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Ingredients
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Vegetables & aromatics
Seafood & oil
Bread & finishing
Method
Roast vegetables
- 1
Prepare and roast eggplant and peppers
Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C). Prick the eggplant several times with a fork. Place the whole eggplant and the whole red peppers on a rimmed baking sheet lined with foil. Roast until skins are blistered and eggplant is very soft, about 25–35 minutes (turn peppers occasionally so all sides blister). If peppers char unevenly, finish under the broiler for 1–2 minutes.
- 2
Steam and peel roasted vegetables
Remove the baking sheet from the oven and immediately transfer the peppers to a bowl; cover tightly with plastic wrap or a lid to steam for 10 minutes (this loosens skins). Let the eggplant rest until cool enough to handle, about 10 minutes. Peel the peppers, remove stems and seeds, and discard skins. Peel the eggplant, discard the core and seeds if very watery, and roughly chop the flesh.
Make espardenya mixture
- 3
Combine ingredients
In a medium bowl, add the chopped roasted eggplant and the roasted red peppers (torn or roughly chopped). Finely mince the garlic and add it to the bowl. Add the drained boquerones, roughly chopped or left whole depending on preference, and gently fold to combine so the fish distribute without fully breaking up.
- 4
Season and finish
Add 3 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil, the lemon juice, chopped parsley, sea salt, and black pepper to the vegetable-fish mixture. Stir gently and taste; adjust salt and lemon as needed. If you want a touch of warmth/smoke, stir in the smoked paprika. Let the mixture rest 10–15 minutes at room temperature to marry flavors.
Prepare baguette and serve
- 5
Toast baguette
Slice the baguette on the diagonal into 12–14 slices about 3/8–1/2 in (1 cm) thick. Lightly brush both sides with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Arrange slices on a baking sheet and toast in the oven at 400°F (200°C) for 6–8 minutes, flipping once, until golden and crisp. Alternatively, grill slices on a hot skillet 1–2 minutes per side.
- 6