Roman Esco Italian Romesco With Red Snapper Food

ITALIAN SNAPPER AND SAUSAGE

Steps:

• Put a baking sheet in the oven and preheat to 500 degrees F. Toss the potatoes with 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, a few grinds of pepper and 1 grated garlic clove. Spread out on the baking sheet and roast until browned and tender, 20 to 25 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook, stirring, until browned, 6 to 8 minutes; remove to a plate with a slotted spoon. Add the onion and bell pepper to the skillet; cook, stirring, until lightly browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the remaining garlic and the cherry peppers; cook until softened, about 1 minute. Add the cherry pepper brine and wine and cook, scraping up any browned bits, until the liquid is mostly reduced, 1 minute. Add the chicken broth, rosemary and a pinch of salt; bring to a simmer.
• Season the snapper with salt and pepper. Arrange skin-side up on top of the vegetables in the skillet. Scatter the sausage around the fish. Adjust the heat to maintain a gentle simmer, cover and cook until the fish is just cooked through, 5 to 6 minutes.
• Divide the sausage, vegetables and snapper among plates; discard the rosemary. Serve with the potatoes. Sprinkle with parsley.

RED SNAPPER BAKED IN SALT WITH ROMESCO SAUCE

Steps:

• For sauce:
• Preheat oven to 400°F. Toss tomatoes, bell peppers, and onion in small baking dish with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Roast until partially charred, turning every 15 minutes, about 45 minutes. Cover with foil; let stand 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in small skillet over medium-high heat. Add chile; fry until darkened and slightly puffed, turning once, about 30 seconds. Transfer to small bowl. Add enough hot water to cover. Let stand 30 minutes.
• Peel and seed ancho chile, tomatoes, and bell peppers; place in blender. Peel onion; coarsely chop and add to blender.
• Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in small skillet over medium-high heat. Add almonds; sauté until lightly toasted, about 1 minute. Transfer to blender. Add 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, garlic, vinegar, bread, and paprika to blender; blend to coarse puree. Transfer to bowl; season with salt. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Bring to room temperature before serving.)
• For fish:
• Preheat oven to 450°F. Place 1 fish in each of two 13x9x2-inch metal baking pans. Cover each fish with 3 pounds salt. Drizzle 1 1/2 cups water over salt in each pan. Using hands, pack salt over fish to cover completely.
• Bake fish until thermometer inserted into center of fish registers 135°F, about 30 minutes. Gently rap salt crust with back of spoon to crack; carefully remove salt. Use pastry brush to remove any remaining salt. Carefully transfer whole fish to platter and serve with sauce.
• *Sold at Latin American markets, specialty foods stores, and some supermarkets.

ROMESCO SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat the broiler and cover a baking sheet with foil. Place the tomatoes on the baking sheet, and place under the broiler at the highest setting. Broil for two to four minutes, until charred on one side. Turn over and broil on the other side for two to four minutes until charred. Remove from the heat, transfer to a bowl and allow to cool. Peel and core.
• Turn on a food processor fitted with the steel blade and drop in the garlic cloves. When the garlic is chopped and adheres to the sides of the bowl, stop the machine and scrape down the sides. Add the toasted almonds (or almonds and hazelnuts), bread and chile powder or flakes to the bowl and process to a paste.
• Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the pepper, tomatoes, parsley, paprika, salt and pepper. Process until smooth, and with the machine running, add the vinegar and olive oil in a slow stream, beginning with the smaller amount of olive oil and thinning out as desired. Process until well amalgamated, then scrape into a bowl.
• Taste and adjust seasoning, adding salt or chile as desired. If possible, allow the sauce to stand for an hour at room temperature before using. Serve with fish and/or grilled vegetables, or on crostini.