SERVES 2 TAKES 20 MINUTES
If you have plenty of ingredients then make a double batch of romesco as it is so delicious and useful and made entirely with store cupboard ingredients. Great with grilled meats, fish, and in sandwiches, and it also makes a brilliant dip.
Here it is served with fried eggs as part of a breakfast dish alongside grilled salad onions, a nod to the classic catalan celebratory pairing of romesco and calcots. It is a delicious tasty vegetarian brunch dish, the sweet onions, punchy and piquant but creamy romesco, and rich egg all piled deliciously onto a thick slice of crunchy sourdough.
- Ingredients
- A bunch of spring or salad onions
- Olive oil
- Sea salt flakes
- 2 eggs
- 100g spinach leaves, washed
- 2 thick slices of sourdough or rustic bread
- 1tsp nigella seeds
- For the Romesco Sauce
- 30g almonds
- 30g walnuts
- 200g shop-bought roasted, skinned peppers
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- ½ tsp Aleppo chilli flakes or regular chilli flakes
- 1 slice rustic bread
- 1tsp tomato puree
- 1tsp sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
- 2tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Method
First make the romesco. In a dry frying pan gently toast the nuts over a medium heat for 5 minutes.
Place the toasted nuts and all the other romesco ingredients in a food processor with some salt and pepper and a tablespoon of water and blitz until you have a smooth paste. Taste to check the seasoning and add more vinegar or salt if required.
Heat your grill to high. Prepare the onions by trimming the ends and peeling any dirty, papery outer leaves, then give them a quick rinse and pat them dry. Spread the onions onto a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle over a pinch of salt. Place then under the grill and cook for about 5-7 minutes turning over every minute or so, until golden and softened all over. Set aside. Alternatively you can cook them on a griddle pan or in a frying pan.
Place a frying pan over a high heat and add the olive oil. When it is hot fry the eggs to your liking and remove onto a plate. Put the spinach into the same pan and season with salt and pepper. Cook for a minute until the leaves have wilted a little, and meanwhile put the sourdough on to toast.
Spread the toast thickly with romesco and top with a pile of spinach. Add the fried eggs and divide the spring onions between each plate. Garnish with a sprinkling of nigella seeds if you have them.
NOTE: you can make the romesco with any other nuts really, except peanuts, and if you haven’t got spinach use other greens; kale or broccoli would be lush.
https://www.themilkshedstore.uk The Milkshed is shut at the moment
READ OUR RECIPE FOR WILD GARLIC AND POTATO SOUP HERE: http://551.326.mywebsitetransfer.com/recipe-wild-garlic-and-potato-soup-by-the-thatchs-head-chef-james-durrant/
