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Recipe · Direct · Easy

Kamado escalivada with smoked peppers and aubergine

Red pepper, aubergine and onion roasted whole over live coals until the skin chars black, then peeled and dressed with nothing but extra-virgin olive oil and flaky salt.

Pimientos rojos asados y pelados con ajo y aceite de oliva, estilo escalivada
Prep
15 min
Cook
45 min
Servings
4 servings
Temperature
230 °C

Ingredients

  • large fleshy red peppers3 ud
  • medium aubergines (ideally purple, not too large)2 ud
  • large onions in their skin (Figueres or sweet variety)2 ud
  • extra-virgin olive oil (Comunidad Valenciana), to dress4 cda
  • raw garlic clove, thinly slivered (optional)1 diente
  • mild wine or sherry vinegar (optional)1 cdita
  • flaky sea salt, Maldon-style (to finish)1 pizca
  • chopped fresh parsley (optional, to finish)1 pizca

Method

  1. 01

    Light and stabilise at 230°C, direct

    Light the kamado for direct cooking, no deflector, grate at standard height. Open the bottom damper halfway and the top vent to about a third, and let the ceramic settle at 230°C for 15 minutes. You want strong but not infernal heat: above 280°C the skin burns before the flesh cooks through.

  2. 02

    Prep the whole vegetables

    Do not peel anything and do not oil them yet. Wash and dry the peppers, aubergines and onions. Pierce the aubergines 3-4 times with a skewer or thin knife so steam escapes and they do not burst over the coals. Leave the onion in its outer skin: it acts as protection and gets discarded later.

  3. 03

    Stagger the load by cooking time

    Start with the onions, the slowest (40-45 min), placing them toward one side of the grate. At 15 minutes add the red peppers (25-30 min). At 20 minutes add the aubergines (20-25 min). That way everything finishes roughly together at around the 45-minute mark.

  4. 04

    Turn to char every side

    Turn the peppers every 6-7 minutes with tongs until the skin is black and blistered on all four sides. Turn the aubergine a couple of times; it is ready when it deflates and feels soft to the squeeze. The onion blackens outside and softens within; do not be put off by how burnt it looks.

  5. 05

    Sweat 15 minutes, covered

    As each one is done, move it to a large bowl covered with film, or into a sealed bag. Let them sweat for 15 minutes. The steam they release lifts the skin from the flesh and turns peeling into a matter of seconds. This is the step that separates a clean escalivada from a fight with stuck skin.

  6. 06

    Peel without water, keep the juices

    Peel with your fingers, never under the tap: water washes away the smoky aroma. Remove the black skin, seeds and stalk from the peppers. Skin the aubergine and discard the end. Take the burnt outer layers off the onion. Strain and keep the juice from the bowl: it is liquid gold for the dressing.

  7. 07

    Tear into strips by hand

    Tear the peppers into strips lengthwise along their natural ribs, by hand rather than knife (a knife crushes and draws out water). Aubergine into strips or rough pieces. Onion into wedges or petals. Lay it all out on a flat platter, mixed or arranged by colour if you want presentation.

  8. 08

    Dress with olive oil and rest

    Drizzle with a generous pour of Valencian olive oil and the reserved juices, flaky salt and, if you like, slivers of raw garlic and a thread of vinegar. Let it rest at least 20-30 minutes at room temperature so the flavours settle. Serve warm or at room temperature, with parsley on top. It is even better the next day.

About this recipe

Kamado escalivada is cooked direct, over live fire, with the vegetables left whole — unpeeled and unoiled: red pepper, aubergine and onion go straight on the grate at around 230°C until the skin turns fully black. The charcoal smoke does the rest. Once peeled, that smoky skin leaves behind a sweet, silky flesh you simply cannot match in a home oven.

Why the kamado outdoes oven escalivada

Escalivada comes from the Catalan verb *escalivar*, to roast over embers (*caliu*). A home oven imitates it, but misses the point: direct contact with fire and charcoal smoke. On the kamado you work direct, no deflector, grate at standard height and the ceramic at 230°C. The vegetables go on whole, their skin acting as armour: the skin chars and is sacrificed, while inside the flesh steams in its own moisture without drying. The result is sweeter, deeper and carries the smoky backbone that defines the dish.

