Spanish cuisine · Vegetable Dishes

Roasted Vegetables with Romesco

Oven-roasted eggplant, pepper and onion with Catalan romesco sauce made from almonds and ñora peppers.

Ingredients · for 4 servings

• 2 eggplants
• 3 red bell peppers
• 2 onions
• 4 tomatoes
• 1 zucchini
• 2 dried ñora peppers (or 1 tbsp pepper paste as a substitute)
• 100 g almonds (blanched)
• 1 slice white bread
• 5 cloves garlic
• 2 tbsp sherry vinegar
• 10 tbsp olive oil
• Salt, pepper

Instructions

1. Deseed the ñora peppers and soak in hot water for 20 min; meanwhile cut the eggplant and zucchini into 3 cm thick slices, the peppers into wide strips and the onions into wedges.
2. Toss the vegetables with 6 tbsp olive oil, salt and pepper, spread on a tray and roast in the preheated oven at 210°C for 35–40 min until the edges show dark char marks.
3. After 20 min, add two tomatoes and three cloves of garlic, skin on, to the tray so they soften and sweeten; dice the remaining tomatoes and set aside.
4. Toast the almonds with the white bread and the two raw cloves of garlic in 2 tbsp olive oil for 3–4 min until golden, then transfer to a blender with the soft flesh of the ñoras, the roasted tomatoes and the roasted garlic squeezed from its skin.
5. Add sherry vinegar, the remaining olive oil and salt and blend into a grainy, spreadable sauce – it should keep visible bits of almond; thin with 2 tbsp water if needed.
6. Arrange the hot vegetables on a platter, spoon the romesco sauce over them, sprinkle with the raw diced tomatoes and serve lukewarm.