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Did You Know?
No one visiting Barcelona should leave without trying la cuina Catalana, its cuisine, described by the American food critic Colman Andrews as 'the last great culinary secret in Europe'. Rooted in the fresh local ingredients of the mountains, the plains and sea, the food is delicious and suprisingly subtle in flavour.
Mediterranean Flavours
The main ingredients of traditional Catalan dishes are typically Mediterranean: tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, aubergines, courgettes, peppers and herbs, which, when blended, form samfaina, a delicious sauce served with many dishes. Other principal sauces include picada (nuts, bread, parsley, garlic and saffron), sofregit (a simple sauce of onion, tomato and garlic lightly fried in olive oil) and allioli (a strong, garlicky mayonnaise).For centuries pork (llom) has been the cornerstone of the Catalan diet. Little is wasted - even the peus de porc (pigs' trotters) are considered a delicacy. No bar would be complete without its haunch of permil (cured ham), a popular tapas dish, and you often see a variety of sausages hanging from the rafters of restaurants and delicatessens. Lamb, chicken, duck, beef and game also feature strongly, often prepared a la brasa (on an open charcoal grill) and served with lashings of allioli.
Mar i Muntanya
In Catalan cuisine, meat is commonly combined with fruit, creating such mouth-watering dishes as pollastre amb pera (chicken with pears) and conill amb prunes (rabbit with prunes). However, it is the unique 'surf'n'turf' combinations that sea and mountain (Mar i Muntanya) produce which differentiate la cuina Catalana from the cookery of other Spanish regions. Sípia amb mandonguilles (cuttlefish with meatballs) and mar i cel ('sea and heaven' - made with sausages, rabbit, shrimp and fish) are especially tasty.Near the coast, fish dishes reign supreme, ranging from simple grilled sardinas (sardines) and hearty sarsuela (seafood stew) to eye-catching shellfish displays. Try suquet de peix (fish and potato soup) or the more unusual broudegos ('dog soup') made with fresh fish, onions and orange juice, followed by speciality dishes arròs negre (rice cooked in black squid ink), fideuà (a local variant of paella, using pasta and not rice) or bacallà (salt cod), which comes a la llauna (with garlic, parsley, tomato and white wine), esqueixada (in an onion, olive and tomato salad), amb samfaina or amb romesco (a piquant sauce, made from a mixture of crushed nuts, tomatoes and spicy red pepper).
Fine Wines
A short distance south of Barcelona, the Penedès is the main Catalan wine region, producing red (negre), white (blanc) and rosé (rosat) wines. Look for the reliable Torres, Masia Bach and René Barbier labels. Catalan cava (sparkling wine) also comes from the Penedès wineries, made by the méthode champenoise. Famous names include Freixenet and Codorníu, which can be sampled in the champagne bars of Barcelona. To the north, the Alella and Empordà regions produce white wines, while Priorat produces excellent, heavy reds.| COUNTRY |
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