Cadeques, Spain, late May 2009, I had just turned 50. The
girls hadn’t had a trip to Europe together since June, 2002 when another member
of our trio turned 50. Although this trip was shorter and covered less
geography, there was no lack of fun, food and wine. One of the most memorable
adventures was to Cadeques, Spain on the Costa Brava of the Mediterranean.
Salvador Dali lived near this town and frequented many of the restaurants and
bars. One such establishment is Casa Anita. Rumor has it that The Rolling
Stones also graced this establishment.
After a day of serious shopping (and I do mean serious) and
late afternoon consumption of truly fabulous Mojitos, we went to Casa Anita for
dinner. We were seated and the owner (I think) sat down at our table and asked
“French, Spanish or English?” Meaning what language should he speak? We were
immediately enamored.
My friend, fluent in French, said “French”. He rattled off
the menu. There are no menus at this restaurant, you listen and say Oui, Si,
Yes to various descriptions of fresh fish and side dishes. We (my fluent friend
actually) ordered Escalivada and a whole fish each with frites (French fries,
don’t know the Spanish words for French fries). I have one blurry photo of the
Escalivada being served and one of the fish (can’t even remember what kind of
fish but it was excellent).
When the Escalivada was served he took two knives and sliced
it up into a fabulous mix. This Catalan dish means to cook in hot ashes. So it
is grilled or cooked over flames. The dish classically includes eggplant,
onions, sweet red peppers, garlic and tomatoes. The difference for this recipe is
beans were included. We assumed they were cannellini beans.
If you Google
Escalivada and look in all the Spanish cookbooks you will not find the beans included
but OH MY, was this dish good. So good we recreated it a couple of days later at
the house and have made it over and over again since.
There is
much labor involved over a hot grill. The best outcome is when you can use
fresh summer produce either from a farmer’s market or your own vegetable
garden.
Escalivada
Serving
Size : 8
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon thyme, chopped
1/2 teaspoon garlic, minced
2 cups cannellini beans, fresh cooked or canned
(drained & rinsed)
1 cup chicken stock
1 teaspoon
salt
1 teaspoon
pepper, freshly ground
1 large eggplant, peeled and sliced
1 large onion, sliced
1 large red bell pepper, sliced
3 large roma tomatoes, halved
6 large garlic cloves
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
additional thyme sprigs
Pre-heat a
stove-top grill or outdoor grill to medium high heat.
Heat a
tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat in a saucepan and add 1 small minced
garlic clove and chopped thyme. Cook briefly and add cooked cannellini beans
and chicken broth. Add salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a simmer and turn
down to low. Add more chicken broth if necessary to keep moist.
Grill the
garlic cloves on the side of the grill while the other vegetables are cooking.
When the cloves are charred and soft remove to platter. Use a grill plate for
the garlic if necessary on outdoor grill.
Brush the
eggplant slices with olive oil, lightly salt and grill. Place on a platter.
Toss the
onions with olive oil, lightly salt and grill. Place on platter.
Toss the
bell pepper with olive oil, lightly salt and grill. Place on platter.
Halve the
tomatoes and brush with olive oil. Lightly salt and grill.
To serve:
arrange the vegetables attractively on the platter, leaving room in the middle
for the beans. Using a slotted spoon ladle the beans up the center of the
platter. Peel the skin from the grilled garlic and sprinkle evenly over the
vegetables. Grind fresh pepper over the entire platter and sprinkle with red
wine vinegar and additional fresh thyme and olive oil. Serve warm or room
temperature.
Enjoy.
