Romesco

Romesco () is a tomato-based sauce that originated from Valls, Tarragona, Catalonia. The fishermen in this area made this sauce to be eaten with fish. It is typically made from any mixture of roasted tomatoes and garlic, toasted almonds, pine nuts, and/or hazelnuts, olive or sunflower oil, and nyora peppers (capsicum annuum, a sun-dried, small, round variety of red bell pepper). Flour or ground stale bread may be used as a thickener or to provide texture.
Other common ingredients include sherry vinegar, red wine vinegar and onions. Leaves of fennel or mint may be added, particularly if served with fish or escargot. It is very often served with seafood, but can also be served with a wide variety of other foods, including poultry, some red meats like lamb, and vegetables.
Romesco sauce is often confused with other similar sauces, particularly salsa de calçots or salvitxada. During the springtime, salsa de calçots is served as an accompanying dip for calçots, a spring onion typical to Catalonia, during traditional springtime calçot barbecues called "calçotades". During calçotades, calçots are roasted over an open fire until their outer layer is charred. The charred layer is then removed and the tender part of the onion may be dipped into the sauce.