Grilled Scallions With Romesco Sauce
This grilled scallion recipe, served with homemade romesco sauce, is a much-anticipated dish each spring in Spain. Romesco is a very simple sauce made by blending almonds, roasted red peppers (which you should definitely do yourself), garlic and olive oil into a thick paste. I love the way it holds onto anything you dip into it.
Scallions are more delicate than onions and cook a lot faster. The outermost layer serves almost like aluminum foil, sealing in the moisture, preventing the inside from burning and steaming the insides all at the same time. Simply peel away the charred part to reveal sweet, smoky, tender scallion beneath. With a dip in romesco sauce, it's about as good a grilled vegetarian and vegan bite as it gets. Serve them by the bunch as an appetizer or side and watch everyone convert to Scallionsism, one by one.
We made these at our Test Kitchen at TRACE restaurant at the W Austin. Their grills...well, let's just say we're looking into investing in some commercial kitchen grills. They're the only ones that will fit a 72-ounce steak.
- 12 scallions
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup roasted almonds
- 1/2 cup parmesan
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 whole roasted red peppers
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- salt
- Combine all ingredients in a blender and pulse to a smooth paste.
- Keep refrigerated, covered with plastic wrap in a bowl, until ready to use.
- Preheat the grill to medium-high heat.
- Place scallions on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and roll them around until well-coated.
- Place scallions on the grill perpendicular to the grates and grill, turning as needed to prevent major scorching, for 3-5 minutes.
- Transfer from grill to serving platter and allow to continue steaming for 5 minutes before eating.