Escalivada (Roasted Vegetables)
By jlastras on Flickr
Generally eaten as a side-dish for meat and fish, Escalivada is easy to make and makes for a healthy lunch when topped with a bit of good tuna (we like the Bonito del Norte variety).
Ingredients
* 2 small eggplants
* 2 red peppers
* 2 tomatoes
* 2 onions
* 2 garlic cloves
* salt, black pepper
* 5 Tbs olive oil
* 2 Tbs wine vinegar
Cooking Time: 1 hour
Serves: 4
Vegetarian-friendly: yes
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Clean and prepare the eggplants and peppers and cut them into large, long chunks. Skin the tomatoes, remove the seeds and cut the flesh into halves. Peel and slice the onions and crush the garlic. Put the vegetables in layers in an oven proof dish, season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with the olive oil. Cook in the oven for 25 minutes and serve warm. If the vegetables are to be served cold, mix in the vinegar after cooking and leave the dish to cool.
Wine Pairing: Codorniu NPU cuve Maria Cristina, cava DO Catalunya
[...] The basic preparation of pa amb tomàquet is a snack or meal in and of itself. However, it is also a great foundation to sandwiches – or entrepans in Catalan – with meats, cheeses, vegetables, or whatever you like to put in between (video). Nowadays, instead of being a way to soften up stale or dry bread, it is recommended to use the freshest, best quality artisanal country bread – pa de pagès – where the slices have a large surface on which the tomato can be rubbed. In addition, many people like the bread grilled or toasted first before rubbing the tomato on it, and yet others prefer to rub a cut glove of raw garlic before the tomato to infuse it with a subtle garlicky undertone to their pa amb tomàquet. (Though die-hard purists say that the original recipe does not include garlic, which makes sense considering the practical nature of its origin.) Often times, you will find pa amb tomàquet served as a starter alongside Iberian ham, cheese, cured meats and sausages such as fuet or botifarra, marinated fish such as herring or anchovies, omelettes such as truita, and grilled vegetables such as the very Catalan escalivada. [...]