Grilled Shrimp and Red Pepper Sauce

Last night’s dinner was Grilled Shrimp Skewers With Roasted Red Pepper Sauce. The sauce is much like a romesco sauce without the tomatoes.

I was in the mood to grill something, and a close friend recommended this recipe, where all the elements are grilled.

INGREDIENTS:

For the Red Pepper Sauce:

2 large red bell peppers

¾ cup whole toasted almonds

1 Smoked paprika

¼ teaspoon ground cayenne

3 garlic cloves, minced

Salt and pepper

1 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Lemon wedges, for serving

The rest:

1 ½ pounds very small potatoes, unpeeled

3 medium red onions, unpeeled and quartered

1 ½ to 2 pounds fresh Gulf shrimp, or use frozen

Extra-virgin olive oil

DIRECTIONS

Coat the red bell peppers with olive oil and blister on thee grill. Let cool and cut into strips, removing the seeds.

In a food processor (or blender) combine peppers, almonds, paprika, cayenne and garlic to form a rough paste. Add olive oil to make it a smooth sauce.

Boil the potatoes for 10 minutes, brush with olive oil and put them on the grill until slightly charred.

At the same time, brush the onions with oil and place skin-side down on the grill until soft, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt some butter and put in a dash of garlic powder, black pepper and dried basil. Skewer the shrimp and brush with the butter mix.

When the onions and potatoes are done, remove them from the grill and set aside, covered. Grill the shrimp on a medium high heat about 3 minutes a side.

Plate the potatoes, onion and shrimp and put the pepper sauce on top. A squeeze of lemon gives it some brightness.