Monday, August 26, 2019

If you know what Escalivada is raise your hand





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.

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