GASTRONOMY OF CATALONIA

The gastronomy of Catalonia

The gastronomy of Catalonia, besides being very prominent in the Mediterranean diet, has a great culinary tradition. It is mainly characterized by the great variety of products from both the sea and the orchard due to the orographic extension of this autonomous community, making use mainly of olive oil, garlic, onions, lard, vegetables and legumes, fish and seafood and rice dishes, which is why, in many dishes, it is common to mix products from both sea and orchard, called mar i muntanya with dishes such as pollastre amb llagostra (chicken and lobster) and pollo amb llagostra (chicken and lobster).

Catalonia is a Spanish autonomous community, located in the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is bordered to the north by France and Andorra, to the south by the Valencian Community, to the east by the Mediterranean Sea and to the west by Aragon. It is made up of the following provinces: Gerona, Lérida, Tarragona and Barcelona, the latter being its capital.

The region has a great variety of fish stews such as la zarzuela, the escudella, the suquets, the calcotada and the salvitxada. For centuries, sauces have been an elementary complement in many Catalan dishes such as alioli, sofreito, sanfaina, picada or romesco. Very typical is also the Pa amb tomaquet (bread with tomato) The latter has a great richness in the region, highlighting the butifarra sausage or fuet de Vic.

And what better to accompany all these Catalan dishes with a good wine, highlighting the areas of Penedés, Alella, Priorat and Segre as major wine producers. The best known and exported is the cava of the Penedés, with the well-known companies Freixenet and Codorníu.

In confectionery, we highlight the preparation of patisetts, the Catalan cream or panellets. In addition, Catalonia is distinguished by its gastronomy, perhaps because of the wide range of restaurants that we find in the region, of which about 50 restaurants have 1, 2 or 3 Michelin stars, highlighting El Celler de Can Roca in Gerona or Sant Pau in San Pol de Mar with 3 Michelin stars. Other gastronomic references that give prestige to Catalan cuisine have been Ferrán Adrià's El Bulli, closed in 2011, and Santi Santamaría's Can Fabes restaurant.

DESIGNATIONS OF ORIGIN OF CATALONIA

Catalonia has good quality products, therefore, many of its products have been protected by the Designation of Origin (DO) or Protected Geographical Indication (PGI), which are:

Cheese from Alt Urgell and Cerdanya: Produced and elaborated in the regions that the name of the cheese itself indicates, it is a cheese made exclusively with pasteurized cow's milk, matured, uncooked pressed paste. The paste is cream or ivory colored, tender and creamy texture, sweet and penetrating aroma, with a mild and very characteristic flavor, its rind is natural light brown.

L'Alt Urgell and Cerdanya butterMade from the pasteurized cream of Friesian cow's milk produced in the regions that the name of the butter itself indicates, in the provinces of Lleida and Girona. Its flavor is fresh cream, with a slightly acid taste.

Terra Alta OilExtra virgin olive oil obtained from the fruit of Olea Europea L., Empeltre is the main variety due to its predominance in the production area. Empeltre is the main variety due to its predominance in the production area, with a clean and transparent appearance, yellow in color with shades ranging from pale yellow to old gold yellow. They have a good flavor, with a fruity taste at the beginning of the season and slightly sweet as the season progresses.

Arroz from the Ebro DeltaThe most cultivated rice varieties are Bahía and Tebre, which have very similar characteristics.

These rices have an accredited prestige among consumers for their pearly white color, flavor and texture, thanks to the characteristics of the varieties and the geographical area where they are grown, as well as the culinary behavior of the loose grains and water absorption.

Mongeta del GanxetThey are beans of the Phaseolusvulgaris L. family of the autochthonous variety «ganxet», dried or cooked and canned. The beans covered by this PDO are of extra commercial category. Morphologically, this dried legume has the following characteristics: White, slightly shiny, flattened and strongly kidney-shaped beans.

Lleida pearThe production area includes the entire Pla d'Urgell region and some surrounding municipalities. Within the group, we distinguish between the following types of pears: Lemon; Banquilla; Conference; green skin with spots and whitish flesh. All of them have a characteristic sweetness and taste due to their higher level of sugars, greater juiciness, flavor and aroma.

