Victoria Amory is a cook and food writer born and raised in Spain. She now lives in the U.S., and has her own line of specialty sauces.

One of the signature sauces from the Catalonia region of Spain is romesco. Learn more about it below.

Victoria’s sells an Almond & Garlic Romesco Sauce, but you can make your own from scratch, using almonds, other nuts, or a blend.

Crafted with red chile peppers, pimentón (paprika), nuts, and extra virgin olive oil, romesco is a perfect sauce to use with meats, roasted vegetables, shellfish, and fish. “It elevates your everyday meals to everyday feasts,” says Chef Victoria.

If you have leftover sauce, it is delicious as a dip or bread spread.

For an everyday feast, try her Cauliflower And Bacon Salad With Romesco Sauce. (What’s romesco sauce? See below.)
 
 
RECIPE #1: WARM CAULIFLOWER & BACON SALAD WITH
ROMESCO SAUCE

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 400°F. In a bowl, toss together the cauliflower, bacon, olive oil, and vinegar. Spread on a cookie sheet and bake in the oven for 20 minutes.

2. TOSS the bread with the garlic and extra virgin olive oil and add the cauliflower. Roast for an additional 10 minutes or until the bread is toasted and the cauliflower is golden.

3. MIX the cauliflower with the chickpeas and toss with the spinach leaves. Add a drizzle of olive oil if needed. Serve warm with romesco sauce on the side.
 
 
RECIPE #2: ROMESCO SAUCE & DIP

As with most recipes, there is considerable variation in the proportion of ingredients. This version is adapted from one by Chef Aida Mollenkamp.

Ingredients

[1] Colored cauliflower makes the dish more exciting (photo © Nourish The Roots).

[2] Chickpeas add protein to the salad. Here are 30 recipes you can make with a can of chickpeas, from Feel Good Foodie (photo © Feel Good Foodie).

[3] Romesco sauce and dip (photo © Chef Aida Mollenkamp).

1. COMBINE all ingredients in a food processor or blender and process until smooth. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

2. SERVE with crudites, crusty sliced bread, or your favorite crackers.
 
 
WHAT IS ROMESCO SAUCE?

First, it isn’t romanesco sauce. There is no romanesco sauce. Romanesco is a language; the sauce is romesco.

Romesco is a pungent, smooth, rich red sauce made from red peppers, tomatoes, ground almonds or other nuts, olive oil, garlic, and cayenne pepper. It originated in Tarragona, a port city on the Mediterranean Sea in the province of Catalonia in northeast Spain. Though the exact origin is unclear (as is the meaning of the name), it is believed that the local fishermen made it to eat with their catch.

It has become a popular sauce beyond seafood, enjoyed with meat, poultry, and vegetables as well as for a dip and a bread spread.

The nuts can be any mixture of roasted or raw almonds, pine nuts, and/or hazelnuts or walnuts, plus roasted garlic, olive oil, mild bitxo chiles (red chiles similar to Anaheim/New Mexico chiles), and/or nyora peppers (a sun-dried, small, round variety of red bell pepper).

Flour or ground stale bread is sometimes used as a thickener or to provide texture. Other common ingredients employed in different recipe variations include roasted tomatoes, red wine vinegar, and onions. Leaves of fennel or mint are added when the sauce is served with fish and other seafood.

Here’s more about romesco sauce.

It was developed by an M.D. who treated people with illnesses caused by bad nutrition, and it engendered The Wholesome Junk Food Cookbook: More Than 100 Healthy Recipes for Everyday Snacking.

Dr. Laura Trice showed how easy it is to make snacks and sweets that are satisfying yet nutritious (you can find the cookies online).

If you’re looking for better-for-you snacks that don’t deprive you of a cookie fix, head to natural food stores or make your own.

These tasty sweets in the recipe below look like truffles, but they’re protein-packed treats made from peanut butter and whey extract, plus whole grain rolled oats. Even the sweetener, maple syrup, is better for you.

The resemblance to candy is purely intentional. The recipe is courtesy of Crofter’s, maker of organic jams and fruit spreads.

Make a batch—they’re good for you! Photo courtesy Crofter’s.

Ingredients

1. MELT peanut butter, maple syrup, butter, vanilla and fruit spread in a pan over medium heat; stir to combine thoroughly.

2. REMOVE from heat and add oats, cocoa powder, protein powder, salt and chocolate chips. Stir until chips have melted and ingredients are thoroughly combined.

3. Form into balls and roll in topping(s) of choice. Chill in the fridge to firm before serving.
 
It’s that easy!
 
 
MORE HEALTHY SWEET TREATS

For more treats like these, get a copy of The Wholeseome Junk Food Cookbook by Laura Trice, M.D. You’d be surprised at how many delicious treats are good for you!

We also like the book as a gift for teens and tweens who want to learn to cook. Start them off making treats for themselves and their friends. You may inspire a future “Dr. Laura” in the process.

It’s National Breakfast Month and we have a “public service announcement” on healthy breakfasts. You’ve heard it before, but if you’re not convinced that you’re eating the best breakfast you can, read on.

More than 100 studies have linked eating breakfast with a reduced risk of obesity (and other health benefits, including diabetes and heart disease) and a mental edge—enhanced memory, attention, the speed of processing information, reasoning, creativity, learning, and verbal abilities.

Just be sure that you don’t blow your entire daily quota of added sugar on breakfast (more about this in a minute).

Healthcare professionals recommend a breakfast that combines good carbs and fiber with some protein. On the list:

Don’t buy pre-sweetened cereals. Add your own sugar, honey or noncaloric sweetener, so you can control the amount. Photo courtesy Zulka.

