Walnut Romesco Recipe with Gnocchi
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This saucy walnut romesco recipe is made up with peppers, walnuts and garlic blended together with some tomato puree. You’ll love this added to the gnocchi for a delicious, comforting dinner.
Table of Contents
What is romesco?
Romesco is a Spanish roasted red pepper sauce, otherwise known as ‘salsa romesco’. It originated in the Catalan region and usually includes roasted peppers, tomatoes, some form of nuts, garlic and olive oil.
Many feel that it is similar to a red pesto, as the combination of nuts, red peppers, garlic and olive oil give it a similar mouth feel. I have chosen to use walnuts with this recipe as l love the texture and affordability for this romesco sauce. Others may use almonds of hazelnuts.
Why you’ll love this recipe
Quick– it’s made in less than 35 minutes which makes this walnut romesco recipe ideal for a weeknight dinner.
Storage – you can double the batch of the romesco sauce and keep it in the fridge to spread on toast, serve with pasta or add into soup as a flavour booster.
Vibrant flavours of summer– I love summer flavours that still manage to be comforting and rich at the same time. This walnut romesco recipe manages to do just that.
A twist on the classic – I serve my take on the Spanish romesco sauce with a hint of Greece. I top the dish with crumbled feta as a tangy, salty finisher to contrast the richness of the nutty sauce.
Love gnocchi? Here are some gnocchi recipes to give you inspiration; One Pot Creamy Tuscan Gnocchi, Crispy Pan-fried Gnocchi and Crispy Roasted Gnocchi with Chorizo and Vegetables
Ingredients
Feta – this is an untraditional addition so feel free to omit this if you want to stick to more of an authentic flavour profile (I love the fusion though!)
Extra-virgin olive oil – be sure to use extra virgin rather than regular olive oil as this adds flavour to the walnut romesco recipe.
Walnuts – I love the flavour and versatility of walnuts (and therefore can buy a big bag to use with other recipes) but you can also use hazelnuts or almonds. These will be more expensive though.
How to make this walnut romesco recipe
Preheat oven 356°F (180°C)
- Line a baking tray with foil and add the chopped peppers before coating with olive oil and cook in oven for 30 minutes, or until fully roasted (Image 1).
- Next, using a hand blender or food processor coarsely blend the roasted peppers, walnuts, garlic, tomato puree, honey, paprika and red wine vinegar (Image 2).
3. Once blended, stir the extra virgin olive oil into the romesco. Add salt & pepper (Image 3).
4. In a large saucepan, add the gnocchi and cavolo nero to salted boiling water and cook according to the packet instructions time, minus 1 minute. Drain the gnocchi and greens, reserving some of the starchy water and pop back into the pan (Image 4).
5. Add the romesco sauce with a couple of ladles of the reserved pasta water. Cook until the romesco sauce and pasta water become a smooth/thick emulsion and the gnocchi is fully cooked (Image 5).
6. Serve with a sprinkle of feta, an optional drizzle of honey and chopped fresh parsley. For additional texture/crunch, I added an extra sprinkle of chopped walnuts (Image 6).
Pair this yummy gnocchi with a healthy side dish ; Roasted Tenderstem Broccoli, Creamed Cabbage and The Best Buttered Sauteed Leeks
Recipe FAQ
Absolutely! I looove to have this walnut romesco with pasta. A penne or fusilli shape would go really well with this dish.
I’d say that a lot of what makes romesco special is the texture and flavour that the nuts provide, so this might not be the best recipe to try nut free. However, you could remove the nuts and add some nutritional yeast to add a depth of flavour and with all the other flavour boosting ingredients, you’d still have a delicious dish as an end result.
Romesco is a spanish type of sauce, whereas romansco is an Italian heirloom type of cauliflower.
Both! If you make a double batch of this romesco sauce, you can serve either hot with pasta/gnocchi, or as a cold dip or spread to be enjoyed with bread/ veggies.
If you tried this Walnut Romesco Recipe with Gnocchi, it would be mean so much to me if you could leave a review & a star rating to let me know how you found it! I love hearing about your experiences – it motivates me to keep creating more and more recipes for you guys 💛 Let’s get cooking! – Mimi x
Walnut Romesco Recipe with Gnocchi
Ingredients
- 3 red peppers chopped (£1.50)
- 50 g walnuts (£1.79/3)=(£0.60)
- 3 tbsp tomato puree (£0.27)
- 3 cloves of garlic (£0.69/3)=(£0.23)
- 150 g cavolo nero, destemmed & torn (£0.85)
- 1 kg gnocchi (£1.30)
- 120 g feta crumbled (£0.75/2)=(£0.38)
- 1 handful fresh chopped parsley (£0.50)
Cupboard Essentials
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- Salt
Method
Preheat oven 356°F (180°C)
- Start by placing the chopped peppers on a baking tray lined with foil. Coat with olive oil and pop in the oven for 30 minutes, until fully roasted.
- Next, coarsely blend the roasted peppers, walnuts, garlic, tomato puree, honey, paprika and red wine vinegar in a food processor/with a hand blender. Once blended, stir the extra virgin olive oil into the romesco. Add salt & pepper.
- Add the gnocchi & cavolo nero into salted boiling water (same pot) and cook according to the packet time, minus 1 minute.
- Reserving some of the starchy water, drain the gnocchi & greens and pop back into the pan. Add the romesco sauce with a couple of ladles of pasta water. Cook until the sauce the romesco and pasta water become a smooth/thick emulsion and the gnocchi is fully cooked.
- Serve with a sprinkle of feta, an optional drizzle of honey and chopped fresh parsley. For additional texture/crunch I added an extra sprinkle of chopped walnuts.
Nutrition
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