While Catalan cuisine has a personality and flavor all its own, it is also an integral part of the Mediterranean gastronomical tradition. There are basically three types of cuisine: that of the mountains and hinterland (mainly meat, cheese, sausages, and the produce of market gardens, forests and farmyards), that of the coast (tasty fish, often served with rice, noodles or potatoes), and that of the cities (variations on traditional and international dishes).
Wine and Cava
A glass of one of the delicious Catalan wines are an essential complement: red, white and rosé table wines and generous dessert wines (such as ranci) are sold under ten different authorized labels. Cava sparkling wines also enjoy well-deserved reputation.
Seasonal Catalan Specialties
January:
Epiphany cake- sweet, ring-shaped bread topped with candied fruits and nuts, similar to the one the Romans used to eat to celebrate Saturnalia. The cake hides a figure of a king, and whoever finds it gets to wear the crown.
February/March:
Calçots- somewhere between a leek and a spring onion. Whole, muddy calçots are grilled over open flames until charred black, and then steamed in newspaper. It’s a messy business to eat them. Strip off the outer skins, drag through the romesco sauce and tilt your head back and down while eating.
April:
Special breads, red Mallorcan sobrassada sausage, yellow walnuts- reflect the colors of the Catalan flag. Anise-flavored, dry little rosquilla cakes for dessert. This meal is traditional for the feast of Sant Jordi.
May:
Peix blau (blue fish)- sardines, mackerel and anchovies are at their best now. Catalonia hosts several mass sardine feasts.
June:
Coca de Sant Joan- sweet bread topped with candied fruit, Cava and fat-juicy delta oysters from l’Ampolla are served during the all-night fiesta of Sant Joan (23.June).
July/August:
Fresh fruits: watermelon, peaches, apricots, cherries…
September:
Vendimia- wine harvest. Visit the wine and cava show on the Port Vell.
October/November:
Bolets, chanterelles, rovellons, and truffles- all kinds of mushrooms simply sautéed in butter with a raw quail’s egg yolk broken on the top. It’s also the season of pigeon and pheasant, wild boar and venison.
December:
Escudella i carn d’olla- a meat and vegetable stew. Besides, meat-stuffed cannelloni for St Stephen’s (Boxing Day) and shellfish for New Year’s Eve.
Culinary excellence is a virtue that is common to Catalonia. Wherever you go, you will always be able to enjoy the pleasure of natural, traditional, sophisticated, creative, or even ingenious cooking. The major distinguishing feature of the cuisine is the matching of top-quality products from the land and the sea, like for instance chicken with crayfish. And each area has its own peculiarities – along the coast, you will find a myriad of specialties from the sea: seafood, fish, etc., with such notable combinations as ‘suquet’ or rice made with squid’s ink, while inland you will be impressed by the excellent meats, cold cuts and sausages featuring such delicacies as veal and mushrooms. Find out yourself and taste the Catalan cuisine!
