You're clicking around FreshDirect when you think you spotted a typo. Habanada? How about nada, because that's how much I want to spend on an entry that's clearly a misspelled habañero. But, when they arrive, you realize they're a cultivar that's sweet and fruity without the heat. The low moan of your pregnant wife tells you that it's time to make romesco again, but you're out of the usual bell peppers. What to do, what to do...
Makes about 1½ cups.
Ingredients
- 10–12 habanada peppers
- 1 medium tomato, halved
- 8 garlic cloves, unpeeled
- ½ cup toasted almonds
- 1 thick slice crusty bread, torn
- 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar or red-wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
- ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus a little for roasting and frying
- 1 small raw garlic clove, optional but excellent
- Chili flakes or 1 hot pepper, optional
Method
- Heat the oven to 450°F. Toss the habanadas, tomato, and unpeeled garlic with a little olive oil and salt.
- Roast until the peppers are deeply blistered and the tomato is collapsed, about 18–25 minutes, turning the peppers once. Let cool, then pull off the pepper stems. Peeling isn't necessary.
- Meanwhile, fry the bread in a little olive oil until crisp and golden.
- Squeeze the roasted garlic from its skins. Pulse it with the peppers, tomato, almonds, bread, vinegar, smoked paprika, salt, and optional raw garlic. Leave the sauce slightly textured.
- With the processor running, stream in the olive oil. Taste and add more vinegar or salt as needed.
For an especially vivid habanada flavor, use only half the tomato—too much can overwhelm their apricot-like fruitiness. Excellent with roasted potatoes, squash, white beans, grilled bread, pasta, or spooned under lentil–zucchini patties.