Shrimp with Romesco Sauce

shrimp romesco served with shaved asparagus

Romesco is a thick Spanish sauce...great on vegetables, seafood or meat and even as a dip. It's an easy way to use up a little leftover baguette (those baguettes are pretty long, so it's not unusual to have extra). But I wouldn't go out and buy one just to make this, because then you'll just have more leftover. (It's a vicious cycle.) Instead, I would just toss in any plain (preferably fresh) breadcrumbs.

I can't seem to resist buying new adorable pasta shapes I've never seen before. This one is called riccioli and as my daughter pointed out, it looks just like the boing-boing curly hair on a character in one of her books (Susan from Ramona the Pest). Maddie thoroughly enjoyed eating (and yanking on) the boings.
 

SHRIMP WITH ROMESCO SAUCE

Yield: 6-8 servings

1/4 cup slivered almonds

2 thin slices French bread (about 4 x 3 x 1/4 inches each)

2 cloves garlic

2 large roasted red peppers (or 14 oz. jarred roasted red peppers, drained)

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons sherry wine vinegar or red wine vinegar

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or to taste)

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 lb. raw medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

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1.      Stir almonds in heavy skillet over medium heat until golden, about 3 minutes. Transfer almonds to processor.

2.      Place bread in same skillet and cook until lightly toasted, about 1 minute per side. Tear bread into pieces and add to processor (don’t clean skillet).

3.      With machine running, drop garlic through feed tube and process until almonds and garlic are finely chopped.

4.      Add red peppers, oil, vinegar and cayenne pepper and process until mixture is consistency of thick mayonnaise, scraping down sides of bowl occasionally.  Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.

5.      Wipe skillet clean of breadcrumbs and heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the shrimp and cook until pink on both sides and cooked through, about 2 minutes per side.

6.      Arrange cooked shrimp on plates. Spoon romesco sauce over and serve.

adapted from Bon Appétit, May 1995

toasting almonds

toasting bread
(I used three slices because they were really small)

almonds and bread in food processor

almonds and bread processed into crumbs

everything else added (except shrimp)

romesco sauce

raw shrimp in pan

shrimp cooked

riccioli draining

shrimp with romesco sauce

Great plain or served with pasta, rice or couscous.

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