Escalivada
Photo: Emi Yañez · CC BY 2.0

History

Escalivada (Catalan for 'cooked in the embers') goes back to medieval Catalan farm cooking, when vegetables were cooked in the dying embers of the fire overnight. The dish appears in 18th-century Catalan cookbooks: aubergines, red peppers and onions roasted whole until the skin chars, then peeled and sliced. The dressing is austere: only olive oil, salt and (optionally) an anchovy or sliced garlic on top. Barcelona's bistros run it as a summer starter from May to October, the vegetables straight from the Boqueria. Casa Amalia, Mont Bar and Bar del Pla all run textbook versions; modern rooms like Disfrutar deconstruct it into a tasting course.

Book a food experience

Tours, tastings and classes from the cities on this page, bookable on GetYourGuide.

Browse every bookable food experience

Make it at home

Yield 4Hands-on 20 minTotal 1 hrDifficulty Easy

Ingredients

  • 2 large aubergines
  • 2 red bell peppers
  • 1 large red onion, unpeeled, in its skin
  • Best Catalan olive oil
  • Sea salt
  • Optional: 6 anchovy fillets, 1 garlic clove (sliced thin)

Method

  1. Heat a barbecue to high; or preheat an oven to 220°C.
  2. Place the whole aubergines, peppers and onion directly on the grill (or on a tray in the oven). Cook for 30 to 40 minutes, turning, until the skins are blackened and the flesh is soft.
  3. Transfer to a bowl, cover with cling film. Rest 15 minutes to steam.
  4. Peel the blackened skin from each vegetable. Remove pepper seeds and aubergine stems.
  5. Tear the flesh into long strips and arrange on a platter.
  6. Drizzle generously with olive oil. Salt to taste. Lay anchovies or sliced garlic on top if using. Serve at room temperature with bread.

Tip from the editors. Cook the vegetables on a real fire if you can; the smoke is half the flavour. Let them rest after cooking to make peeling easier.

Where to eat escalivada

Escalivada in Barcelona

Casa Amalia ★ 4.2

€€ Catalan ClassicEixample

Casa Amalia in Barcelona's Eixample is a 1950s neighbourhood dining room where bacallà a la llauna and esqueixada sit on the carte every weekday lunch.

OrderThe esqueixada starter and the bacallà a la llauna oven dish.

TipClosed Sunday and Monday. The 19 euro menu del dia at lunch is the value pick.

Directions

Mont Bar ★ 4.6

€€€ Modern TapasEixample

Mont Bar in Barcelona's Eixample is Iván Castro's tapas-counter-with-a-Michelin-star: tasting plates over a wooden bar with an obsessive natural-wine list.

OrderWhichever tasting menu they call; the wine pairing is the move.

TipCounter seats book 4 weeks ahead. Tue-Sat dinner only. Closed Sun-Mon.

Directions

Bar del Pla ★ 4.5

€€ SpanishBorn

Bar del Pla in Barcelona's Born is the locals' counter on Montcada that draws the chef trade for the modernised tapas and natural-wine. Priced at €€.

OrderThe beef carpaccio with truffle and the slow-cooked Iberico cheeks.

TipOpen daily lunch and dinner; book the bar over the back room. Walk-up after 22:30 is the easier slot.

Directions

All Barcelona signature dishes →

More cities are in research. Want escalivada covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.

Browse all dishes →