7 Catalan dishes you really want to try
Catalan cuisine makes our hearts beat faster; whenever I’m in Barcelona, it’s always a race against the clock to eat at as many eateries and market stalls as possible. You can eat wonderfully in Catalan style there and further inland too, and you should definitely try these 7 dishes at least once…
Because typical Catalan food is a celebration of local products found along the Mediterranean coast and further inland: lots of fresh vegetables, fantastic Arbequina olive oil, nuts, sheep’s and goat’s cheese, pork and plenty of fish. Sweet and savory are regularly mixed in these dishes, just like fish and meat (mar y muntanya). Heading that way sometime? Don’t miss these:
1. Pa amb tomàquet
Bread with tomato: as simple as it sounds, this is still one of the icons of Catalan cuisine. But the tomatoes must be Catalan, and so must the clove of garlic used to rub the bread first, as well as the olive oil drizzled over it afterward—only then is a Catalan satisfied. This was my standard breakfast at the little coffee shop around the corner when I lived in Barcelona one summer, and I recommend that you don’t let a single day go by there without eating it too.
2. Calçots
A calçot is a kind of cross between a leek and a spring onion. They are grilled and served as calçotadas, and it is traditional to eat them in winter to celebrate the changing seasons. There is an entire event dedicated to them in the city of Valls, where they originate, and in Barcelona you’ll also find stalls and vendors where you can eat grilled calçots with salvitxada (romesco sauce).
3. Esqueixada
This dish is sometimes described as Catalan ceviche and consists of salted cod with tomato and onion. Olives can also be added, as well as bell pepper or eggplant. Healthy, delicious and super-Mediterranean.
4. Crema Catalana
The difference from crème brûlée is that this Catalan dessert is made with milk instead of cream and prepared in a pan over the heat. Egg yolk and cornstarch are used to help it set, and instead of vanilla, the crema is flavored with cinnamon and lemon. Very distinctive, and very delicious!
5. Escudella
You may come across this as a stew, but also as a soup. In principle, meat and vegetables are boiled, and the resulting broth is the dish, with pasta shells and a meatball added afterward. But sometimes you also get the earlier ‘stage’: the broth with the meat and vegetables still in it. Either way, it’s savory and warming, and typically something to eat when you could use some comfort food.
6. Botifarra amb mongetes
Also called botifarra amb seques, this is a traditional and hearty dish of grilled sausage with white beans. Simple but full of flavor, and you can easily get through an entire afternoon on this (or happily roll into a siesta). Botifarra is the name for Catalan pork sausage, by the way, and there are several varieties, including botifarra negra: blood sausage.
7. Panellets
Very traditional and wonderfully festive, these small cookies are made with almond flour, egg and sugar. Initially, they were mainly made for All Saints’ Day on November 1, but in Barcelona you can find them at bakeries all year round. They are usually beautifully decorated and finished with various toppings, and you can’t go home without taking a box of them with you!
Read also:
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- 5 things not to do when you go to Italy
Source: Big Seven Travel
