Tiny Video Tip: How To Make Happy Sauce for Veggie Bowls

One of our favorite ways to eat this time of year is veggie bowl style: cook some brown rice or lentils, pile on stir-fried greens from the farmers market, and top with a dollop of zesty, nutty Happy Sauce.

Wait, you don’t know about Happy Sauce? Let us introduce you! Watch the video; it’s only 15 seconds long, and it’ll show you everything you need to know.

See? Doesn’t that look happy?

Romesco sauce is the other name you might know our happy sauce by, and it’s a classic recipe that has a lot in common with no-cook sauces like pesto.

We have a full recipe for romesco sauce here, one that includes several other ingredients:

→ Get a recipe: Brown Rice Bowl with Chard & Nutty Tomato Romesco Sauce

But that’s just one way to make it. In the video above, we make it without tomatoes. How do you do it? Easy:

Just roast a red pepper or two over the grill or stove burner (see how here). You can also use jarred red peppers instead. Then blend them in a food processor with a drizzle of olive oil, a few cloves of garlic, a handful of almonds, and a generous pinch of smoked paprika.

Blend until creamy, and taste. Add salt to taste. Adjust the amounts of the other ingredients; like pesto, this is not a hard and fast recipe. It’s a loose formula for you to adjust to taste.

Spread the finished sauce on bread, top a bowl of rice or veggies, or toss with chicken.

The romesco lasts well in the refrigerator for several days and can be frozen for several months, too.

→ Video by David Lee Studios for The Kitchn