Ole, Jose! Summer is served: Escalivada salad with roasted tomato dressing 

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Ole, Jose! Summer is served: Escalivada salad with roasted tomato dressing

By José Pizarro

Published: | Updated:

I think I have an escalivada salad in almost every book I’ve ever written, because I love it so much and it’s a dish you can be really creative with. For this recipe, I’ve changed things slightly by blending the roasted tomatoes with the juices from the other roasted vegetables, along with a dash of vinegar. It makes a superb dressing that is perfect with this warm, tasty salad. Enjoy!

SERVES 6

TAKES 1 hour

2 aubergines, sliced

2 red peppers

1 yellow pepper

2 red onions, cut into wedges

3 vine tomatoes, halved

1 garlic bulb, cloves separated

4 thyme sprigs, leaves picked

75ml olive oil, plus 2 tbsp extra for frying

2 tsp pimentón de la Vera (see Tip)

2 tsp sherry vinegar

4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

100g stale bread, torn

1 tbsp capers

50g manchego, shaved

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

  • Preheat the oven to 220C/ 200C fan/gas 7. Put the aubergine, peppers, onion wedges, tomatoes, garlic and thyme on a large baking sheet. Drizzle with the oil and sprinkle with the pimentón. Toss to coat well. Roast for 20 minutes, then remove the garlic and set aside. Continue to roast the other vegetables for a further 20-30 minutes until the pepper skins are blackened and the rest of the vegetables are sticky and tender.
  • Put the peppers in a dish and cover with clingfilm. Leave to stand for 10 minutes or until cool enough to handle, then remove the skins and seeds and thinly slice the flesh. Save any juices to add to the dressing.
  • To make the dressing, put the roasted tomatoes in a blender with the vinegar and extra virgin olive oil. Season well and blitz, adding any juices from the peppers and a splash of water until you have a dressing-like consistency.
  • Heat the 2 tablespoons olive oil in a frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add the torn bread and fry for 5-10 minutes until golden. Drain on a plate lined with paper towels and season with sea salt.
  • Toss all the veggies in a dish with the capers, manchego, croutons, reserved garlic and dressing, and serve it straight away.

TIP You can buy hot and sweet varieties of pimentón de la Vera from Sainsbury’s and ocado.com. Alternatively use regular or smoked paprika.