Mediterranean cuisine is world famous – the mix of fresh vegetables, fish and local grown produce is a mouth-watering prospect for any visitor to Spain. Catalonia is no exception, with many of its own specialities found no-where else in Spain. Here’s the low-down on what to ask for when you visit Barcelona.
Spain is a country famous for its food, so much so in fact, that Ferran Adria’s “El Bulli” restaurant in northern Spain, in Catalonia, has been voted the best restaurant in the world for the previous 3 years. While Adria’s kitchen is highly experimental and at the cutting edge of modern food, the Catalan chef also sources and uses many home grown ingredients. Olive oil, fresh fruit and vegetables, fresh fish, pulses, cakes and of course wine and cavas are the cornerstone of the Catalan diet. Here’s an introduction to some of the best dishes.
Almost every restaurant will have an “Ensalada Catalana” on their menu, which is a green salad, topped with various “embutidos” or pork variants of cold sausages such as chorizos, lomos, fuet, and is a fantastic introduction to the Catalan palate. Another favourite is grilled peppers and aubergines marinated in olive oil and served cold, known as “Escalivada”.
“Esqueixada” follows the Catalan love of salted cod, which is again marinated in Olive oil and vinegar and accompanied by onion, red pepper and tomato. Another favourite is Bacalao “a la llauna” which is the same salted cod, this time baked in tomato, wine, parsley, garlic and paprika.
One of the few vegetable dishes boasting to come from the Catalan kitchen is the equisite “Espinacs a la Catalana” – a dish of spinach reduced in cream and flavoured with pine nuts and raisins.
Found on the table of almost every restaurant in the city of Barcelona is “pan tomaquet” and “al i oli”. Both are such simple additions to a dinner, but seem empty without. Pan Tomaquet is bread, often toasted slightly and then rubbed with tomato and sprinkled with a little salt then drizzled with olive oil. Al i oli literally translates as garlic and oil, but is a kind of garlic mayonnaise and delicious when combined with the pan tomaquet – many people choose this as a starter!
Pork plays a big role in Spanish cuisine, and the Catalans have their “butifarra” sausage which is a seasoned large sausage of fine meat, more often than not served with “mongetas” – haricot beans and al i oli. Barcelona’s fantasic Boqueria market in the city’s old town, on Las Ramblas, is a great place to pick up variations of the classic butifarra with combinations of garlic and parsley, Mallorcan “sobrasada” (a rich, smooth, pork spread seasoned with local paprika), “bolets” which are wild mushrooms from local Catalan provinces and even chocolate (I kid you not!).
Moving back over to the Barcelona coast, it’s impossible not to mention a few key dishes, such as fideua. This is similar to Paella, including seafood and often fish, cooked in a fish broth but instead of rice, a short-cut pasta is used, which toasts on top in an oven and will have you licking your fingers and cleaning the paella dish with your pan tomaquet. Another variation on Paella is “Arros negre” or black rice, made using the squid/cuttlefish ink. Two final recommendations are “Zarzuela” which is a mixed seafood stew, very rich and delicious any time of the year, and “Suquet de Peix” which is a Fish, potato and tomato soup – much lighter than the Zarzuala, but equally as delicious!
David Brydon has been living in Barcelona for 9 years and writes about
Apartment for rent Barcelona and regularly contributes to this great
Barcelona Guide.