Healthful add ons:

Too much sugar is hidden in processed foods.
Read the nutrition label! Photo courtesy
Zulka.

SUGAR GUIDELINES

Many people don’t realize how much sugar is hidden in processed foods. The nutrition labels can be eye opening. A can of soda may contain up to 10 teaspoons or 40 grams of sugar—more than your entire daily recommended discretionary sugar intake! A tablespoon of ketchup has 1 teaspoon of sugar.

“Sugar” includes all caloric sweeteners: brown sugar, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, fruit juice concentrate, honey, molasses, syrup, table sugar, etc. (here are the different types of sugar).

The American Heart Association, the World Health Organization and other bodies recommend limiting sugar intake to no more than half of your daily discretionary calorie allowance:

 
The shocker: You can ingest that amount of sugar in one bowl of sweetened breakfast cereal!

What To Look For In A Cereal

 
What To Look For In A Yogurt

HOW TO MAKE POACHED EGGS IN THE MICROWAVE

You can use a microwave egg poacher or simply a bowl of water:

First there was the buzz about green tea and its antioxidants. Now, the buzz is about matcha, a powdered green tea that has long been used by Buddhist monks and Samurai warriors to prepare for meditation and to improve mental clarity and concentration. It’s also the tea used in the Japanese tea ceremony, chanoyu.

Motto, the world’s first bottled matcha green tea beverage, delivers the health benefits of the centuries-old elixir even better than a cup of green tea. In fact, just one bottle of Motto packs the health benefits of 12 cups of steeped green tea, with one-third the caffeine of a single cup of coffee.

The beverage is brewed from premium stone-ground matcha, sourced from one of the oldest family-owned tea cooperatives in Japan. The matcha flavor is layered with organic apple cider vinegar, honey, organic agave and fresh lemon juice.

The result is lightly sweet and very refreshing, and pairs well with everything from sushi and Pacific Rim cuisines (Indian, Thai, Vietnamese, etc.) to sandwiches and pizza.

Motto is currently sold in 28 states and growing—everywhere from Whole Foods Market to gourmet delis and small natural grocers.

Find a store locator at DrinkMotto.com.

Handsome bottle, tasty contents. Photo courtesy The Verto Company.

Make a Motto cocktail. The recipe is below.
Photo courtesy The Verto Company.

Matcha is a bright green, powdered green tea that is ground to the consistency of talc. It is made from ten-cha tea leaves, which are gyokuro leaves that have been not been rolled into needles but are steamed and dried. The tea bushes are shaded from sunlight for three weeks before harvesting, producing amino acids that sweeten the taste of the tea.

Unlike whole leaf tea, which is heat-panned for steeping, the leaves for matcha are ground like flour, slowly and finely in a stone mill. To brew the tea, the powder is whisked into water, where it produces a wonderful aroma, a creamy, silky froth and a rich, mellow taste.

Powdered tea is the original way in which tea was prepared: steeping dried leaves in boiling water didn’t arrive until the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).

Matcha contains a higher amount of nutrients (vitamins, minerals, L-theanine amino acids, polyphenols, chlorophyll and fiber) than other teas. In recent years, matcha has become a popular cooking and baking ingredient, and now comes in different grades for different uses—including the popular green tea latte.

In the absence of green tea ice cream, sprinkle some matcha on vanilla ice cream (check out these uses for matcha tea).

RECIPE: GREEN TEA COCKTAIL

Here’s a refreshing yet sophisticated cocktail idea from Motto:

Ingredients Per Drink

 
Preparation

1. MUDDLE equal parts mint and basil in a cocktail shaker. Add gin, agave and lemon. Shake over ice.

2. STRAIN into a tall glass over cracked ice. Add 6 ounces Motto and stir gently.

3. GARNISH and serve.

Here’s a twist on an American favorite: Brussels Sprouts Caesar Salad. It replaces the romaine—crunchy, but not particularly nutritious—with Brussels sprouts, a superfood.

Brussels sprouts, a member of the powerful cruciferous vegetable* family, are usually available year-round. However, they are a cold weather vegetable, and the peak season is from September to mid-February.

Buying tip: The smaller the sprout, the sweeter the taste. Although the larger sprouts may look appealing, aim for those that are 1 to 1-1/2 inches in diameter. Pick sprouts of the same size so they’ll cook evenly.

Never overcook Brussels sprouts, and don’t store them for future use. Even though they’ll look normal, as the harvested sprouts age, the sulfuric compounds that are so unpleasant in overcooked sprouts become more prominent in the raw ones.

This recipe, from Litehouse Foods, uses their OPA Caesar Dressing, made with Greek yogurt.

Prep time is 15 minutes.

Yes, you can find purple Brussels sprouts! These are from Frieda’s Produce.

Brussels sprouts replace the romaine in this
Caesar salad. Photo courtesy Litehouse
Foods.

Ingredients For 3-4 Servings

Preparation

1. BLANCH the sliced Brussels sprouts in boiling water for approximately 1 minute, then immerse in bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Drain.

3. TOSS all ingredients in the dressing, or serve the dressing on the side. Taste and add salt and pepper as desired. Serve immediately.

 
*The cruciferous group includes arugula, bok choy, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage, collard greens, cress, horseradish, kale, kohlrabi, mizuna (a variety of mustard green), mustard greens, radish, rapini (broccoli rabe), rutabaga, tatsoi, turnip and wasabi, a type of horseradish. Mizuna and tatsoi have become “designer greens” in salads at America’s finest restaurants. All contain phytochemicals (antioxidants), vitamins, minerals and fiber that are important to your health; although some of the group are more poerful than others. Government health agencies recommend that we eat several servings of them per week.