KIRR Eat: Sunflower Seed Romesco Sauce

In today’s blog post, we will be showing you how to make one of our favorite vegetable-based sauces — the Sunflower Seed Romesco Sauce!

Traditionally, the Northeastern Spanish version of romesco sauce is prepared with roasted peppers, almonds, hazelnuts, garlic, and oil.
In today’s recipe, we are revamping the recipe by using sunflower seeds in place of the tree nuts!

NUTRITION FACTS:

This recipe is vegan-friendly and we substituted almonds with sunflower seeds, which makes the recipe NUT-FREE! Perfect for those who have nut-allergy.

Sunflower seeds are packed with vitamin E, an antioxidant that helps to reduce inflammation and reduce the symptoms of inflammation-mediated health conditions, such as joint inflammation; phytosterols that help to reduce cholesterol; and thiamine, which helps with energy, digestion, and immune function.

We also love the versatility of the sauce: it can be served with fish, carrots, grilled tofu, or even over roasted cauliflower, the sauce just adds a sweet, smoky kick to the dish; or basically you can dip whatever you want into the sauce and it’ll make your food taste 10 times better. Perfect for weekend picnics with your family and friends.

In the following week, we will be also showing you how to make Stuffed Eggplant with Sunflower Romesco which you can make with the Sunflower Seed Romesco Sauce, but for now — let’s begin with showing you how the sauce is made! Detailed step-by-step instructions with the full recipe are listed after the video.

INGREDIENTS

• ½ cup toasted sunflower seeds
• 2 roasted red peppers (homemade or from a jar)
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• a pinch of cayenne
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• small handful of flat parsley leaves
• sea salt and ground black pepper
• ½ cup virgin olive oil

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Step 1
Toast the sunflower seeds over medium heat for 1 to 2 minutes or until golden brown and aromatic.

Step 2
Lightly brush some oil only the red peppers and roast them in the pre-heated 160°C oven for 25 minutes or until tender.

Step 3
Combine the toasted sunflower seeds, roasted red peppers, garlic, paprika, cayenne, vinegar, tomato paste, parsley, salt, and pepper.

Step 4
Using a food processor, pulse the mixture until all ingredients are finely chopped and lightly pasty.

Step 5
Scrape the bowl down.

Step 6
With the motor on low, drizzle the olive oil in through the feed tube until fully incorporated.

Step 7
Check the sauce for seasoning. Transfer the sauce to a sealable jar, and set aside in the fridge until ready to use.

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