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Grilled Spring Onions with Romesco Sauce

Based on a Spanish classic, this recipe turns an everyday ingredient into a simple but delicious feast: charred spring onions with a sauce of roasted peppers, garlic, almonds and smoked paprika.

Course Appetizer, Side Dish, Starter, Lunch, Light Meal
Cuisine Vegetarian, Vegan, Spanish, Catalan
Keyword grilled
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings 2
Author Moorlands Eater

Ingredients

  • 3 bunches spring onions see Recipe Note 1
  • olive oil
  • salt and black pepper

Romesco sauce

  • 200 g tomatoes see Recipe Note 2
  • 6 cloves garlic papery skins left on
  • 40 g blanched almonds whole, flaked or chopped
  • 2 tbsp olive oil divided
  • 1 thick slice crusty bread
  • 1 large roasted pepper, skinned and deseeded from a jar is fine
  • 2 tsp smoked paprika sweet or hot
  • ½ tsp dried chilli flakes optional
  • 1-2 tbsp red wine vinegar or sherry vinegar
  • ½-1 tsp sugar optional
  • salt and black pepper

Instructions

Make the Romesco Sauce

  1. Heat the grill to high.

    Put the tomatoes and garlic cloves on a piece of foil and place under the grill.

    When soft and charred all over, remove. (10-15 min)

    Tip: if the garlic is blackening too much before it's soft, fold over a corner of the foil to cover it.

  2. Meanwhile, put the almonds in a dry pan over low-medium heat.

    Gently toast, stirring all the time.

    Transfer the nuts to a bowl when browned and wipe the pan with a piece of kitchen paper.

  3. Put 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in the pan over medium heat.

    When hot, put in the slice of bread and fry on both sides until crisp and golden.

    Remove from the pan.

  4. Discarding the skins, put the charred tomatoes and garlic in a food processor or blender (remove any hard centres from the tomatoes if necessary)

    Add in the roasted red pepper, roughly chopped if necessary, along with the toasted almonds, torn up fried bread, smoked paprika, chilli flakes if using, the remaining tablespoon of olive oil, 1 tablespoon of the vinegar, ½ teaspoon of sugar if using, plus a little salt and a good grind of black pepper.

    Blend to create a sauce that is either smooth or slightly chunky, depending on your preference.

    Taste and add more seasoning, vinegar, paprika etc. if needed.

    Set aside while you prepare and grill the onions.

Grill the spring onions

  1. Heat your grill to high and either brush the rack with oil or place a piece of foil on the rack.

  2. Trim the ends of the spring onions, removing any green ends that are damaged.

    Tip: you don't need to remove the outer layer as this will help to keep the onions moist inside. Any tough parts can be discarded after charring.

  3. Rub each spring onion all over with a little olive oil then season with salt and pepper.

  4. Put the spring onions under the grill and cook, turning often, until they're charred on the outside and the bulbs feel soft (5-12 min depending on thickness).

Serving

  1. Put the spring onions on a platter and either spoon over the romesco sauce or serve the sauce in a bowl for dipping.

    Leftover sauce can be stored in the fridge for up to 2 days.

Recipe Notes

Note 1. The classic dish on which this recipe is based uses a very large form of spring onion: the calçot. Try to get the biggest, thickest spring onions you can. However, I've assumed you are using the standard sized spring onions usually available in the UK, so have suggested 3 bunches to serve 2 people. If you can get larger ones, then you may need only 1 or 2 bunches.

Note 2. If preferred, you can replace the tomatoes with another roasted red pepper.