Dips and sauces
Kefir Romesco Sauce
Roasted red pepper, toasted almonds, smoked paprika, and kefir become a rust-red sauce for vegetables, bread, fish, or grilled meat.
Time20 minutes prep with roasted peppers, plus 20 minutes chilling
MakesAbout 420 g, 8 servings
Make it
Method
- Pat the roasted pepper dry. Tear the bread into small pieces.
- Pulse the almonds, bread, garlic, paprika, and salt until the nuts look like coarse crumbs.
- Add the pepper, kefir, and vinegar. Pulse until the sauce is thick but still has a little texture.
- Add the olive oil and pulse twice more. Scrape into a bowl and chill for 20 minutes.
Stop before the nuts disappear
Romesco can keep a little texture. Pulse until the pepper is broken down but the almonds still leave fine grains; the bread thickens the sauce as it rests.
Store it
Keep covered at 4°C or colder and use within 3 days.
Start with already-roasted peppers
Jarred roasted peppers save a step; drain and pat them dry before weighing 250 g. Toasted hazelnuts can replace the almonds by weight, changing the nut flavour and allergen. This version contains milk, nuts and bread.
If the pepper sauce is watery
A watery sauce usually means the pepper was not drained. Add 10 g more toasted bread, pulse once, and drain the peppers more thoroughly next time.