Charred green spring onions peeled at the table and dipped into smoky almond-and-roasted-pepper romesco — the centerpiece of every Catalan calçotada.
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.
Serves 6
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
If you can't get real calçots, the closest substitutes are young thin leeks (no thicker than a finger) or Japanese long onions (negi). Spring onions/scallions are too thin and burn before steaming.
The char on the outside MUST be black, not brown. Black char = steamed sweet interior; brown means undercooked and bitter inside.
Make romesco at least 2 hours ahead — the flavour deepens substantially. It also keeps refrigerated 1 week and improves daily.
Catalan tradition pairs calçotada with grilled lamb chops, butifarra sausage, and lots of young red wine drunk from a porrón (a glass pitcher with a long spout you pour into your mouth from height).
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.
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.
Calçots originated in the Catalan town of Valls in the late 19th century when a farmer named Xat de Benaiges discovered that hilling soil around growing onions produced unusually long, sweet whites. The calçotada became a regional tradition by the 1940s and was declared a Festa de Interès Turístic by Catalunya in the 1980s.
Yes — use the hottest burner on a gas grill, a ridged cast-iron pan, or even directly on an electric burner coil for the char. The smoke factor will be lower but the dish still works beautifully.
A small, round dried Spanish sweet pepper, mild and fruity. Substitute with dried ancho (Mexican), or 2 tbsp jarred Spanish piquillo peppers plus a teaspoon of extra paprika. Don't substitute with hot chilies.
No — peel and discard the blackened outer leaves. Only the silky white interior is eaten. The newspaper-steaming step makes the peeling easy.
Catalan tradition demands a young, fruity red — Garnacha from Priorat or Montsant, or a local rosado. Cava also pairs beautifully and washes down the rich nutty sauce.
Per serving (280g / 9.9 oz) · 6 servings total
Ask our AI cooking assistant anything about this recipe — substitutions, techniques, scaling.
Chat with AI Chef →Join the conversation
Sign in to leave a comment and save your favourite recipes