Today we are presenting an extremely simple dish that is nevertheless a real flavour bomb and not only makes you happy on its own, but can also be perfectly combined with other products, especially fish.
Escalivada, the name of this preparation, comes from the Catalan word ‘escalivar’, which means ‘to grill in the embers’. This also reveals the origin of the dish, namely Catalonia in Spain, but it is also known in the neighbouring regions of Valencia, Murcia and Aragón, as well as in Roussillon, in the very south-west of France.
The name of the dish has its origin in the fact that vegetables are exposed to such intense heat on a charcoal grill that their skin turns completely black. You can’t do this every day, which is why we explain here how to do it in the oven.
If you have a gas hob or a small gas burner for the kitchen, you can first blacken the vegetables over the flame with tongs and then cook them in the oven. This of course provides a special flavour. However, the result is also excellent without such accessories and it’s really easy to do:
The typical vegetables are aubergines, bell peppers and onions. If you only use the oven, rub the aubergines and peppers lightly with a little olive oil to seal the skin and keep the flavour inside. Then add a little coarse sea salt to the them. Onions are placed whole and unpeeled in a baking tin or on a baking tray. We like to use different onions, in this case red and yellow.
The vegetables are baked at 220 degrees (without fan) for 45 minutes. Then they are cooked, soft and look like this:
Make sure you use tongs or other tools now, as this is all very hot. Set the onions aside to cool. Place the remaining vegetables in a bowl or on a deep plate and immediately cover with foil. This ensures that you can easily peel off the skin later.
Do not discard the juice in your baking dish or the juice that is still oozing out!
When everything has cooled down, it is best to continue working with your fingers: the stalks of the aubergine and pepper can be pulled out very easily. The skin also comes off easily. The inside of the pepper with the seeds is also removed. Carefully cut away the skin of the onions with a small knife. If the first layer of the inside has become a little leathery, remove this too.
Now cut the vegetables lengthways into strips. You can also tear aubergines and peppers into thin strips by hand.
Now there are several possibilities. What they all have in common is that Escalivada is served without reheating.
The vegetable strips can be seasoned in a bowl with a little salt, some black pepper if you like, a little of the vegetable liquid and, of course, the best olive oil and then served. A little splash of vinegar also harmonises well.
We prefer to layer the vegetables nicely. First onion strips, then aubergine and then peppers. We season the whole thing very delicately with a little salt and olive oil. If the vegetables seem too dry at any point, we add vegetable liquid. We also keep any leftovers in the fridge in this liquid for the next meal.
We recommend enjoying by cutting this beauty with a knife and fork across the strips, so you have a nice mix of flavours with each bite.
Enjoy.
And may the taste be with you.
Ingredients (for 2 people):
1 – 2 aubergines, depending on size
2 peppers, why not different varieties
2 onions, why not different varieties
Salt (optionally also pepper)
Olive oil
Optional: a little vinegar (sherry vinegar is recommended)
