Grilled Vegetable Pasta Romesco

Cody is on day three hundred and eighty-two. He submitted The Bathtub to The Sun on Tuesday morning through Mrs. Davis at the workshop. The piece is twelve pages, the longest he has written, and the most personal — the EF-4 in 2013, the bathtub, the four of us under the roof leaving in pieces, the way the family did not talk about it for thirteen years and the way the not-talking shaped what came after. The submission portal sent an automated email confirming receipt. Reading time at The Sun is three to six months. We are starting another wait.

And the recipe Sunday was grilled vegetable pasta romesco. The recipe was a Cookie and Kate one, and the magic of the dish is the romesco sauce. Romesco, if you have not used it, is a Spanish sauce made from roasted red peppers, toasted almonds, garlic, sherry vinegar, smoked paprika, olive oil, and a piece of stale bread, all blended smooth into a thick spreadable orange-red sauce. The sauce is used as a base or a topping. The recipe Sunday tossed it with roasted vegetables and pasta.

The math: a pound of farfalle (bowtie) pasta $0.89, a pint of cherry tomatoes $1.99, two zucchini $1.20, a red bell pepper $0.99, a red onion $0.40. Romesco: a 12-oz jar of roasted red peppers $2.49, a quarter cup of slivered almonds toasted $0.50 worth, two cloves of garlic free, a slice of stale bread torn $0.10, smoked paprika $0.20 worth, sherry vinegar (substituted with red wine vinegar) $0.10. Total: about $8.86 for a big bowl that fed Mama and me for three dinners.

The technique is the romesco sauce. You toast the slivered almonds in a dry skillet for two minutes until fragrant. You blend in a food processor with the drained roasted red peppers, the torn bread, the garlic, the smoked paprika, the vinegar, salt, pepper, and a quarter cup of olive oil added in a slow stream. The sauce comes out thick and rust-colored and the kind of sauce that, when you taste it, you wonder why every store-bought jarred sauce is not made this way.

You roast the cubed zucchini, sliced bell pepper, and quartered onion on a sheet pan tossed with olive oil, salt, and pepper at 425 for twenty-five minutes. The cherry tomatoes go on the pan for the last ten minutes only.

You toss the cooked drained pasta with the roasted vegetables and a generous spoonful of the romesco sauce. You finish each bowl with another spoonful of sauce on top and a sprinkle of toasted almonds.

Mama said, when she ate this Sunday night, baby, what country is this from. I said, Spain, Mama. The list of countries the kitchen has crossed into is now seven.

The recipe is below. The trick is the romesco sauce, which is the kind of sauce that lasts a week in the fridge and improves over time. Make a double batch and put it on sandwiches and roasted vegetables and grilled chicken for the rest of the week.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 25 min | Total Time: 40 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

12 oz penne or rigatoni pasta
2 medium red bell peppers, halved and seeded
1 medium zucchini, sliced lengthwise into planks
1 medium yellow squash, sliced lengthwise into planks
1 cup cherry tomatoes
3 cloves garlic, unpeeled
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1/3 cup raw almonds or walnuts
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more for pasta water
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
1/4 cup fresh parsley, roughly chopped, for serving
Grated Parmesan or nutritional yeast, for serving (optional)

Instructions

Preheat and prep. Preheat a grill pan or outdoor grill to medium-high heat. Toss the zucchini, yellow squash, and cherry tomatoes with 1 1/2 tablespoons of the olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper.
Grill the vegetables. Place the bell pepper halves (skin-side down), zucchini planks, yellow squash planks, and garlic cloves on the grill. Cook the zucchini and squash 3—4 minutes per side until grill marks appear and they are just tender. Grill the bell peppers 6—8 minutes until the skins are charred and blistered. Grill the garlic, turning occasionally, for about 8 minutes until softened inside. Set all vegetables aside.
Char the tomatoes. Place the cherry tomatoes in a grill basket or on a piece of foil and grill 4—5 minutes, shaking occasionally, until they burst and caramelize slightly. Remove from heat.
Cook the pasta. While the vegetables are grilling, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package directions until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water before draining.
Make the romesco sauce. Peel the charred skin from the bell peppers and squeeze the roasted garlic out of its skins. Add both to a blender or food processor along with the nuts, tomato paste, vinegar, smoked paprika, remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper. Blend until smooth, adding 2—3 tablespoons of the reserved pasta water to loosen the sauce to a creamy, pourable consistency.
Slice the grilled vegetables. Cut the grilled zucchini and squash planks into bite-sized pieces.
Toss and finish. Add the drained pasta back to the pot over low heat. Pour in the romesco sauce and toss to coat, adding more reserved pasta water as needed. Fold in the sliced grilled vegetables and charred tomatoes. Taste and adjust salt, pepper, or vinegar.
Serve. Divide among bowls and top with fresh parsley, red pepper flakes if desired, and Parmesan or nutritional yeast. Serve immediately.

Nutrition (per serving)

Grilled Vegetable Pasta Romesco — The Spanish-Almond-Sauce Sunday Pasta