Grilled Shellfish with Romesco Sauce

This thick, robust sauce hails from Spain and keeps for about a week refrigerated.

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 4 shrimp, 4 clams, 4 mussels, and 1/4 cup sauce)

Ingredients

• Sauce:
• 2  (1 1/2-ounce) slices white bread, crusts removed
• 1  red bell pepper
• 2  teaspoons  extravirgin olive oil, divided
• 3  garlic cloves, minced
• 1  teaspoon  Hungarian sweet paprika
• 3  plum tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped (about 1/2 pound)
• 1  jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced
• 2  tablespoons  dry sherry
• 2  tablespoons  blanched almonds, toasted
• 3  tablespoons  water
• 2  tablespoons  white wine vinegar
• 2  tablespoons  fresh lemon juice
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
• 
  Shellfish:
• 1  tablespoon  chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1  teaspoon  extravirgin olive oil
• 24  jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined (about 1 1/2 pounds)
• 1  garlic clove, minced
• Cooking spray
• 24  littleneck clams, scrubbed (about 2 pounds)
• 24  mussels, scrubbed and debearded (about 2 pounds)

Preparation

Preheat broiler.

To prepare sauce, place bread directly onto oven rack. Broil 2 minutes on one side or until toasted; remove from oven and cut into cubes. Cut bell pepper in half lengthwise; discard seeds and membranes. Place pepper halves, skin sides up, on a foil-lined baking sheet; flatten with hand. Broil 15 minutes or until blackened. Place in a zip-top plastic bag; seal. Let stand 15 minutes. Peel and chop.

Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add 3 garlic cloves; cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add paprika, tomatoes, and jalapeño; cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add sherry; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in bread.

Place bread mixture, bell pepper, remaining 1 teaspoon oil, almonds, and next 4 ingredients (through salt) in a food processor; process until smooth.

Prepare grill.

To prepare shellfish, combine parsley, 1 teaspoon oil, shrimp, and 1 garlic clove in a large zip-top plastic bag. Seal and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Thread 4 shrimp onto each of 6 (8-inch) skewers. Place skewers on grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 4 minutes on each side or until done. Remove from grill. Place clams and mussels directly onto grill rack; grill 10 minutes or until shells open. Discard any unopened shells. Serve shellfish with sauce.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

227 (27% from fat)

Fat:

6.7g (sat 0.8g,mono 3.1g,poly 1.4g)

Protein:

24.2g

Carbohydrate:

15.4g

Fiber:

1.5g

Cholesterol:

86mg

Iron:

14.5mg

Sodium:

537mg

Calcium:

83mg