In my language – Catalan – the verb ‘escalivar’ means ‘roasting (vegetables) in the embers’ and we usually make ‘escalivada’ with tomatoes, onions, asparagus, aubergines and red peppers. Once roasted and peeled, we serve the escalivada with preserved anchovies and olive oil. The sliced and salt preserved anchovies from L’Escala (Girona, Catalonia) are simply amazing – also its price – and the best complement for the escalivada together with extra-virgin olive oil from l’Empordà (Dauro, Serraferran…), also from Girona. Instead of anchovies we can use salt-preserved codfish or tuna preserved in oil.

A great and healthy dish for lunch.