Grilled Shrimp Skewers with Romesco

Romesco is a classic Spanish sauce made with tomatoes, almonds, bell peppers, and garlic. It's traditionally served with grilled fish or chicken. Here, ancho chiles add a hint of smokiness. The sauce will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Romesco:
8 plum tomatoes (about 1 1/4 pounds)
4 garlic cloves, unpeeled
Cooking spray
1/2 cup water
5 tablespoons red wine vinegar, divided
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 ancho chiles
1/4 cup whole blanched almonds
1 (1-ounce) slice French bread or other firm white bread, torn into small pieces
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons olive oil
3/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Shrimp:
2 1/4 pounds jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Preheat oven to 350º.
To prepare romesco, place tomatoes and garlic in a shallow roasting pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350º for 30 minutes or until tender. Cool. Peel and seed tomatoes; peel garlic.
Combine 1/2 cup water, 3 tablespoons vinegar, crushed red pepper, and chiles in a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Let stand, covered, 30 minutes. Drain. Discard stems and seeds from chiles.
Heat a small skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add almonds; cook 2 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring frequently. Remove from pan. Add bread to pan; cook 2 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring frequently. Place tomatoes, garlic, chiles, 2 tablespoons vinegar, almonds, bread, 2 tablespoons water, salt, oil, paprika, and pepper in a food processor; process mixture until smooth.
Prepare grill or broiler.
Thread the shrimp onto 12 (8-inch) skewers. Place skewers on grill rack or broiler pan coated with cooking spray, and cook 3 minutes on each side or until shrimp are done. Sprinkle shrimp with parsley, if desired. Serve with romesco.
Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 2 skewers and 1/4 cup sauce)

NUTRITION PER SERVING
CALORIES 277(27% from fat); FAT 8.4g (sat 1.1g,mono 3.5g,poly 2.1g); PROTEIN 37.4g; CHOLESTEROL 259mg; CALCIUM 119mg; SODIUM 684mg; FIBER 2.1g; IRON 5.2mg; CARBOHYDRATE 13g
Joanne Weir
Cooking Light, JULY 2003