Catalan Calçots with Romesco

About This Recipe

Calçots are a uniquely Catalan crop: a sweet, mild green onion grown by hilling soil up around the stems through autumn and winter so that the white shaft is long, tender and almost leek-like. From late January through March, families across Catalonia hold a calçotada — a noisy outdoor feast where calçots are grilled directly over vine-wood embers until completely black and smoking on the outside, then wrapped in newspaper to steam for ten minutes. Diners wear bibs, pick up a charred onion by its green top, peel the burnt outer layer off in one downward strip, dip the now-pearlescent interior into a bowl of warm romesco, lift it high, and lower it whole into the mouth — the entire experience is messy, generous, and deeply communal. Romesco itself is the genius accompaniment: roasted ñora peppers, charred tomatoes, blanched almonds and hazelnuts, garlic, olive oil, sherry vinegar and a slice of fried bread, all pounded into a thick, rust-orange paste that is one of Spain's greatest sauces. The combination is smoke, sweetness, char, nut, and acidity all at once, and it is profoundly satisfying.

Ingredients

Serves 6

• 36calçots (or substitute young leeks no thicker than a thumb, or Japanese long onions/negi)
• 2dried ñora peppers (or 1 dried ancho), seeded and soaked in hot water 30 minutes
• 3 mediumripe tomatoes, halved
• 1 headgarlic, top sliced off to expose the cloves
• 80 gskin-on raw almonds; 40 g raw hazelnuts
• 1 slicecountry bread (about 30 g), fried golden in olive oil
• 180 mlgood extra virgin olive oil (Catalan arbequina is perfect)
• 2 tbspSpanish sherry vinegar (or red wine vinegar)
• 1 tspSpanish sweet smoked paprika (pimentón dulce)
• 0.5 tspflaky sea salt, plus more to taste

Instructions

1. 1

   Roast the romesco base

   Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F). Place the halved tomatoes (cut side up) and the garlic head on a tray drizzled with 2 tbsp olive oil. Roast 25 minutes until the tomatoes collapse and the garlic is golden and squeezable. Set aside to cool slightly.

2. 2

   Toast the nuts

   On a separate tray, toast the almonds and hazelnuts at 180°C for 8 minutes until fragrant and lightly coloured (watch them — they burn fast). Tip the hazelnuts into a clean tea towel and rub vigorously to remove most of the skins. Cool.

3. 3

   Make the romesco

   In a food processor, combine drained ñora flesh (scraped from the skin), peeled roasted garlic, peeled roasted tomatoes, toasted nuts, fried bread, paprika and salt. Pulse to a coarse paste. With the motor running, drizzle in the remaining 160 ml olive oil and the sherry vinegar until you have a thick, rustic, spoonable sauce. Taste and adjust salt and vinegar.

   For a more traditional texture, pound everything in a mortar — it takes 15 minutes but the texture is incomparable.

4. 4

   Light a hot fire

   Build a hot wood or charcoal fire and let it burn down to glowing red embers (no flame). A gas grill on highest setting works as a fallback. The fire must be properly hot — calçots need to go quickly black on the outside while the inside steams.

5. 5

   Char the calçots

   Lay the calçots in a single layer directly across the grill grate or on a metal rack set straight over the embers. Char without turning 4 minutes per side until the outsides are completely blackened and the inner whites are tender when pierced (total 8–10 minutes). They will smell strong — that's correct.

6. 6

   Steam in newspaper

   Pile the blackened calçots in a thick newspaper or brown paper, wrap tightly, and rest 10 minutes. This steam-finishing softens the interior to silky tenderness while keeping the char on the outside.

7. 7

   Serve with ceremony

   Unwrap onto a long wooden board at the centre of the table. Set out the warm romesco in small individual bowls (one per diner). Give each guest a bib and a damp cloth — calçots get everywhere.

8. 8

   Eat the Catalan way

   Pick up a calçot by its green top, peel the blackened outer skin downward in one motion (the white slips out), dunk the bare interior in romesco, tilt your head back, lower it into your mouth and bite. Repeat 6+ times per person.

Variations

• •

  Indoor calçots — char on a smoking-hot ridged griddle pan over highest heat with the extractor on full, then steam in foil. Acceptable but less smoky than over coals.

• •

  Romesco amb peix — serve romesco with grilled fish (monkfish, hake) for a year-round version when calçots are out of season.

• •

  Salbitxada — a closely related Catalan sauce, with raw garlic and more vinegar; sometimes served alongside romesco at calçotades.

• •

  Spring onion substitute — Japanese negi or thin baby leeks work surprisingly well; their flavour profile is closer to true calçots than European spring onions.

Storage

Calçots must be eaten the day they're grilled — they don't keep. Romesco lasts 1 week refrigerated in a sealed jar with a film of olive oil on top, and freezes 3 months in small portions.

Frequently Asked Questions