The trick: a different clock for each vegetable

The classic mistake is loading everything at once and pulling it all at once. Each vegetable runs on its own clock. The whole onion in its skin is slowest: 40-45 minutes, cooked off to one side in the gentler zone of the grate. The red pepper takes 25-30 minutes and needs turning every 6-7 to char all four sides. The aubergine is the most delicate: 20-25 minutes, and it is done when it deflates and the skin wrinkles. Pierce it first with a skewer so it does not burst. Stagger the load: onion first, peppers at 15 minutes, aubergine at 20.

Sweat, peel and dress the Costa Blanca way

As soon as they come off the kamado, the vegetables go into a covered bowl or a sealed bag for 15 minutes. That sweat loosens the skin and it peels off with your fingers almost on its own. Do not rinse under the tap: you would wash away the smoky juices, which are exactly what you are after. Then tear by hand (never a knife, which crushes), add a generous pour of extra-virgin olive oil from the Comunidad Valenciana, flaky salt and, if you like, slivers of raw garlic and a thread of mild vinegar. Eat it warm or at room temperature, never hot: escalivada improves as it rests.

In 30 seconds

Direct at 230°C, no deflector. Whole vegetables, skin on, on the grate: onion 40-45 min, pepper 25-30 min, aubergine 20-25 min (stagger the load). Skin fully black. Sweat 15 min covered and peel with your fingers, no water. Tear by hand + Valencian olive oil + flaky salt. Serve warm. Serves 4, a side or starter that comes off while the kamado is already lit.

Editor's tips

  • Vegetables go on whole, dry and WITHOUT oil. Brushing them with oil first only triggers flare-ups that char the skin before the inside cooks. Oil is for the end, once peeled — there, be generous and use the good stuff.
  • Do not rush the colour: the skin must go fully black and blistered, not golden. That surface char is what brings the smoky flavour and, crucially, what later peels away clean. A merely toasted skin sticks and turns bitter.
  • A couple of olive-wood chunks among the coals lift the dish: olive gives a mild, sweet, very Mediterranean smoke that suits the vegetables without overpowering them. Strong woods like mesquite or hickory are overkill here — they would kill the pepper's sweetness.

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FAQ

  • How long do whole peppers and aubergine roast, and at what temperature?

    With the kamado direct at 230°C, a whole red pepper takes 25-30 minutes, turned every 6-7 to char all four sides. The aubergine, 20-25 minutes, until it deflates and the skin wrinkles. The onion in its skin is slowest: 40-45 minutes in a less direct zone. That is why you stagger the load rather than putting everything on at once.

  • How do you peel the smoked vegetables without losing the juices?

    No tap water. Put the freshly pulled vegetables into a bowl covered with film or a sealed bag and let them sweat 15 minutes: the steam loosens the skin and it slips off with your fingers. Rinsing under water washes away the smoky aromas and sugars, which is exactly what gives the dish its charm. Strain the juice left at the bottom of the bowl and use it in the dressing.

  • Direct over coals or indirect for escalivada?

    Direct, no deflector. Escalivada literally comes from roasting over the caliu, the embers, so you need strong radiant heat and contact with the fire to char the skin. Indirect never blackens the skin properly and you lose the signature smoke. Save the deflector for long cooks; here it only gets in the way. Just control the airflow so you do not climb past 230-250°C and scorch the flesh.

  • What oil and vinegar to dress it properly?

    A proper extra-virgin olive oil with character but not aggressive: here in the Comunidad Valenciana we use local arbequina or serrana oils, mild and fruity, that do not bury the vegetables' sweetness. Dress it raw, never heat the oil. Vinegar is optional and should be minimal: a few drops of mild wine or sherry vinegar. Too much acid and you lose the smoky nuance. Many of us leave it with just oil, salt and the reserved juices.

  • How do you store escalivada and what do you serve it with?

    It keeps 3-4 days in the fridge in a container, covered with its oil, and actually improves from one day to the next. Take it out 20 minutes before serving: straight from the fridge it loses aroma. Serve warm or at room temperature, never hot. It works as a side for grilled fish or meat, on good toast with anchovy or tuna belly, inside a coca, or as a starter with goat's cheese. It is one of those dishes that gets better the longer it rests.

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