Two years ago I tried ‘Calçots’ for the first time while traveling in Barcelona. It was January and we were enjoying the sun on the roof terrace. After delicious barbecued lam chops, these vegetables were grilled. The Calçot is a vegetable and a cross between leek and spring onion. Once barbecued, you can peel off the outer layer. Dip the caramelized/cooked inside of the calçot in romanesco sauce and enjoy!
Lately I was contacted by a Dutch farmer, who recently started to grow Calçots in the Netherlands. Since it is a super tasty vegetable and easy to prepare, I decided to write the recipe for the Calçots. However, I did had a challenge. When living in a city, cooking outside on the barbecue is not always possible. So I roasted the Calçots in the oven. For these Calçots you can turn the heat of your oven on maximum, which is in my case about 230 degrees Celsius. This will nicely roast the Calçots on the outside, and cook them on the inside.
Calçots & Romanesco Sauce
Equipment
- Oven
- Blender // Food Processor
Ingredients
- Bunch of Calçots
Romanesco Sauce
- 250 gram Grilled Bell Pepper
- 200 gram Tomatoes
- 200 gram Almonds
- 2 cloves Garlic
- 2 tbsp Sherry Vinegar
- Pinch of Dried Chili Flakes
Instructions
Preparations
- Preheat your oven on 230 degrees Celsius or 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Add the almonds to a bowl and cover them with hot water. Let the almonds soak for at least 10 minutes.
- Season the tomatoes with some olive oil, salt & pepper. Once the oven is warm, you can grill the tomatoes.
The Calçots
- You could give the calçots a quick wash, but this is not necessary. Only the inside of the calçots will be eaten.
- Grill the calçots until juices run out. This may sound weird now, but will all make sense during the cooking process 😉
Romanesco Sauce
- Drain the almonds and add them to a kitchen towel. Rub the outer layer off the almonds by moving the kitchen towel back and forth.
- Mix the grilled tomatoes, almonds and all other sauce ingredients to a mortar/blender/food processor. Mix until you have a creamy orange sauce. Season with salt, pepper and maybe even more chili!