Roasted Chicken
& Romesco Sauce
Prep Time: 10 Minutes + Overnight
Cooking Time: 25 – 30 Minutes
Serves: 4 – 6
Originating from Catalonia, Romesco sauce is traditionally served with fish or vegetables. While the classic recipe calls for stale bread, I’ve used breadcrumbs here as they’re better suited to our local climate.
To keep things simple, I use jarred roasted peppers; however, purists may prefer to roast, deseed, and skin their own over a hot grill or barbecue for a deeper, smokier flavour.
Ingredients for the Chicken
- 12 chicken thighs, boneless
- 1 Lemon, zested and juiced.
- 4 cloves garlic, sliced
- 4 sprigs thyme
- 3 tbs olive oil
- Sea salt and black pepper
Ingredients for the sauce
- 2 cooked red peppers, reserve 1 finely sliced for garnish
- 2 large ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
- 60ml dried breadcrumbs
- 100ml olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, sliced
- ½ tsp fennel seeds
- 1 tsp sweet smoked paprika
- 1 tbs sherry or cider vinegar
- 1 tsp honey
- 12 toasted almonds
- 12 skinless hazelnuts, roughly chopped
- Sea salt and black pepper
Method
1 In a heavy bottomed pan, on a low heat add the olive oil, fennel seeds & garlic cook until the garlic is soft
2 Add the vinegar and honey, cook for a couple more minutes
3 Then add 2 peppers, tomatoes, paprika & almonds cook for 5/7 minutes
4 Season with salt and pepper
5 Stir in the breadcrumbs
6 Allow to cool slightly before blending in small batches
To serve pour the sauce into a serving dish, top with the chicken, sliced red peppers and chopped hazelnuts.
