Food

Overview

Catalonia produces a striking variety of it’s own food products; wild mushrooms and game from the Pyrenees, olives, cereals and grapes from the hills, vegetables, fruits and nuts from the lowlands and an excellent range of fish and shellfish from it’s more than 500km of coastline. Essentially a Mediterranean cuisine it has been influenced by the Romans, Greeks, Arabs, Sicilians and the French, and the culinary ingenuity of Catalan chefs is said to date back to medieval times. Catalan chefs continue to experiment and have a reputation for being at the forefront of modern Spanish cuisine.

Catalan cuisine uses ingredients such as olive oil, vegetables, fish, salads etc. Sauces play an important role – they’re normally made from oil, onion, garlic, tomato, pepper, flour and wine.
Sofregit or sofrito (onion, garlic, tomato and oil cooked together slowly) is the basis of most dishes with a hot sauce. A variation on sofrito is samfaina (sofrito with chopped aubergines and courgettes). This is used to garnish chicken, rabbit, pigs’ trotters or cod.
Often, the wonderful taste of a dish is due to a concoction known as picada. This is a puree made from almonds, and/or hazelnuts, garlic, parsley and toasted breadcrumbs and is added to dishes right at the end of the cooking to thicken the sauce.
Another classic sauce is romesco. This finely ground mixture of tomatoes, red peppers, onion, garlic, almonds and olive oil is typically served with grilled fish or poultry.
One of the most familiar and classic sauces is allioli. This is made from oil and garlic, and is similar to mayonnaise. It goes very well as an accompaniment to grilled meats and also hot with fish stews, such as suquets.

Fresh vegetables have an important role to play as a condiment in Catalan cooking. The most common ones are onion, garlic, tomato, pepper, aubergine, celery, cauliflower, peas and carrots.
Aromatic herbs, such as fennel, bay, parsley and thyme figure heavily. Food is also influenced by what’s in season.

Spring

Spring is the season of calçots – a type of mild onion which is roasted and eaten with romesco sauce. It’s typical to have them as a starter and then have a main course of grilled meat afterwards. Eating calçots is something of a social occasion and often families or groups of friends get together to eat them at this time of year. The area most associated with them is Valls in Tarragona. Also typical in spring (although it is eaten all year round) is the Catalan equivalent of the custard dessert, crème caramel, called crema Catalana. You will also find salt cod fritters, bunyols de bacallà at this time of year.
On Easter Monday, bakers make a very popular cake called la mona. It’s covered in chocolate decorations and it’s traditional for godparents to give them to their godchildren. Shop windows are full of them at this time of year.

Summer

In summer, salads come into their own. These are simply dressed with oil, vinegar and salt, although in Tarragona cold romesco is also used as a salad dressing. Fish, rice, mussels, grilled meat with allioli and fruit are also popular at this time of year.
The arrival of summer is celebrated with a popular fiesta on the night of Sant Joan (23rd June) when bonfires are lit in the streets, rockets are let off and firecrackers are thrown. On this occasion people eat coca - a kind of flan pastry made with candied fruits or pine nuts - and wash it down of course with cava.
In summer it’s typical to eat escalivades, or roasted vegetables. Escalivar means roasting aubergine, onion, red pepper and tomato on hot coals.
A lot of escabeche is eaten – mainly sardines. This is made by coating the sardines with oil, vinegar and aromatic herbs.
Fish suquets are also typical.
Fruit figures prominently in summer – melons, watermelons, apricots, cherries, figs, pears and strawberries are all available in abundance.
Tomatoes are also at their best and consequently pa amb tomàquet is at its most delicious. This is very typically Catalan - it’s bread rubbed with tomato and seasoned with oil and salt. It’s eaten with a range of different things (and even sometimes on its own for breakfast too) from fried fish to cured meats and sausages.

