Calçots with Romesco Sauce

Long onions charred on the outside, revealing a melting, sweet, and smoky heart. The thick sauce, rich in nuts and olive oil, provides texture and depth.

• Prep: 30 min
• Cook: 20 min
• Difficulty: Medium
• Calories: 903
• Protein: 16 g
• Carbs: 60 g
• Fat: 66 g

Ingredients

• 2 pc Round tomato ( whole )
• 1 pc Garlic ( whole head )
• 50 g Almond with skin ( toasted )
• 50 g Hazelnut ( toasted )
• 1 pc Country bread ( toasted slice )
• 200 ml Extra virgin olive oil
• 50 ml Red wine vinegar
• 1 pinch Gray sea salt
• 1 pinch Black pepper ground
• 40 pc Calçots ( cleaned, roots slightly trimmed )
• 2 pc Ñora Pepper ( rehydrated in hot water and pulp scraped )

Instructions

1. Preparing sauce vegetables

   Place tomatoes and the whole garlic head on a tray. Roast at 200°C until tomato skins burst and garlic is soft to the core.

2. Toasting the nuts

   In a dry pan, toast almonds and hazelnuts until fragrant. Rub the bread slice with oil and toast it until golden.

3. Assembling Romesco sauce

   Peel tomatoes and squeeze roasted garlic cloves for pulp. Blend with nuts, bread, vinegar, and rehydrated pepper. Slowly drizzle oil to emulsify until the sauce coats a spoon.

4. Cooking the calçots

   Arrange calçots on a rack over an open flame. Let the outer skin turn black and charred. The roots should be burnt.

5. Steaming rest

   Immediately wrap the hot calçots in newspaper. Let them rest. The residual heat finishes the cooking, making the heart translucent and tender.

Chef's tips

• Don't over-clean the calçots before cooking; the soil protects the heart while the outside chars.
• To eat, pinch the root end and pull the leaves firmly to slide the tender heart out of its burnt skin.
• The sauce should be thick; feel free to adjust the amount of bread to reach the right consistency.

Storage

Romesco sauce keeps for 5 days in the fridge in a sealed jar. Calçots must be eaten immediately after cooking.