Roasted Vegetable and Romesco Crostini

Welcome to Day #1 of Appetizer Week, a multi-blogger event co-hosted by Kim of Cravings of a Lunatic and Kristen from Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker. With the big football game coming up, we wanted to make sure you had plenty of ideas for your game day spread. Each day we will be dishing up a different set of appetizers. We hope you enjoy this fabulous group of recipes. Tune in each day starting with Monday, January 20 and ending on Saturday, January 25. Lots of great prizes will be up for grabs so you do not want to miss one single day. Follow #AppetizerWeek on Twitter to keep up to date with all our amazing recipes and giveaways!

Today we are continuing our trip through Spain and enjoying another favorite! Romesco sauce! I learned to make this sauce while taking a cooking class in Barcelona and couldn’t wait to re-create it at home. It was spicy, nutty and creamy and just a delight when smeared with roasted veggies. I thought we could make this into a fun bite-size tapa style dish and put all the flavors I enjoyed in one hand-held bite. The romesco sauce is so easy to pull together. The only thing you really need to find are dried ancho peppers which are becoming more and more mainstream. A tip I have is: make sure you take the stem and seeds out BEFORE soaking. I did the opposite by accident and it was more difficult to remove the seeds. You’ll see in the instructions. As far as the veggies go, that is completely up to you! I also roasted some red onion (not shown here) and was snacking on that with the romesco sauce. But really, whatever vegetables are in season or you have on hand will be delicious with this sauce.

As far as instructions, I won’t do step by step photos like I normally do because I think this recipe is pretty straight forward. Roast veggies in the oven and make the sauce in the food processor! That’s really it!  Don’t you love easy and delicious appetizers like this?

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Roasted Vegetable and Romesco Crostini

Author: Samantha Ferraro

Ingredients

Roasted vegetables

• 2 zucchini chopped and roasted until tender (You can use whatever vegetables you have on hand)

Romesco Sauce

• 3 dried ancho peppers seeds and stems removed
• 3 large tomatoes cut in quarters and roasted
• 1 garlic bulb roasted
• 1 cup hazlenuts toasted
• 1 cup slivered almonds toasted
• 1 bell pepper roasted
• 1 slice of bread stale or lightly toasted
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup water if needed
• Few dashes of sherry or red wine vinegar
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Italian or French bread sliced on the diagonal and toasted

Instructions

• If you haven't already, begin by roasting the red bell pepper, tomatoes and garlic bulb. Drizzle everything with olive oil and salt and pepper and roast at 400 degrees for about 20-30 minutes until tender. Wrap the garlic in foil and roast everything on the same baking sheet. When done, set aside.*You can also roast your zucchini to top the crostini on a separate baking sheet.
• In a bowl, soak the dried peppers in warm water for 10 minutes.
• In a large food processor, add all the romesco ingredients. Add the bell pepper, tomatoes, garlic, dried ancho peppers, nuts, bread and olive oil. Pulse everything together until smooth. If it is too thick, add water accordingly and season with salt and pepper. taste for seasoning and adjust consistence if needed.
• When sauce is ready, spoon romesco sauce on sliced bread and top with roasted zucchini. Drizzle with additional olive oil and serve.

Notes

This makes a lot of romesco sauce. You can save for later and smear on chicken, fish and other vegetables.

Visit all the other Appetizer Week participants for more Football Munching Temptations:

• Pizza Pull Apart Bread by Cravings of a Lunatic
• Grilled Guacamole by Kiss My Smoke
• Easy Individual Pizzas by Call Me Pmc
• Chocolate Malta Wings by Food Done Light
• Mom’s Famous Chicken Ball by Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
• Cheddar Bacon Dip by Yours and Mine Are Ours
• Tamari Roasted Chickpeas by Je suis alimentageuse
• Spinach Artichoke Dip by That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Chicken Wing Dip by Rants From My Crazy Kitchen
• Microwave BBQ Meatballs by From Gate to Plate
• Pulled Pork Sliders by The NY Melrose Family
• Cheese Bean Dip by Wonky Wonderful
• Chipotle Cheese Dip by Dizzy Busy and Hungry
• Buffalo Ranch Cheese Ball by What’s Cooking, Love?
• Buffalo Butternut Hummus by Farm Fresh Feasts
• Mini Maryland Crabcakes by Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Sesame Pecan Chicken Wings by Makobi Scribe
• Pina Colada Cheese Ball by Home Cooking Memories
• Roasted Tomatillo Salsaby Clarks Condense
• Butternut Squash, Pomegranate & Goat Cheese Crostini by Cupcakes & Kale Chips
• Tex-Mex Chicken Salad Bites by Mom’s Test Kitchen
• Caesar Mini Muffins by Food Lust People Love
• Four Cheese Garlic Flat Bread by Try Anything Once Culinary

Giveaway Closed!

Our sponsor for Day 1 of Appetizer Week is OXO. We are so happy they joined us today. OXO is dedicated to providing innovative consumer products that make everyday living easier. Their tools are designed with everyone in mind, they are not only efficient but they are also comfortable to use. As food bloggers we spend a ton of the kitchen and we need our tools to not only stand the test of time, but to be as user-friendly as possible. OXO tools meet all those requirements. You can follow OXO on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, and Instagram.