Grilled Scallions with Romesco Sauce

Spring onions with Romesco sauce is a popular Catalan combination. I couldn’t find spring onions at the store last weekend, so we did the same thing with scallions on the 4th of July. It turned out to be a great recipe for summer grilling.

There are tons of recipes out there for Romesco. It’s typically a sauce of pureed almonds, garlic, olive oil, dried peppers, and sometimes tomato. We have had a lot of success with José Andrés’s recipe, which we usually vary depending on what we have on hand at the time. This time, we grilled most of the ingredients instead of roasting them in the oven. It’s one of those recipes that will come out great no matter what, and is good on just about anything. I will definitely be making it again soon with grilled shrimp.

Grilled Scallions with Romesco Sauce
Adapted from José Andrés’s recipe

Ingredients
3 large plum tomatoes
2 large red bell peppers
1 medium onion (halved but unpeeled)
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 dried ancho chile
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons Sherry wine vinegar
1 slice bread, crust removed and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 1/2 cup)
1 teaspoon pimentón
Scallions (thickest you can find)

Instructions

Grill the tomatoes, bell peppers, and onion whole on the grill until very charred.

When they’re blackened and soft, peel and seed them.

Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chile and fry until darkened and slightly puffed, turning once, about 30 seconds. Transfer to a small bowl and add enough water to cover. Let it stand for 30 minutes. Then, peel and seed it.

Meanwhile, heat another tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the almonds; sauté until lightly toasted, about 1 minute.

Add the chile, tomatoes, bell peppers, onion, almonds, bread, olive oil, garlic, vinegar, and paprika to a blender. Blend to a course puree and season with salt. Keep the sauce at room temperature while you grill the scallions.

To prepare the scallions, simply coat them in olive oil and sprinkle with salt.

Put them on the grill over high heat and remove when slightly charred.

Have the napkins ready and dunk the grilled scallions into the sauce. I would also recommend opening a bottle of Cava!