Easy romesco sauce

Thanks to 2009 and 2010 Slow Food Crab Fest I had the opportunity to make another seminal change in my life. After Roy Yamaguchi turned me into a fish eater 4 years ago and I became a fan of offal, I think I became a close friend of crabs. You could tell from the pile of shells in front of me at the volunteers’ table. I probably always just had the wrong crabs, frozen and thawed who knows how many times. The dungeness crab came fresh off the boat in the morning and cooked by the California Culinary Academy students in the afternoon…(15 minutes, that’s it, no more, as they suggested, otherwise they become chewy). 
Crabs came with classic melted butter, a spicy oil and a romesco sauce that caught my attention.
Not the classic garlicky, faded red smooshed puree of pepper paste but rather a smoky paste with a great flavor depth. Goes without saying that I came home and started experimenting.

• 3 dried poblano chiles (soaked in hot water for 20 minutes)
• a pinch of smoked salt
• a handful of almonds
• ¼ tsp of smoked paprika (Pimenton de la Vera)
• extra virgin olive oil

Remove the seeds inside the peppers, throw everything in your favorite food processor and make the engine whizz while adding some olive oil (just the amount necessary to create a paste, leave it coarse, don’t puree the sauce)
Crusty bread, best friend, but probably also a good slice of manchego or good cheddar.