A simple solution for summer eggplants, peppers, and onions.
Catal àn Escalivada
This flexible Catalan dish provides a great way to use up bountiful summer vegetables like eggplant, peppers and onions. They are simply charred whole over a flame until softened and blistered. Then the vegetables are peeled and combined into a silky vegetable puree known as escalivada in Catalan. Adapt the vegetables based on what you have available.
Ingredients
- Whole sweet peppers
- Small eggplants
- Thickly sliced rings of sweet onion
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- Sherry vinegar
Directions
- Slick the whole sweet peppers, small eggplants, and thickly sliced rings of sweet onion with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and slow-roast until soft and yielding.
- Splash with more olive oil and glugs of nutty sherry vinegar.
- If the grill’s fired up, you can roast the veggies whole over the flames, turning to cook and char evenly until everything is softened.
- For the apartment-bound, two hours on a sheet pan in a 375℉ oven does the trick.
- Once the veggies are cool enough to handle, remove the skins and seeds from the peppers and tear or slice the flesh into rough pieces.
- Peel the skin off the eggplant as well and slice it into long strips.
- You can arrange the peppers, eggplant, and rings of onion prettily on a platter and dress with olive oil, sherry vinegar, and more salt and pepper, or just toss it all together gently in a bowl with all the seasonings—it’s a beautiful mess either way.
- Serve escalivada at room temperature alongside a grilled rib eye or swordfish steak. Have some for a snack-dinner with crusty bread, cheese, and olives. Or do as Heather does, spooning scoops straight from the fridge where flavors intensify overnight. It’s the epitome of relaxed vibes. So next time you lose it at the farmers market, no worries: Let escalivada help you keep calm and veggie on.