Romesco sauce with calçots, from Cataluña to the world

Natacha Sanz Caballero Vegetables, Sauces, Tapas calçotada, Catalonian cuisine, regional cuisine, snow, Spanish cuisine, Spanish sauce, vegetarian

I’ve been wanting to post the recipe for salsa romesco —or rather, salsa romesco con calçots, romesco sauce with calçots—, for a while. So when I spotted some very fat green onions at the market last week, I knew I had to make a calçotada at home. And what a happy coincidence that calçots are now in season in Spain! A mostly winter or very early spring dish, it was also very appropriate to make them as we were being buried in snow, as the photos can attest. School as cancelled for the whole week!

What are calçots?

Calçots are a variety of scallion that grows in the Spanish province of Tarragona, in the region of Cataluña. The calçot from Valls in Tarragona has been designated as an “indicación geográfica protegida”, protected geographical indication, by the European Union. This means that its method of growth is unique to the specific region. The method was developed in the late 1800s, when farmers in the region began to cover the planted tender onions with soil so that the edible part would stay white rather than turn green. Calçots, in fact, look like a cross between a green onion and a leek: thicker and fatter than a green onion, and with a milder taste. Their harvest goes from November to April, with the most famous Calçotada (calçots festival) happening in Valls on the last week of January.

Matthew in Vail

Ground ñora peppers

Ethan in Utah

Late winter snow

In a calçotada, a grill is set over a fire made with wood —not embers, but the full flame. This makes the calçots char. They are then removed from the grill and wrapped in newspaper, which makes them sweat and therefore become even more tender. They are typically served on a terra-cotta roof tile, where they keep warmer than on a plate.

How you eat them

The process to eat romesco sauce with calçots is pretty particular too: you hold the calçot from the green top part with one hand and with the other hand you peel down the outer black layer. The white tender part of the calçot is now revealed, and it’s ready to be dipped in the delicious salvitxada (the local name for the romesco sauce eaten with them). This is not an elegant meal, and it’s therefore better made and eaten outdoors. I remember the first time I had romesco sauce with calçots was at a restaurant in Madrid (most unusual!) Together with the dish, the waiters came with enormous paper bibs that they proceeded to tie around our necks. It was the only way to keep our clothes clean!

The romesco sauce

Now, about the sauce, salsa romesco, romesco sauce. Like any other dish discovered in Spain by foreigners, it has transcended the borders. Salsa romesco is made now in many American restaurants, with variations to accommodate the lack of some of the regional ingredients required to make it.

Some of these include, amongst its other ingredients, nuts (hazelnuts and marcona almonds), ñora peppers (you can learn more about this Spanish pepper here), wine vinegar, bread and excellent quality extra-virgin olive oil. A bite of the sauce is a surprise, because of its subtle and complex flavors, and its texture, slightly rough, due to the nuts that form its base. The bread balances all the flavors and adds body to the sauce.

If you’re looking for a spicy sauce, this is not it. Instead, the sauce will not overpower the flavor of calçots, but enhance it. Use it with meats, grilled fish or grilled vegetables, or stir a spoonful of it into a seafood stew to enrich their flavor. Spread it on a piece of toast or crusty country bread for a delicious tapa.

Making a calçotada at home

When I tackled my calçotada at home I knew it wouldn’t compare to the feasts celebrated in Cataluña, but I would do my best. For starters, I used a large flat pan and set the stove on high, to make it as hot as possible. I opened the kitchen door and set the vent on high as well. It worked! I managed to blacken the fat green onions.

For the sauce, I had to make some substitutions. I didn’t have whole ñora peppers, but I had grounded ñoras, brought from Spain. If you don’t have ñoras (you can order them here), another good substitution would be to use Mexican cascabel peppers, which look and taste similar to ñoras. In a pinch, you could also use ancho peppers.

I made it the traditional way, using a mortar and pestle, to keep better control of the sauce’s texture, but if you don’t want the arm workout you can use a food processor (just make sure not to process too much that you end up with a liquified sauce).

And the best part comes next: EAT THEM! Grab a bunch of paper napkins and have fun with it.   

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5 from 1 vote

ROMESCO SAUCE WITH CALÇOTS

Salsa romesco con calçots

Cuisine: Mediterranean, Spanish

Keyword: vegetarian, Spanish cuisine, mediterranean diet

Author: Natacha Sanz Caballero, Mama Ía blog

Equipment

• Mortar and pestle
• Large flat pan or griddle

Ingredients

• 2 medium tomatoes
• 2 ñora peppers
• 6 cloves garlic
• 12 hazelnuts
• 12 marcona almonds substitute with regular almonds
• 1 slice crusty bread
• 1 Tbs fresh chopped parsley
• 3 Tbs wine vinegar
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil (approx. amount)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• large buch of calçots substitute with fat green onions

Instructions

Make the sauce:

• Remove the seeds from the peppers and place the peppers in a small bowl with hot water to soften for about 30 minutes (ideally you would place them in regular temperature water the night before, but I usually forget).
• Meanwhile, cut the tomatoes in half and place them on an oven tray lined with foil. Place the tray in the oven and broil the tomatoes for 6 or 7 minutes.
• In a small skillet, toast the almonds and hazelnuts and set aside.
• Peel the garlic cloves. Heat 1 Tbs olive oil in the same skillet and fry the peppers. Remove and set aside. Lower the heat and fry 4 cloves of garlic for about 2 minutes. Set aside. Fry the slice of bread on both sides.
• Using a mortar and pestle, mash the raw garlic cloves first. Add the fried garlic cloves and mash with the pestle. Add the pulp of the ñora peppers and mash. Then add the parsley, the nuts and the bread, mashing after each addition.
• Peel the tomatoes, remove the seeds and chop them finely. Mix with the other ingredients. Add the vinegar and mix.
• Add the olive oil in a thin stream while stiring to mix and combine all the ingredients. Season with salt.

Cook the calçots:

• Clean the calçots or the green onions and remove the hairy roots.
• The calçots are typically charred on a grill over an open flame (but not on embers). In my kitchen, I used a large flat pan. I placed it on the stove over high heat and when it was hot, I placed the green onions on it, working in batches. Char on one side before turning them so they char on all sides.
• Wrap the charred calçots in newspaper to let them sweat. Serve them on a terracota dish alongside the sauce.

How to eat them:

• To eat, make sure you have enough paper napkings on hand, as it can get messy: holding the onion by the green end, pull down the backened outer layer with the other hand. Dip in the sauce and place in your mouth while looking at the sky.

Notes

• You can use a food processor instead of a mortar and pestle —just make sure you pulse and not blend, you don't want a liquified sauce
• Substitute the calçots with fat tender green onions
• Substitute ñora peppers with cascabel peppers or ancho peppers. I used ground ñora peppers
• Have a good supply of paper napkins ready!