Unless you are an
accomplished speaker of the Catalan language, many of the region's
specialities may pass you by. The Catalan language is used on the
menu of most restaurants away from the tourist resorts and while
many English speaking holidaymakers are familiar with a Spanish
menu, most will struggle to make any sense of a menu written in
Catalan. Take for instance Esqueixada, now if you picked that
off the menu, would you have a clue what you were about to get?
Pigs ear, snails in vinegar, lambs tongue? Actually its a
Catalan method of combining different ingredients like seafood and
poultry or meat and fish etc but you understand the problem.
Zarzuella is a mixed seafood stew, a bit like the french
bouillabaisse. It is eaten with lots of crusty bread.
Another Catalan speciality is Calcotada, a dish made with a variety
of spring onion which grows in the region. Crema
Catalana is the Catalonian equivalent of creme brulee.
Butifara
amb seques
is fried white sausages with
white beans. Butifara amb mongets is the same dish but with blood
sausage. Fideus
-
This is a type of paella made with
noodles instead of rice.
The Catalans like to combine sweet and savoury.
These days, especially in cities like Barcelona,
a modern twist can be found in many of the restaurants. Old
favourites reappear in a variety of ways. Goat, which is
popular in Catalonia pops up on menu's in ways that would be
unrecognisable to some of the older inhabitants.
One of the great
favourites of Catalonian cuisine is the simple but delicious pa amb
tomaquet or to put it simply bread spread with tomato, a drizzle of
olive oil and a sprinkle of salt. You can find this in most
restaurants and tapas bars. The good thing about tapas bars in
Catalonia is that you can actually see what you're going to get. In
places like Barcelona and all the holiday resorts, you won't have a
problem with the menu but when you venture outside the tourist areas
things start to get tricky.
Barcelona is famous for La Boquaria, the huge
food market situated on La Rambla. Most restaurants in
Barcelona buy their products here. If you ever get a chance to
visit, take it.
The Famous Boqueria in Barcelona
Paella
Paella is the
Spanish national dish and is eaten throughout Spain. Sunday
lunchtime is the traditional time to eat paella and all the family
troop down to their local restaurant and spend most of the afternoon
eating and drinking. Paella varies from region to region.
Paella originated in Valencia and the Valencian paella is still
regarded as the authentic version. It usually consists of a
mixture of seafood and chicken with either beans or peas. If
you'd like to try paella,
I've put my recipe here.