Autumn

In autumn when you fancy heavier, more warming food, Catalan cuisine often includes game, mushrooms and dried fruit and nuts. Raisins, prunes, figs, almonds and pine nuts make an appearance in lots of dishes, for example Catalan-style spinach.
The castanyada fiesta is on the 31st October – people typically eat roast chestnuts, sweet potatoes and panellets, a variety of small cakes made from ground almonds and sugar. The most popular panellets are the ones rolled in pine nuts. More and more people these days go mushroom picking in the mountains. They look for bolets (wild mushrooms) and they are consumed in great quantities around this time. They are usually fried or added to meat, fish or vegetable stews.

Winter

Naturally more hot food is eaten in winter. The main dishes are two meat stews: escudella and escudella barrejada. The basis of each is the same – stock made from different types of meat, vegetables, pulses and dried meats. The difference is in how they are served. Escudella is a soup with noodles added to it and which is eaten alongside the meat and vegetables (carn d’olla) which have been used to make the stock. Escudella barrejada is a thicker broth with vegetables, meat and noodles. The fruit eaten at this time of year includes oranges, mandarins, apples and pears.
A lot of pulses are eaten – either cooked or dressed with olive oil. They sometimes go alongside certain meats. At Christmas it’s typical to eat sopa de galets, a soup with large pasta shapes or a stew with meat balls. For the main course, there’s usually chicken, stuffed turkey, fish or shellfish. For pudding people eat turrones (nougats) and neules (rolled wafers). All washed down with cava.

A guide to Catalan dishes

STARTERS OR FIRST COURSES

Amanida Catalana Salad. Lettuce, tomato, olives, onion and sliced cured sausage.
Amanida verda Green salad. Different types of lettuce with carrot, onion and tomato.
Verduras al vapor o hervidas Steamed or boiled vegetables.
Gaspatxo Gazpacho
Esqueixada de bacallà A cold dish of salt cod dressed with onion, tomato and olives.
Crema de verduras Vegetable soup or puree, which can be served cold (as in Vichyssoise) or hot.
Escalivada Roast aubergine, onion, red pepper and tomato.
Xatonada Salad including anchovy, cod and tuna and served with a dressing of romesco sauce.
Meló amb pernil Melon and ham.
Verdures a la graella A variety of grilled vegetables.
Cargols a la llauna Snails cooked on barbecue coals.
Fideuà Noodles cooked in fish sauce.
Paella Rice with shellfish, fish or meat.
Escudella barrejada Meat stew with vegetables and noodles.
Escudella Meat and vegetable broth.
Pasta and rice dishes
A variety of soups
Espàrrecs amb maionesa Asparagus with mayonnaise.
Trinxat de la Cerdanya Cauliflower and potato fried with bacon, “bubble and squeak” style.
Olla aranesa Hearty meat stew.
Canelones Cannelloni.
Calçots Mild spring onions cooked on barbecue coals.
Musclos al vapor Steamed mussels.
Cloïsses a la marinera Clams in an onion and tomato based sauce.
Croquetas de pollo, jamón o de pescado chicken, ham and fish croquettes.
Bunyols de bacallà Salt cod and potato fritters.


MAIN COURSES

Graellada de carn A variety of grilled meats.
Graellada de peix A variety of grilled fish.
Vedella amb bolets Beef with wild mushrooms.
Peus de porc Pig’s trotters in sauce.
Sípia amb mandonguilles Cuttlefish with meatballs.
Mar i muntanya Chicken with cuttlefish or squid and Dublin Bay prawns, cooked in sauce.
Cap i pota Liver and tripe cooked in sauce.
Callos Tripe.
Conill o pollastre amb samfaina Rabbit or chicken with samfaina sauce.
Suquets de peix Fish stews, usually of monkfish or hake with squid, Dublin Bay prawns and potato.
Estofat de vedella Beef and potato casserole.
Tall rodó Roast meat with gravy.
Botifarra amb mongetes Pork sausage with haricot beans.
Bacallà a la llauna Salt cod in sauce.
A variety of shellfish.
Sardines in escabeche.
A variety of cured sausage.

