Escalivada

Instructions

1. Step 1

   Preheat the oven to 170°C/gas mark 5 

2. Step 2

   Drizzle the whole head of garlic with a little oil and season with salt, wrap in tin foil and roast in the oven for 1 hour

3. Step 3

   Make the garlic confit by placing the garlic cloves and rosemary in a small pan. Cover the garlic with olive oil, just enough to cover the cloves. Place over a low heat, and leave to cook very slowly, until the garlic has softened - around 30 minutes 

4. Step 4

   To make the allioli, squeeze the roasted garlic cloves from their skins straight into a blender. Add the raw garlic cloves and egg yolk, blend to a paste for a minute or two, then slowly drizzle in the oil until it emulsifies. Add the salt and parsley to season, then refrigerate until needed

5. Step 5

   Set up a barbecue for direct cooking over high heat (alternatively, you could use a gas hob or very hot grill)

6. Step 6

   Rub the whole aubergines and red peppers with olive oil and season with salt. Place the aubergines, peppers and shallots over the coals, rotating the vegetables once or twice throughout. Once the skin is completely blackened, set aside and cover with cling film (or another tight wrapping) to finish the cooking process and to soften the skin, in preparation for the next step

7. Step 7

   Use your hands to remove the burnt skin of the vegetables (keep a bowl of cold water nearby, which will help remove stray pieces). It’s OK to have some small pieces of burnt skin left on the vegetables, as this will add to the flavour

8. Step 8

   Cut the peppers and aubergines lengthways into 3-4 cm wide strips. Peel the shallots and cut into quarters and season the vegetables with salt and pepper

9. Step 9

   Plate up the aubergine and peppers, then finish with the quarters of shallots, whole confit garlic cloves and allioli. Add a swirl of the confit garlic oil to finish and garnish with the chive tips