Pa de pagès catalàThe IGP «Pa de Pagès Català» is a traditional bread, round, with a crunchy crust, tender crumb and large honeycomb, where at least the forming is done manually, the whole process is carried out following a traditional elaboration, with slow fermentations, always baking the dough in ovens of refractory hearth.

Llonganissa (Vic sausage)Sausage: is a traditional sausage from Catalonia made with lean pork (leg, back and prime lean meat), salt and pepper as the only seasonings, subjected to mincing, maceration, stuffing and subsequent curing. It belongs to the group of raw/cured sausages, with a more or less regular cylindrical shape and presented in sails of varying lengths.

Apple of GironaIt covers four major apple varieties: Golden, Red delicious, Gala and Granny Smith. The apples protected under this PGI are grown in accordance with integrated production standards for apples, with methods that respect human health and the environment and are harvested when the fruit reaches the appropriate stage of maturity with the greatest possible care and speed.

Nougat from AgramuntThey are nougat in the shape of a cake (disk) or rectangular tablets. It has a light golden-brown color, and an irregular, coarse texture, with porosities. Its commercial category can be “Supreme” (with a minimum of 60% of hazelnut or almond) or “Extra” (with a minimum of 46% of hazelnut or almond).

Calçot from Valls It is a tender, white and sweet spring onion that, roasted on the grill and accompanied by romesco sauce, is the base of the calçotada.
A special menu based on calçots, black pudding, grilled meats, wine and dessert can be tasted in many restaurants until March. It attracts thousands of enthusiasts every year and has become the economic base of an entire region. Its season is from February to March.

Clementines of Terres de l'EbreThese are fruits of the species Citrus reticulata from the following varieties: Clementina fina, Clementina Hernandina and Clemenula. The varieties of clementines cultivated in the territorial scope of this PGI have some differential characteristics: Very long ripening period of the fruits. Great taste quality, very accentuated and intense orange external color.

Prades potatoesThese potatoes have tubers with very smooth skin, without malformations, as a result of their cultivation in siliceous soils and sandy loam texture, which makes the tubers are clean, devoid of soil debris. On the other hand, the hardness and consistency of the skin prevents easy detachment.

MAIN TRADITIONAL DISHES OF THE GASTRONOMY OF CATALONIA

Escalivada Eggplants and roasted red peppers with a sauce based on oil and chopped garlic. A simple and tasty dish, ideal as a starter for a delicious Catalan meal..

Escudella and carn d'ollaA heartier dish, with potted meat. The original escudella includes three types of meat: pork, beef and chicken, cooked in a vegetable broth.

Cod EsqueixadaStrips of crumbled cod, with peppers and olives. It is served cold. The result is like a cod salad, very appetizing as a light dish in the hot months.

Suquet de peix with clamsSuquet de peix with clams is one of the most exquisite dishes of Catalan gastronomy. It can be made with different fish, but probably the tastiest suquet is the monkfish one. The clams give the broth its characteristic flavor.

Butifarra amb mongetesis a traditional dish of Catalan cuisine, based on butifarra sausage and white beans, which was popularized especially in the popular home cooking inns of the 19th century. The combination of sausage and beans is considered characteristic of Catalan and Occitan cuisine in general.

Fricandó: is made from thin fillets of veal meat and almost always has mushrooms (typically mushrooms or senderuelas, but can be strains, mushrooms, chanterelles or others). Along with veal stew is one of the few dishes of the classic traditional cuisine that are made from beef or veal.

Catalan creamIt consists of a pastry cream with an egg yolk base that is usually covered with a layer of caramelized sugar to provide a crunchy contrast.

Mel i killedRequesón with honey. Mató is a type of fresh cheese that has less fat than most other cheeses. Its origin is medieval and it was traditionally made with goat's or sheep's milk and the Catalans accompany this cheese with honey, creating a perfect combination.

Pa de pessicBizcochuelo: (Bizcochuelo) It is a very typical sponge cake in the region. The basic ingredients are flour (generally wheat flour), whole eggs and sugar or salt.