Have you heard of Romesco Sauce

There is something about sauces. If I look back to what I eat where, I can’t recall a time when I was served a piece of meat without some accompanied sauce. If not a sauce then the meat was marinated and that becomes like a sauce. We could say that meat is just the vehicle for delivering the sauce and we got in the habit of not thinking of a meal without it. And it feels barbaric to watch someone eat meat plain. Or even a plain french fry. That’s how important sauces are.

In the realm of sauces, a go to favorite that screams I am from Italy is pesto. What a great blend of mashed up basil leaves fortified by pine nuts and garlic and heightened by lemons smoothed out with extra virgin olive oil. But did you know that the nearby country of Spain has a sauce like pesto? It too uses nuts ground up but instead of basil, peppers are mashed and acidity is gained from tomatoes and sherry vinegar. I would dare say it behaves like a mole sauce but not using dried chillies.

This red sauce is vibrant. It is robust. It is good as a dip or a finish on grilled meat. I like to pair it with chicken and serve it alongside creamy polenta. The base is a mix of any kind of red pepper with tomato, and ground almonds, garlic, smoothed out with extra virgin olive oil. And overall, it is the sauce that makes the dish. So when looking over The Table Caterings options for your elevated plattered buffet, try out the chicken with romesco and see if your clients will say the same things.