Entertain Like a Chef: Spanish Edition
Catalan Salbitxada
Difficult to pronounce, easy to make, this phenomenal Catalonian sauce is a great thing to have in your repertoire. Ideally suited to the charred, mellow bite of grilled calcots, but supremely versatile, it makes an excellent accompaniment to roast chicken, grilled fish or any kind of roasted vegetable.
Ingredients
4 ripe tomatoes
1 red pepper
4 cloves of garlic
2 dried chillies, they use rosa in Spain, but they can be a bit tricky to find, so guajillo, New Mexico or cascabel chillies could be used.
4 Tbsp blanched almonds
4 Tbsp chopped parsley
1 sprig chopped mint leaves
2 Tbsp sherry vinegar
½ cup olive oil
Salt and pepper
Method
1. Heat the oven to 350. Place the almonds on a roasting pan and roast in the oven for five minutes, or until they start to smell delicious. Keep an eye on them, though, as they like to burn. Place the roasted almonds in a food processor or, better yet, in a mortar and pestle, and coarsely grind. Set aside.
2. Turn the oven up to 400 and put the tomatoes, pepper, garlic and chillies on a roasting pan, and place in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove the chillies, but turn the remaining ingredients and let them roast for another 20 minutes. The skin on the pepper should blister. Once this happens, place it in a bowl and cover the bowl with plastic wrap, so it can steam. When it’s cool, remove the pepper, peel the skin off and remove the seeds.
3. Peel the garlic and add to the food processor (or mortar and pestle) along with the tomatoes, pepper, chili and pulse a few times (or pound with the pestle) until you get a nearly smooth paste. Add the chopped parsley and mint and reserved almonds and incorporate. Add the vinegar and slowly drizzle in the oil, mixing everything together. Season with salt and pepper.
