CALÇOTADA--SHEET PAN BROIL

Somewhere in Catalonia, spring onions are roasting on a grill alongside some sausages, maybe lamb chops too. The wine flows. A tangy, nutty romesco sauce awaits the smoky, blackened onions. It’s calçotada season. Calçots are spring onions. Or, actually, late-winter onions. A calçotada is an onion-grilling party. 

Home-style calçotada--spring onions, asparagus, sausage and shrimp roasted under the broiler, served with romesco sauce for dipping.

 

I’m a long way from Catalonia and it’s not an auspicious time for parties. But, I’ve got some locally-grown onions—young, slender stalks with green tops—that might substitute for the authentic calçots (the cultivar from Tarragona province has IGP (protected geographic indication) Calçot de Valls). The required accompaniment to calçots, romesco sauce, is good anytime, anywhere.  

I'm using locally grown spring onions, not authentic calçots.

I’m not grilling for a crowd, so I won’t bother to fire up the outdoor grill. Can I roast the onions on a sheet pan under an electric broiler? 

The broiler (known as a “grill” in Britain and in Spain) may be at the top of an electric oven or, in gas ranges, in a compartment below the oven. Preheat the broiler to “maximum.” Mine preheats to 300ºC (570ºF). The broiler pan, without its rack, makes a perfect sheet pan. Don’t line the sheet pan/broiler tray with parchment paper. Set a timer and watch carefully so the food doesn’t burn.

What to grill for a sheet pan calçotada? Spring onions. Or try skinny leeks. Trim off the roots and tops. Shrimp in their shells. Sausages. I haven’t got typical Catalonian butifarra, so I’m using uncured (raw) chorizo criollo. Asparagus. Lamb chops, if they're not too thick, would work on the sheet pan. 

The results of my sheet-pan broil were delicious, if not quite authentic. At a real calçotada, the onions are flame-roasted over burning vine prunings. The blackened onions are wrapped in newspaper and served on clay roof tiles. To eat them, you hold the onion by the green leaves, strip off the charred outer layers, dip the white part into the romesco and lower the onion into your mouth. Bibs and paper napkins are essential accoutrements.  Under the broiler, the onions become nicely browned, not charred. 

Broiled, onions are not charred, but nicely browned.

To eat the roasted onions, strip off the outer layer, dip the stem into the sauce and dangle into your mouth.

More finger food--peel the shrimp and dip in the romesco.

Grilled asparagus is terrific with romesco.

Sheet Pan Broil

Shrimp

Sausages

Asparagus

Spring onions

Olive oil

Coarse salt

Romesco sauce (recipe follows)

Preheat broiler to maximum (500ºF- 570ºF)

Arrange onions, shrimp, asparagus on sheet pan.

Arrange the ingredients to be broiled on the sheet pan in a single layer. Drizzle with oil. Place the pan 4 inches from the heat source. Broil 5 minutes. Remove the pan. If the shrimp are done, remove them. (Replace with a second batch of shrimp, if desired.) Using tongs, turn the sausages. The onions and asparagus don’t have to be turned. Return the pan to the broiler. Broil 5 minutes more, until onions are tender and browned.

Serve the shrimp, sausages, asparagus and onions sprinkled with coarse salt, accompanied by romesco sauce.

Romesco Sauce

Salsa Romesco

Romesco is a sauce that goes with just about everything! It’s especially good with anything from the grill (barbecue)—fish, shellfish, steaks, chops, burgers, sausages. Serve it alongside a rotisserie chicken. Slather it on hard-boiled eggs or baked potatoes. Dress artichokes, asparagus, cauliflower, cabbage, green beans, mushrooms with it.

Ñora dried peppers.

     Ñoras are dried, plum-sized, sweet red peppers, not hot. You can use choricero peppers instead of ñoras. If neither is available, substitute 2 tablespoons of pimentón (paprika), not smoked.

     Like cooks everywhere, Catalonians add a “secret” ingredient to their romesco. Some ideas: a tiny guindilla (hot cayenne pepper); a little dried mint; red wine instead of vinegar; walnuts as well as hazelnuts and almonds; a few drops of anisette, and so forth. 

     Use more or less bread, according to how thick you want the sauce. Toast it or fry it before combining with the nuts. Nuts can be toasted or not. Roasting the garlic is optional. Roasting mellows its bite. If using raw garlic, decrease the quantity. Purists would make romesco in a large mortar. A blender makes the job easier.

Grind ingredients in mortar or blender.

3 ñoras (dry sweet peppers)

1/3 cup hazelnuts 

1/3 cup almonds (blanched and skinned)

1 slice of bread

1 head garlic (about 8 cloves)

2 tomatoes

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil + additional for drizzling

1 ½ tablespoons Sherry vinegar

1 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon hot (picante) pimentón (paprika)

1 teaspoon pimentón (paprika, not smoked)

Remove stems and shake out seeds from the ñora peppers. Place the peppers in a saucepan and add water to cover them. Bring to a boil and simmer 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let them soak 30 minutes. Skim them out. Reserve the cooking liquid in case it’s needed to thin the sauce.

Scrape pulp of ñoras.

     Split open the peppers and use a spoon to scrape out the pulp. There should be about 2 tablespoons. Discard the skins.

     Preheat oven to 400ºF.

     Spread the hazelnuts and almonds on a rimmed baking sheet. Place the bread on the sheet. Slice off the top of the head of garlic and place it on the sheet. Cut an X in the skin of the tomatoes and place them on the sheet. Drizzle all with a little oil.

Place the baking sheet in the oven. Remove hazelnuts and almonds when they are lightly toasted (10 minutes). Chop them coarsely. 

Roasted garlic.

Continue roasting the bread, garlic and tomatoes until bread is toasted and tomato skins split open, 20 minutes more. Remove and allow to cool.

Break the toasted bread into pieces and place in a blender container. Remove cores and skins from the tomatoes. Crush them into the blender on top of the bread. Remove garlic cloves from the skin and add to the blender. Pour in 1/3 cup oil, the vinegar and the ñora pulp. Add the salt, hot and regular pimentón, hazelnuts and almonds. Let the mixture stand 15 minutes to soften the bread.   Blend all the ingredients until smooth. If necessary, add additional liquid (reserved liquid from cooking the ñoras) so the blender runs smoothly. 

Taste the sauce and add additional oil, salt or vinegar if needed. 

Serve the sauce room temperature. Store it, covered and refrigerated, up to 5 days. Bring to room temperature before serving. 

Hold onion by the "tail" and dip it in the sauce.

Ben tries the calçot with romesco.

Other ways to serve romesco:

Artichokes with Romesco Dressing.

Simple Romesco.

Two more versatile sauces with nuts and red peppers:

Basque Vizcaina Sauce.

Turkish Mujammara Walnut Sauce.