Escalivada

About Escalivada

Escalivada is a Catalan dish of vegetables cooked slowly over fire until they collapse and smoke, and the name itself comes from the Catalan for cooking in embers. Bell peppers, eggplant, and onion are roasted whole until blackened and soft all the way through, which gives the dish its signature smoky depth and meltingly tender texture. Once peeled and torn into strips, the vegetables are sweet, silky, and faintly charred, tasting far more of the fire than of themselves. It is rustic, unhurried cooking that concentrates flavor through heat alone.

The dressing keeps things simple and honest: good olive oil, crushed garlic, sherry vinegar, and salt, added while the vegetables are still warm so they absorb it well before settling to room temperature. Vegan, low in calories, and generous in volume, escalivada is one of the great vegetable dishes of the Mediterranean. It is traditionally served as a side or shared starter, spooned over toasted bread, layered onto coca flatbread, or paired with anchovies, grilled meat, or fish. Made ahead, it only deepens in flavor, making it as practical as it is delicious to eat cold or at room temperature.