Valencians have a reputation for being very picky about rice dishes, their denominations and ingredients, and the debate on what is paella and what is not has reached levels of weariness never known before. However, beans are also cooked in other places: Catalonia has its terreta particular, in which there is a debate with some intensity about the romesco, the xató sauce, the savedits uses, its history and its components.
The foreigner will have to make an effort to distinguish these three sauces that always combine roasted tomato and garlic, nuts (almonds or hazelnuts), olive oil, vinegar and salt. If you are looking for the difference in quantities or components that appear and disappear like Guadiana, like ñora, bread or cookiesit will not go too far: each one makes these preparations as they feel like or they were taught at home.
It will be clear to you that the xató sauce is used for xató, a salad of escarole, anchovies and cod, but you will start to get confused when some tell you that the calçots are dipped in romesco, and others, in saved. The confusion will grow if you find out that before, in the villages, the calçots sauce was not called in either of those two ways, but “red sauce”.
Our imaginary visitor will begin to resemble the lady who calculates meme when you read thatsaved” comes from “sauce” and “bitxo” (chili pepper)… and don’t find this spicy item in many of the recipes on the internet. Or when someone tells you that romesco is a sauce, but also a dish. And I’ll most likely throw in the towel when trying to figure out which one came first –it seems that it was the romesco but it is not clear – or where they arose, whether it was on the coast or inland.
So we better leave the controversies for the most fussy locals and focus on the power of romesco / saved / call it what it comes out of the mortar, a preparation that goes like no other with calçots and almost any vegetable, and that fascinates those who try it. Its radical simplicity and the perfect harmony of its combination of ingredients places it, for me, at the top of the great sauces along with mayonnaise, pesto, alioli or bechamel.
My version is based on the formula of Àngel Solé, deceased owner of the restaurant Ca l’Àngel de Valls and one of the great masters of calçot. I have allowed myself the license to reduce the amount of oil in its formula and -Catalonia forgive me- apply the Mexican technique of tatemado to cook the tomatoes and garlic. What has led me to commit such a sacrilege? I would have loved to grill them, which is the traditional way, but like most mortals, I don’t have a grill at home. When roasting in a pan I get a smoked point without turning on the oven, with the consequent energy savings. I recommend, yes, using the oldest one you have at home, because then it costs a bit to clean it.
Ingredients
for 4 people
- 6 hanging tomatoes (if not, about 350 g of vine tomatoes)
- 3 garlic cloves
- 100g toasted almonds
- 1 ñora or chorizo pepper
- 150 ml of extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons of vinegar
- ½ teaspoon of salt
Preparation
- Put the ñora to hydrate by submerging it in water the day before in a glass or a small bowl. If you don’t have that much time, you can speed up the process by using boiling water, and letting it soak until it softens.
- Heat the tomatoes and garlic cloves over medium heat in a pan. Cover and cook for about 15-20 minutes, turning them from time to time (it should be done with a wooden or silicone spatula to remove the tomato skin from the pan).
- When the tomatoes are soft and expired, and their skin is very toasted, remove them to a mixing glass and let them cool. Reserve the garlic.
- Remove the ñora meat with a spoon and add it to the glass along with the peeled garlic, almonds, olive oil, vinegar, salt and a couple of tablespoons of the ñora water. Blend with a few short strokes of the mixer, just enough to form a cream. You have to notice the almond pieces.
- Correct salt and vinegar and let the sauce rest in the fridge covered with a thin layer of oil and covered. If at the time of serving it looks very thick, it can be thinned by adding a little water and stirring well.
If you make this recipe, share the result on your social networks with the hashtag #RecipesComidista. And if it goes wrong, complain to the Cook Ombudsman by sending an email to [email protected].
#Sauce #calçots #romesco #salvitxada