Summer vegetables charred over the embers, tender and smoky, served warm with a vibrant red bell pepper, almond, and black olive romesco. The twist: a few crispy paprika chickpeas to add crunch and an almost tapas-like feel.
Ingredients
- 2 pieces zucchini
- 1 piece eggplant
- 3 pieces red bell peppers
- 1 piece red onion
- 2 pieces firm heirloom tomatoes
- 240 g drained cooked chickpeas
- 60 g stale rustic bread
- 70 g blanched whole almonds
- 2 cloves garlic
- 50 g pitted black olives
- 2 tbsp sherry vinegar
- 110 ml extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 pinch cayenne pepper
- to taste fine salt
- to taste ground black pepper
- 0.5 bunches flat-leaf parsley
- 1 piece black olive romesco sauce
Method
- Prepare a grill with a very hot direct heat zone and a gentler indirect zone; the grate must be very hot and you should only be able to hold your hand briefly over the direct coals.
- Place the whole red bell peppers over direct heat and turn them until the skin is black and blistered and the flesh collapses slightly; then enclose them to sweat.
- Meanwhile, cut the zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes, and red onion into large chunks that won't fall through the grate; oil, salt, and pepper them right before cooking so they don't release too much water.
- Grill the zucchini, eggplant, and red onion over direct heat until you get bold grill marks and a sweet roasted vegetable aroma, then slide them to the indirect zone until tender but not falling apart.
- Sear the tomatoes flesh-side down over direct heat just until they caramelize and start to release their juices; keep them slightly firm so they still offer some freshness.
- On a perforated grill pan or a cast-iron skillet placed on the grill, roast the chickpeas with olive oil, smoked paprika, cayenne, and salt until golden, dry on the surface, and crispy in spots.
- Peel the roasted peppers, then prepare the romesco by blending their flesh with the toasted bread, almonds, roasted garlic, black olives, sherry vinegar, olive oil, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper; the texture should coat the back of a spoon with a rustic graininess.
- Spread the romesco sauce on a large ceramic platter, arrange the warm vegetables on top, then sprinkle with the crispy chickpeas, grilled red onion, and chopped flat-leaf parsley.
- Finish with a drizzle of olive oil and a few grinds of pepper; serve warm, when the smoke, the vegetable juices, and the tartness of the romesco are still distinct.
Nutrition
Per serving
- Energy
- 544.9 kcal
- Protein
- 11.98 g
- Carbohydrate
- 29.76 g
- Fat
- 42.46 g
- Fibre
- 11.79 g
- Calcium
- 101.09 mg
- Iron
- 3.39 mg
- Magnesium
- 90.08 mg
