Party Hardy With Paella

Tori Ritchie: Classic Dish, Great For Gatherings, Easy To Make

(CBS)  Grilled Green Onions with Romesco Sauce

On Saturdays and Sundays from February through April, the citizens of Barcelona jump into their cars and race down the motorways to restaurants specializing in calçotades.

Originally from Valls, this specialty has rapidly become popular throughout the region. The season's first new green onions, calçots, are roasted over coals until the outer skins are blackened and the interiors are sweet and tender. Diners peel off the burned outer skins and dunk the onions into romesco sauce before eating them. It's a messy business, requiring paper bibs.

Serve with a slightly chilled, young, light-bodied Rioja.

For the sauce:
1 head garlic
2 ripe tomatoes
3/4 cup blanched almonds, toasted
1/2 cup hazelnuts, toasted and skinned
4 small baguette slices
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, or to taste
2 Tbs. red wine vinegar, or to taste
1 tsp. pimentón or sweet paprika
Salt, to taste

24 green onions, each about 1 inch wide at the base and with plenty of white flesh, crusty bread for serving

To make the sauce, prepare a fire in a charcoal grill or preheat a gas grill on high.

Grill the garlic, turning as needed, until browned on all sides, 13 to 15 minutes. Grill the tomatoes, turning once, until the skins are browned and wrinkled, about 5 minutes. Set aside and let cool.

Peel the garlic cloves. Using a large mortar and pestle, grind together the garlic, almonds and hazelnuts. Peel the tomatoes and add to the mortar along with the baguette slices. Grind well until a thick paste forms. Alternatively, place the peeled garlic and tomatoes, almonds, hazelnuts and baguette slices in a food processor and pulse to combine. Mix in the 1⁄2 cup olive oil, 2 Tbs. vinegar, the pimentón and salt. The finished sauce should be thick but not dry; add more oil and vinegar if needed. Divide among individual dipping bowls and set aside. (The sauce will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days; bring to room temperature before serving.)

While you are making the sauce, place the onions on the grill and grill, turning occasionally, until the outer skins have blackened and shriveled, about 8 minutes. Wrap the onions in newspaper and let stand until cool enough to handle, about 5 minutes.

Transfer the onions to a large serving platter or a wooden board. Diners peel the onions with their fingers and dip each one into the romesco sauce. Serve with crusty bread. Serves 4.

Adapted from "Williams-Sonoma Foods of the World Series, Barcelona," by Paul Richardson (Oxmoor House, 2004).

Spicy Marinated Olives with Pickled Vegetables and Garlic

This bar-top snack is commonly served in Barcelona with a midday aperitif. A memorable version is offered at the Bar Mendizábal in Carrer Hospital, a small kiosk decorated in bright 1970s colors, with a miniature terrace. In Spain, these spicy olives with pickled vegetables, known as variantes, are normally bought already mixed at market stalls specializing in olives and pickles, but they can easily be made at home. Briefly boiling the garlic cloves takes away some of their strong flavor, while giving them a sweet crunchiness. Any olive variety will do, although Spanish olives would be more authentic.

Serve with a strongly flavored aperitif, such as vermouth or Campari and soda.

12 garlic cloves, unpeeled
1 carrot, peeled and cut diagonally into slices
1/4 inch thick
24 mixed brine-cured green and black olives, drained
12 cocktail onions in vinegar, drained
12 baby gherkins in vinegar, drained
2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
1 Tbs. white wine vinegar
1/2 tsp. salt
Pinch of hot chili powder
1/2 tsp. pimentón or sweet paprika
Generous pinch of fresh thyme leaves

Bring a small saucepan three-fourths full of water to a boil over high heat. Add the garlic, return to a boil and cook for 3 minutes. Add the carrot, return to a boil and cook for 1 minute more. Drain, then plunge the garlic and carrot slices into cold water. Drain again and peel the garlic (the skins will come off easily).

Transfer the garlic and carrot slices to a glass bowl. Add the olives, onions and gherkins and mix well. Add the olive oil, vinegar, salt, chili powder, pimentón and thyme and stir gently to coat all the ingredients evenly. Cover and refrigerate the olive and vegetable mixture until well chilled, at least 2 hours or up to 6 hours, stirring once or twice. Serves 4.

Adapted from "Williams-Sonoma Foods of the World Series, Barcelona," by Paul Richardson (Oxmoor House, 2004).