MoVida Romesco

Romesco is one of the ubiquitous flavours of Spain. Although there seems to be as many different recipes for it as there are Grandmothers the rough idea is roasted Nora peppers with ground nuts, bread and pimenton. In Australia the scarcity of Nora peppers means it's normally made with the less complex but brighter coloured piquillo or even grilled red capsicum.

Despite it's fiery red appearance it's not spicy at all but carries a robust earthiness, gentle smokey flavour and burst of acid from red wine vinegar. It's almost impossible to list uses for it because you see it everywhere, on everything. Our favourite combinations usually involve smoke, chargrilled steaks sitting on Romesco or gently smoked raw fish.

That being said it's also an awesome umami addition to grilled vegetables or flung into a couple of baked eggs with a bit of chorizo. In fact it appears in Spring every year on our menus when Victorian asparagus season begins - there's few better combinations than chargrilled local asparagus sitting on a great big lump of really good Romesco.