One of my favorite summer side dishes! These grilled vegetables with romesco sauce are a summer cookout’s dream!
I distinctly remember the first time I made romesco sauce. I was working for Chobani and it was my first time to the Culinary Institute of America in Napa. We were sponsoring a conference and engaged in one of the culinary workshops where we were making healthier sauces. My team had romesco sauce. We charred red bell peppers over an open flame. Threw everything in a high-speed blender. I remember tasting it and being like if this was on every food I ate for the rest of my life, I’d be okay with that. LOL. Oh and there was a photo of me making this sauce in the New York Times so I’ll never forget it.
Every summer, Steve and I always do a grill night where we buy a ton of summer veggies, some shrimp, fresh-baked bread, and whip up some romesco sauce to go over all the things. I don’t know what it is about summer and romesco sauce – maybe it’s the peppery flavor, maybe it’s the gorgeous orange color that’s reminiscent of a summer sunset, or maybe because it’s light and refreshing. Whatever it is, summer comes along and suddenly I’m here for it.
It’s a pretty easy recipe to follow too. Roasted red bell peppers (which I buy jarred to save time), garlic, almonds, spices, and oil. Everything goes in a food processor or high-speed blender and voila! Quick and easy sauce to make your summer meals more delicious.
We don’t have a grill yet at our new place so I grilled the vegetables on our cast iron grill pan, which worked just fine (minus setting off our VERY sensitive smoke alarms; sorry condo mates!). I got the char I was looking for and that grilled flavor.
I used asparagus and bell peppers for this recipe but ANY veg will do! Corn, snap peas, eggplant, spring onions, zucchini, summer squash, you name it!
There’s nothing better than summer grilling, especially when there’s a bottle of rose involved. ;).
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Grilled Summer Vegetables with Romesco Sauce
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- Total Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients
- One 13-ounce jar roasted red bell peppers
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1/2 cup almonds, toasted
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne powder
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- salt and pepper, to taste
- summer vegetables of choice (I used bell peppers and asparagus)
- 1 tablespoon oil
Instructions
- In a high speed blender, add roasted bell peppers, almonds, tomato paste, sherry vinegar, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper and olive oil and blend until desired level of smoothness. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Heat a grill or cast iron pan to medium-high. Toss vegetables with olive oil, salt and pepper until evenly coated. Place vegetables on grill or grill pan. Grill vegetables, tossing every 2-3 minutes, until slightly tender and charred, about 5-8 minutes total. Season vegetables with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Serve vegetables warm with romesco sauce on the side.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Sauce
- Method: Grilling
- Cuisine: Side dish
Tell me, what is your go-to summer meal you look forward to every year?
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