Charred Spring Onions Romesco Recipes

CHARRED SPRING ONIONS & ROMESCO

Steps:

• Put the nuts in the bowl of a food processor, saving a handful to serve. Add the garlic, then blitz until you have coarse crumbs. Add the red peppers and tomato purée and blitz again to a rough paste. Add the sourdough and a glug of the oil to loosen the mixture, then blitz once more until you have a slightly smoother paste. Pour the sauce into a mixing bowl and add the cayenne pepper, paprika and some seasoning. Pour in the rest of the olive oil, stirring to incorporate it. Add the vinegar, 1 tsp at a time, until the sauce has the right acidity - it should make you salivate!
• For the spring onions, brush them with olive oil, season with salt and griddle over a high heat, turning occasionally, until softening at the core and charred all over. Serve the spring onions with the sauce and a scattering of almonds.

GRILLED SPRING ONIONS WITH ROMESCO SAUCE

Steps:

• Slice 4 garlic cloves in half crosswise and put them in a small, microwave-safe dish. Cover with 1/4 cup olive oil. Loosely cover dish with plastic wrap, cut a slit in top and cook in microwave on medium power for 1 minute, 20 seconds. Uncover and let cool. Alternately, saute garlic in oil until golden around edges, about 3 minutes.
• Place tomato cut-side down on a plate. Microwave on medium power for 4 minutes. Let cool, then pull off tomato skin; it should come right off. If not, cook for another 30 seconds to 1 minute. Alternatively, roast tomato halves in a 350-degree oven until wrinkled and tender, 20-30 minutes, then peel.
• Chop remaining 3 cloves garlic and put in a food processor along with nuts and biscotti. Grind to a powder, add sun-dried tomatoes and yolks, and process until tomatoes are ground. Add cooked tomato, cooked garlic with oil, plus vinegar, paprika, salt and cayenne, and process until smooth. Slowly drizzle in remaining 1/4 cup olive oil. Taste and adjust salt and vinegar if desired. If mixture is too thick, slowly drizzle in 1-3 tablespoons warm water. (You can make sauce up to 5 days ahead.).
• To prepare onions, preheat a grill or broiler. Brush onions with oil and place on a grilling rack or broiler pan. Grill or broil for about 5 minutes a side, until browned and softened. Serve with romesco sauce.