All roads lead to a sort of Romesco

This is a recipe without a recipe.

I wanted to make roasted cauliflower with something other than the usual zataar and/or tahini sauce I put on it.

I’d heard of Romesco sauce, don’t recall ever tasting it, and saw prepackaged Romesco next to the hummus at the store the other day. I read the ingredients, and thought to myself, I can make this!

My version is not classic, but is super-tasty, and a great spread or dip.

I had some arugula to burn through (rocket to my British friends), so I added a handful of that.

I had just a few rings of home-pickled onions left, so I threw those in, along with a healthy dose of the pickling liquid.

- When I say a few rings, I mean an amount that makes you say, “Why didn’t you just finish it? That’s not enough to keep!”

Three peeled cloves of garlic, half a jar of roasted red peppers, some flat leaf parsley, a teaspoon of fennel seeds, a big pinch of salt, and a few healthy glugs of olive oil. I don’t remember if I added a tablespoon of tomato paste or not; 60 to 40 in favor that I did.

I ran that on high speed in my food processor until I had a rich, smooth paste.

Some went over the roasted cauliflower as in the picture.

Some we had tossed with toasted pasta and navy beans.

Some was eaten spread on toast, some dipped into with squash, carrot and celery sticks.

It’s delicious and versatile.

Experiment and make it your own.