chunky. Enjoy! (Note: the sauce is even better the next day, so consider making it a day in advance). Enough for 4 servings. 

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Mary,

Have you read "The Omnivore's Dilemma," by Michael Pollan http://www.michaelpollan.com/omnivore.php ? I only just finished the first section but given your interest in sustainable foods sources, I think you might enjoy it.

Dan (Arjun's brother in law)

Unknown said...

This souce sounds SO good, like I woudl put it on everything for wa week. I'd like to see the good fish/bad fish list. Is it online somewhere?
-Kate

saltygirl said...

Dan- thanks for the suggestion! I have indeed read Omnivore's Dilemma... it was that last push I needed to stop eating meat last year. As I'm trying to keep my eating range open to more than shoots and roots, I've had to stop reading for a while ;). -saltygirl

Kate- the link to the Monterey Bay website with a chart of various fish is in the beginnning of the entry, or you can go here: http://www.mbayaq.org/cr/SeafoodWatch/web/sfw_factsheet.aspx. Thanks for reading! -saltygirl

Anonymous said...

Kate--You can also try these pocket guides. Enjoy!