Escalivada amb Anxoves (Catalan Smoky Roasted Vegetables)

Ingredients

• 2 large eggplants
• 4 red bell peppers
• 2 large onions, unpeeled
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• 2 tbsp sherry vinegar
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 8 salted or oil-packed anchovy fillets
• 1/4 cup black olives
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
• Salt, to taste
• Crusty bread, to serve

Before you cook

• Preheat the oven to 425°F.
• Rinse the eggplants, bell peppers and onions and pat dry.
• Mince the garlic.

Steps

1. Rub the eggplants, bell peppers and onions lightly with olive oil.
2. Arrange the vegetables on a baking sheet, keeping them whole and unpeeled.
3. Roast for 50 minutes, turning everything over once halfway through, until the skins are charred and blistered and the vegetables are fully soft.
4. Transfer the roasted vegetables to a bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap or a lid.
5. Let the vegetables steam in the covered bowl for 15 minutes to loosen the skins.
6. Peel the skins off the eggplants, peppers and onions now, before they cool completely.
7. Remove the seeds from the peppers.
8. Tear or slice the eggplant, peppers and onions into long strips.
9. Arrange the strips on a serving platter in loose, alternating rows.
10. Whisk together the 1/4 cup olive oil, sherry vinegar, minced garlic and a pinch of salt.
11. Drizzle the dressing evenly over the vegetables.
12. Lay the anchovy fillets over the top and scatter the olives around the platter.
13. Sprinkle with chopped parsley.
14. Let the dish sit for at least 20 minutes at room temperature before serving with crusty bread.