Recipe Detail Page

1. Preheat grill to medium or medium-low. To prepare romesco, cut tomato in half crosswise. Rub tomato halves and red pepper with 1/2 tsp (2 mL) olive oil in a medium bowl. Slice top off garlic leaving papery skin intact. Pour 1 tsp (5 mL) oil overtop. Double wrap in foil.

2. Add tomato halves, pepper and wrapped garlic to grill. Grill tomato halves and red pepper until charred, about 10 to 15 minutes. Continue grilling garlic until soft, 20 minutes. Remove all to a large bowl. Set a bowl or lid overtop to let veggies steam so that the pepper’s skin starts to separate a little from the pepper.

3. Remove skin, seeds and stem from pepper. Add pepper to a food processor along with tomato, almonds, vinegar, paprika and sea salt. Add 2 roasted garlic cloves and set remaining aside for another use (like our Grilled Garlicky Smoked Gouda Potato Gratin, recipe p. 107). Whirl remaining 3 tbsp (45 mL) oil into feed tube in food processor while motor is running. Add bread and whirl until fairly smooth. Spoon into a serving bowl. If making ahead, romesco sauce will keep well, covered and refrigerated, up to 2 days.

4. Lightly flour a surface for rolling out flatbreads. Cut dough into 10 or 12 portions. Press dough down before stretching or rolling out into individual flatbreads. Set on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Oil tops with 1 to 2 tbsp (15 to 30 mL) olive oil. Generously oil grill. Increase heat to medium. When hot, place dough over grates. Let cook until golden and grill marks form, 3 to 4 minutes. Flip and continue barbecuing until grill marks form, about 1 more minute.

5. Prepare Shaved Asparagus Salad.

6. To serve, spread romesco sauce over flatbreads then top with asparagus salad. Sprinkle with cheese, or if you’d prefer to skip the cheese, simply sprinkle with a pinch of sea salt.

1. Use a Y-shaped vegetable peeler, mandoline or supersharp knife to shave asparagus thinly. (If asparagus is thin and you’re using a peeler, set asparagus spear along edge of cutting board and allow peeler to overhang the edge while pulling long pieces from the asparagus.) Toss with 1 tsp (5 mL) oil and generous pinches of salt and pepper in unwashed bowl used for oiling tomato and red pepper (in main recipe).

2. Set out a square of tin foil about 10 inches (25 cm) square. Roll up the edges creating a rim. Add oiled asparagus. Grill over medium-low until warm, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from grill back into the bowl. Add arugula to bowl and drizzle with remaining 1 tbsp (15 mL) oil and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper. Toss to mix. If making ahead, cover and store in the fridge for up to a few hours.