Catalonian Grilled Vegetable Salad

2017-07-06 17:27:56

This salad is a specialty of Catalonia where it is known as escalivada, which means "to cook in ashes". That's why, for the most authentic smoky flavor, I recommend roasting the vegetables on a barbecue.

Ingredients

1/4 cup (60 mL) olive oil
1 eggplant (about 1 1/2 lbs/750 g), sliced
2 red bell peppers
1 red onion, cut into 1/2-inch (1 cm) thick rounds
4 tomatoes, cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm) thick rounds
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp (30 mL) finely chopped fresh parsley
1 red finger chile, cut in paper-thin slices
Dressing
1 tbsp (30 mL) red wine vinegar
1 tsp (5 mL) red wine vinegar
1 tsp (5 mL) ground dried nora pepper or sweet paprika
1 tsp (5 mL) salt
1 clove garlic, pureed
1/4 cup(60 mL) extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

1. Brush olive oil over eggplant, bell peppers, red onion and tomatoes. Place on preheated barbecue and cook, turning occasionally, until nicely charred. When bell peppers are done, place in a bowl and cover with a plate. Set aside to sweat. When cool, life off the skins, seed and cut into strips, reserving accumulated juices. When the onion is cool, cut the rounds into quarters.
2. Dressing: In a small bowl, combine vinegar, nora pepper and salt, stirring until salt is dissolved. Add garlic and reserved juices from roasted peppers. Whisk in oil.
3. Arrange vegetables on a platter.Drizzle dressing over top.
4. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Sprinkle with parsley and finger chile. Set aside at room temperature until ready to serve.

Notes

The vegetables will be done at different times; watch closely and remove them as completed and set aside to cool.
Nora is a type of pepper that is associated with Catalonia. It has a rich, sweet flavor. If you can't find, sweet paprika (preferably Spanish) works just fine.
If you want to add a bit of smoky heat to this salad, add 1/8 tsp (0.05 mL) hot smoked paprika to the dressing.

Judith Finlayson https://judithfinlayson.com/