Move Over, Ketchup: Try Another Tomato-Based Sauce For French Fries Instead

Once you've finally mastered how to make legitimately crispy french fries at home, it seems a shame to dip them in a puddle of ordinary, sugary ketchup. Instead, truly artisanal fries deserve an equally sophisticated sauce, like romesco. It sounds (and tastes) fancy, but it's exceptionally easy to make. Romesco sauce originated in Catalonia, Spain, allegedly created by fishermen as a fresh topping to enjoy the fruits of their labor. The ingredients vary from region to region, and often from household to household, but most versions include a combination of tomatoes, sweet peppers, garlic, vinegar, oil, and nuts (traditionally almonds or hazelnuts). 

Pulsed together in a food processor or blender, these ingredients create a gorgeously rich and complex flavor profile that's tangy, spicy, and beautifully earthy. Paired with fries in place of ketchup, it clings to the crispy, salty potatoes, enhancing their savory, starchy deliciousness. Feel free to dip your fries as you traditionally would, or drizzle the rich sauce over the fries along with a handful of mozzarella cheese and broil them. After all, romesco makes an incredible pizza sauce, so it's the perfect topping for this zesty, pizza-inspired take on disco fries. 

As mentioned, it doesn't require specialized skills or equipment to make your own version of romesco that's tailored to your personal tastes. However, you can also find jarred brands in your local grocery store, usually shelved with marinara sauce and jars of roasted red peppers.

Though Catalan ñora peppers are the most traditional base for this zesty sauce, ancho chiles are an acceptable replacement, and many recipes eschew spicy peppers altogether in favor of roasted red bell peppers and tomatoes blended with some combination of the aforementioned flavorings. You can roast the peppers and tomatoes yourself, or purchase your favorite brand of jarred roasted red peppers and sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil.

The fragrant, flavorful sun-dried tomato oil makes an excellent replacement for regular olive oil, and the lightly briny liquid from the jarred peppers will work in a pinch if you're out of vinegar. However, sherry, red wine, or white wine vinegar all add more flavor, so use one of these options if you have them on hand. In terms of nuts, almonds are among the easiest to find of the traditional options, but most popular snacking nuts work well, including cashews, walnuts, and even sunflower seeds. If they're roasted and salted, make sure to taste your sauce before adding additional salt. And if you're short on time, you can even turn store-bought marinara into romesco-inspired sauce with just a couple extra ingredients.

Don't, however, skimp on things like garlic, smoked paprika, and red pepper flakes, as they're the keys to bringing this sauce to life. In fact, it's a great idea to season your french fries with some of these flavors to truly marry the components together. Think garlic-infused olive oil, smoked salt, and hot paprika on your fries to reflect the flavors in the romesco and make your final product more cohesive.