SWEETS AND PUDDINGS

Fruita del temps Seasonal fruit.
Crema Catalana “Crème caramel” custard with a caramelised sugar topping.
Profiterols amb xocolata Profiteroles in a hot chocolate sauce.
Sucs Fruit juices.
Mel i mató Curd cheese with honey.
Sorbetes Sorbets.
Músic Mixed nuts with a glass of Muscatel.
Recuit Cottage cheese with sugar.
A variety of ice creams.
A variety of puddings.
A variety of flans.
Pancakes with a variety of fillings.

Where to eat

Bar restaurante
This is usually a local bar-restaurant serving a particular area of town with a daily menu that offers good value. You choose from between 2 or 3 options for a starter and a main course. The price usually includes a drink, pudding and coffee. There’s usually a board outside telling you what’s on offer that day. Lunch is served between 1pm and 4pm and dinner (if they open for dinner) between 8.30pm and 11pm.

Wine bars
Wine bars have become quite fashionable. They are not too costly, as long as you don’t choose the most expensive wines! You can try different wines by the glass, accompanied by small snacks. The wine list is usually quite extensive, but the selection of food is limited. They usually open from 1.30pm to 4pm and then in the evening from 8.30pm to 11pm. They are better as a supper option.

International cuisine
The list of international restaurants is endless. Currently the most fashionable are Italian and Japanese, especially those offering authentic cuisine. The good ones tend to be quite expensive. Lunch is served between 1.30pm and 4pm and dinner between 8.30pm and 11pm.

“Creative” or Signature cuisine
These restaurants are the latest fashion, either because their chef is the creator of a new trend (Ferrán Adrià being the classic example) or because they are followers of that trend. They are very expensive, with small “taster-style” servings, but hugely imaginative and modern. A good bet in restaurants of this type is to go for the menú degustación which will give you a sample of the recommended dishes. Opening times are from 1.30pm to 4pm and 8.30pm to 11pm.

Brasseries

The list is endless. Usually part of a chain, they will have several different restaurants. Typical dishes are barbecued meats served with llesques – large slices of country-style toast with tomato, or salads and calçots when in season. They tend to be noisy and bustling, but are moderately priced. Not for a romantic dinner, more for a supper with family or friends. Opening times are usually from 1.30pm to 4pm and 8.30pm to 11pm.

High-class restaurants
There are many excellent, select restaurants throughout Catalonia. The cuisine is based on traditional Catalan cookery of the highest quality, often combined with elements of French cuisine.

Basque “Tabernas”
These are also fashionable right now, and usually belong to a chain. The style is to eat at the bar, selecting from a wide range of snacks and canapés. Moderately priced, they usually serve food all day long.

Self-service restaurants
These are on the increase, and serve salads, rice or pasta dishes and a variety of main dishes. They are quick, not too expensive and probably better at lunchtime, rather than for supper.

Tapas
An alternative is to go for tapas in several places, getting a taste of lots of different dishes. This kind of restaurant is normally restricted to the city centre.

Other options
Mediterranean cuisine is readily available in modern, attractive city-centre restaurants. Presentation and tableware is often flamboyant and original, and there is a range of prices. Great for both lunch and supper. Opening times are from 1.30pm to 4pm and 8.30pm to 11pm.
Masias, or country houses with restaurants are found throughout Catalonia. They serve home-made food at reasonable prices and are highly recommended.


Check out the Barcelona 1-, 2-, 3-, 4- or 5-day card. It gives free public city transport and 100 discounts at museums, entertainment, leisure, attractions, night-time venues, shops, restaurants, other services and unusual means of transport. Details of what it entitles you to, where to get it and how much it costs are available on the Barcelona tourism website:
www.barcelonaturisme.com

With thanks to Mónica Ros Catalán for writing the article.
Translation by Helen Stephenson