Escalivada
Catalan smoky vegetables: aubergine, red pepper, sometimes onion and tomato, all roasted whole, peeled and dressed with olive oil.
Escalivada is what happens when you roast vegetables whole in embers or a very hot oven until the skins blacken, then peel them and tear them into strips. The base is always aubergine and red pepper. Onion shows up often, tomato sometimes. The peeled flesh gets dressed with good olive oil and salt and not much else. Served at room temperature on toast, as a starter, or piled next to grilled meat or salt cod. The name comes from the Catalan verb escalivar, to cook in embers.
How it's served
Room-temperature, on toasted country bread, often paired with anchovies, salt cod or a slice of butifarra. Plenty of restaurants serve it as part of an entrant amb pa amb tomàquet.
- Origin
- Catalonia, Spain
- Etymology
- From the Catalan escalivar ('to cook in embers').
Where to try it in Barcelona
4 restaurants on Guidavera mention escalivada in their kitchen description.
Frequently asked
What vegetables are in escalivada?
Always aubergine and red pepper. Onion is the third most common, often roasted whole in its skin. Tomato joins in some recipes, especially coastal ones. The blackened skins come off after roasting; only the soft flesh inside ends up on the plate.
Do you eat escalivada hot or cold?
Room temperature is traditional. The vegetables roast in the morning or the day before, sit covered in their own oil, and come to the table cool. Cold from the fridge mutes the flavour; hot from the oven is rare.
Can you make escalivada in a regular oven?
Yes. Whole vegetables go into a 220°C oven for 40 to 60 minutes until the skins are charred and the flesh collapses. A wood fire gives more smoke, but the home-oven version is the standard restaurant method too.
Related terms
- EsqueixadaA cold Catalan summer salad of shredded raw salt cod with tomato, onion, peppers and olives. Never cooked.
- Pa amb tomàquetCatalan bread rubbed with garlic and ripe tomato, finished with olive oil and salt. Comes with almost every meal.
- AllioliPungent Catalan emulsion of garlic and olive oil. Traditionally no egg. Eaten with grilled meats, paella and fish.
- ButifarraThe Catalan family of pork sausages: fresh ones grilled over coals, cured blood-based ones, and a sweet lemon-and-sugar oddity from the Empordà.
- SamfainaCatalan vegetable stew of onion, aubergine, courgette, pepper and tomato slow-cooked together. Used as a side or as a sauce for bacallà, rabbit and chicken.
- TumbetMallorcan vegetable casserole: layered slices of fried potato, aubergine and red pepper, all topped with tomato sauce. The Mallorcan answer to ratatouille.