Roast Whole Fish With Salsa Romesco Recipes

ROAST WHOLE FISH WITH SALSA ROMESCO

Steps:

• Heat the grill to high. Put the peppers, skin-side up, onto a baking tray and grill for about 20 mins until the skins blacken all over. Put them into a food bag, seal, then leave for 10 mins. Once cool, peel away the skins. Tear the flesh into strips. Mix with the tomatoes, garlic and chilli in a bowl. Roughly chop most of the parsley leaves and add to the bowl with the hazelnuts, vinegar and oil, then stir well. This salad 'matures' well, and tastes even better if you can make it a few hours ahead.
• When ready to cook, heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Rinse and dry the fish, score the flesh on each side, then put the parsley stalks and a few lemon slices into the cavities. Put a few more lemon slices in an oiled baking dish and lay the fish on top. Season the fish well, drizzle with more olive oil, scatter with remaining parsley, then roast for 20 mins, until the flesh flakes easily.
• Serve the fish from the dish, set the bowl of salad and the potatoes alongside, then dig in.

ROMESCO SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat the broiler and cover a baking sheet with foil. Place the tomatoes on the baking sheet, and place under the broiler at the highest setting. Broil for two to four minutes, until charred on one side. Turn over and broil on the other side for two to four minutes until charred. Remove from the heat, transfer to a bowl and allow to cool. Peel and core.
• Turn on a food processor fitted with the steel blade and drop in the garlic cloves. When the garlic is chopped and adheres to the sides of the bowl, stop the machine and scrape down the sides. Add the toasted almonds (or almonds and hazelnuts), bread and chile powder or flakes to the bowl and process to a paste.
• Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the pepper, tomatoes, parsley, paprika, salt and pepper. Process until smooth, and with the machine running, add the vinegar and olive oil in a slow stream, beginning with the smaller amount of olive oil and thinning out as desired. Process until well amalgamated, then scrape into a bowl.
• Taste and adjust seasoning, adding salt or chile as desired. If possible, allow the sauce to stand for an hour at room temperature before using. Serve with fish and/or grilled vegetables, or on crostini.

ROASTED FISH WITH ROMESCO SALSA

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400 degrees. In a medium bowl, toss the tomato, peppers, garlic, paprika, vinegar and 1 tablespoon olive oil; set aside.
• In a small skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high. When the oil is hot, add the torn bread and cook, tossing often, for 3 to 5 minutes, until toasted and golden brown. Transfer to a cutting board to cool, then coarsely chop the bread into pieces.
• Carefully wipe out any crumbs from the pan with a paper towel, then add a splash of olive oil. Add the almonds and toast over medium heat, tossing occasionally, for about 3 minutes, or until golden brown. Transfer to the board with the bread and set aside to cool.
• Pat the fish dry with a paper towel and place on a sheet pan or in a baking dish. Brush all over with olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Roast until the fish is cooked through and flakes easily with a fork, 10 to 12 minutes.
• Add the bread, almonds and parsley to the tomato salsa and toss well. Spoon over the fish fillets, sprinkle with coarse sea salt and serve immediately.

FISH BAKED IN SALT WITH ROMESCO SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Rinse the whole fish and pat it dry. In a heavy casserole large enough to hold the fish and all the salt, make a 2 inch layer of salt. Make a shallow, fish shaped impression in the salt and lay the fish on top. Distribute the remaining salt around and over the fish so that it is completely covered. Pat the salt down gently, cover the casserole and bake for about 1 hour. Remove the cover and tap the salt to break it (it will have formed an armorlike crust). Break the crust and pull off most of the salt. Then peel away and discard the skin. Serve the flesh immediately, accompanied by the Romesco sauce.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, soak the bread cubes in the vinegar for 20 minutes. Toast the almonds for 10 to 15 minutes, watching closely. Cool the almonds completely, then grind them in a mortar and pestle or food processor until they are finely ground but not oily. Add the vinegar soaked bread, tomatoes, paprika, salt and pepper to the processor and grind together briefly until evenly pureed. With the motor running, add the olive oil in a thin stream.

SALSA ROMESCO/ ROMESCO SAUCE

Steps:

• *Cook's Note: You can also use dried Nora peppers, if Romesco peppers are not available. These are both typical peppers imported from Spain.
• Preheat the grill to high heat.
• In a cast iron or grill-safe skillet, toast the nuts until lightly colored and toasted, 3 to 5 minutes, being careful not to burn them or they get very bitter. Remove the nuts and reserve. On the grill, lightly char the tomatoes on all sides, 2 to 3 minutes each side, rotating until all the sides are lightly charred. At the same time on the grill, roast the garlic cut-side down until the cut side gets nicely colored and the garlic begins to soften.
• Alternatively, if using a conventional oven, place the raw hazelnuts, tomatoes (do not core the tomatoes or their liquid will spill out while roasting) and garlic cut-side down on a baking sheet and roast in a preheated 400 F oven for about 10 minutes. Remove the toasted hazelnuts and reserve. Return the tomatoes and garlic back to the oven for 20 to 30 minutes more. The tomatoes should be deeply roasted and the garlic should be nicely colored on the cut side and begin to soften.
• When they are ready, remove the tomatoes and the garlic from the grill or oven. When cool enough to handle, peel the tomatoes and set aside.
• In the bowl of a food processor, add the hazelnuts and the grilled or toasted bread. Lightly pulse 2 to 3 times until the bread and nuts start to break down, but are not all ground. Add the tomatoes, reconstituted Romesco or Nora peppers and roasted garlic (squeeze the cloves out of their skin) and lightly process while gradually streaming in the oil, a little at a time, as if making a mayonnaise. Romesco should have both a fine chunky integrity to the sauce and a smooth silky texture. Finally, add the vinegar and season with salt and black pepper or crushed red pepper, if using. Add a little water if the sauce is too thick. The final sauce should be thick and concentrated but still loose.

FISH WITH ROMESCO-STYLE SAUCE

Steps:

• Pour dressing over fish in shallow dish; turn to evenly coat both sides of each fillet. Refrigerate 20 min. to marinate.
• Meanwhile, blend next 4 ingredients in blender until smooth; pour into bowl. Stir in parsley. Refrigerate until ready to use.
• Heat large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat. Remove fish from marinade; discard marinade. Add fish to skillet; cook 6 min. on each side or until fish flakes easily with fork. Serve topped with sauce.

ROMESCO SAUCE

Steps:

• Pulse almonds, bread crumbs, tomatoes, roasted peppers, parsley, garlic, paprika, salt and pepper in a food processor until finely chopped. Add sherry; process until blended. Continue processing while gradually adding oil in a steady stream.

SAUTEED FISH WITH ROMESCO SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat broiler.
• Cut bell peppers in half; discard seeds and membranes. Place bell peppers, skin sides up, on a baking sheet; flatten. Broil 10 minutes or until blackened. Add ancho; broil 2 minutes.
• Place peppers in a paper bag; close tightly. Let stand 5 minutes; peel off the skin. Place bell peppers, ancho, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and next 8 ingredients (through bread) in a food processor; process until smooth.
• Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon salt over fish. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add fish to pan; cook 6 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Top with sauce; serve with lemon wedges.