The Meatwave

Over at Serious Eats, I've been on the sauce trail for nearly a year now. This has me concocted sauces nearly as much as I've been grilling, which now dictates a life constantly on the search for new condiments to try out at home, and pair with grilling as often as possible. Romesco—a roasted red pepper and almond spread originating in the Catalonia area of Spain—is one stellar example of this. As soon as I tried it for the first time at local favorite Il Bambino, I was quickly in the kitchen making my own, then enjoying it with excellent grilled leeks.

While I still tend to put most of my time into grilling, this recipe switches it up a bit by putting more effort into the sauce than leeks. It's all justified though—romesco is one excellent spread.

It started with roasting bread, garlic, almonds, and a tomato in the oven, while the red peppers were charred on the stove top. At the same the items in the oven were done, the cooled pepper were ready to peel, and everything got thrown into the food processor along with olive oil, sherry vinegar, smoked paprika, salt, and cayenne and given a whirl. Then it was off to the fridge for the sauce to cool and to let the flavors meld.

While the sauce was cooling, it was time to get grilling. Leeks are one of those challenging foods on the grill—they either are going to need a very long roast to become tender, or need some precooking to have them done quickly. In the past I went with the former option and sped up the cooking by foiling the leeks, but I've been more into precooking items like this lately because it tends to be quick and easy and also keeps the veggies hogging the grill from its true intended purpose—meat.

Leeks are notoriously dirty vegetables, so preparation is paramount. First step was to chop off the dark green ends, followed by splitting each leek lengthwise, keeping the white root end in tact. This allowed for easy washing, which is best done under running water, fanning out the layers to ensure the water flushes out all dirt and grit nestled inside.

While it can take a good 30 minutes or more to fully soften leeks by roasting them on the grill, a precook in salted boiling water for just a few minutes completely elements that step. I precooked these until they were half way done—when they just started to soften—then plunged them into an ice water bath to stop the cooking.

Finally, it's grill time, but first the leeks got a nice brush of extra virgin olive oil so they would cook up nicely.

All that was needed to finish them up was to grill them until browned on both sides, which only took a few minutes per side. By then, they were soft throughout and ready for eating.

The leeks and romesco were a great couple. The sauce was rich and creamy, with a flavor my wife likened most closely to pimento cheese—a quick way to a Texan heart. That heavy roasted red pepper flavor paired incredibly well with the oniony leeks, which also added a nice crunch to the overall texture. The only problem was I had only grilled up two leeks, which was not nearly enough to satisfy the need to eat more romesco, but that was easily solved by grilling some slices of bread to keep on eating.

Published on Thu Jan 19, 2012 by Joshua Bousel

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