Escalivada is the Spanish word for roasted vegetable salad, similar to a ratatouille. In this version, we've used smoky roasted eggplant, piquillo peppers, and red onion for the salad, and topped it with black olives and Cantabrian anchovies. It's such a lovely, flavourful combination, and makes for a really satisfying meal. If you prefer, you could also use roasted fresh peppers or sardines instead of anchovies. Some nice, rustic bread is crucial for this dish.
Serves 4
Ingredients:
1 medium eggplant
4 piquillo peppers, sliced
1/2 red onion
4 slices of rustic bread
extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
red wine vinegar, for drizzling
sea salt
Method:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F
Roast the whole eggplant, along with the onions (cut in large chunks and drizzled with a touch of olive oil) on a baking pan for 30-40 mins, until the eggplant is almost charred on the outside.
Once the vegetables are roasted, remove them from the oven to cool.
Peel the skin off the eggplant. The inside of the eggplant should be almost soft enough to spread.
Season the veggies with salt.
Grill or toast your bread, then spread with the eggplant, followed by the sliced piquillo peppersand onion.
Top with anchovy fillets and black olives, then drizzle with some olive oil and the red wine vinegar.