Romesco with grilled calçot onions

As al fresco dining, bbq’s and picnicking are back on track it’s good to have a few reliable crowd pleasers on hand. Romesco is certainly one of those! This is not a super traditional one as I’m only using red peppers (out of a jar!) and no tomatoes. Make sure you go for high quality peppers though.

Calçot onions are a beautiful type of green onion from the Catalan region of Spain.

400g grilled red peppers

70g almonds

30g sourdough croutons

1 garlic clove

1 lemon

1/2 red chilli

100ml good quality olive oil

Sherry vinegar

Salt and pepper

4 - 6 calçot onions

Toast your almonds for 10-12 minutes in a 180 degree hot oven, taking care not to burn them. Leave to cool. In a mixer, add almonds and whizz to a coarse texture. Add all other ingredients except the lemon juice and vinegar. Mix until a semi smooth texture. I like to have a bit more texture but if you like it super smooth simply mix longer. Season the sauce with vinegar, lemon, salt and pepper. Remember, if you plan to make the sauce ahead don’t worry if the sauce is loose as the breadcrumbs will soak up moisture over time.

Set your oven to the grill setting. Peel off the outer layer of the calçots and cook until nice and charred. If you have an actual bbq going, grill the onions until done.

Arrange on top of the sauce and dig in!