Archive for category Catalonia Cuisine
Catalan Cuisine – Local Specialties From 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. Read the rest of this entry »
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Why Barcelona Visitors Adore Catalan Cuisine
Catalan cuisine is regarded as being up there with the best in the world, and Barcelona is at the center of Catalan cooking. The city is well known for the diversity of its culture, but it also offers equally diverse culinary skills, exemplified by the restaurant Abac, awarded 2 Michelin stars in 2009 under Chef Xavier Pellicer, or the Roca Brothers’ one-starred Moo with Chef Felipe Llufria located in the Hotel Omm.
There are many more quoted restaurants, but also a large number of tapas and cafes that offer a fabulous range of Catalan delicacies that you shouldn’t miss by focusing too much on the grander restaurants.
Barcelona visitors who have savoured the delights of our national dishes just adore Catalan cuisine, and a large number come back to Barcelona just for the food. There is something about the way that Catalans approach cooking and eating that is almost reverent, and woe betide anybody that tries to hurry a Catalan to finish a meal.
The Catalan diet is Mediterranean in nature, olive oil being used for frying, and a lot of milk and vegetables used, such as eggplant (aubergine), tomatoes, garlic and red pepper. It also uses bread and pasta, a wide variety of fish such as cod, anchovy and sardines, beans and chickpeas, and also a variety of meats, particularly pork, poultry and veal. Read the rest of this entry »
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Romantic Ideas For Dinner in Barcelona
The Catalan Capital of Barcelona is enjoying a renewed success with new Michelin stars awarded in 2009 and spawns of Ferran Adrià’s “El Bulli” restaurant – voted the best restaurant in the world for an unprecedented third year running – mushrooming up all over the city. Combine this with the huge immigrant population in Barcelona and anyone is spoiled for choice when it comes to eating out, and most visitors to the city will take away a great taste of Catalonia or other world cuisine for a fraction of the price as countries such as Italy, for example. So what about the romantic couple, looking for that special meal?
Barcelona is flanked on one side by Montjüic mountain – the site of the 1992 Olympic games – and is the first choice for two of the best meals with a view. The first is the restaurant El Xalet, which is just next to the Olympic diving boards and comes complete with concierge parking – one of the few restaurants in the city to offer that. The restaurant is perched half way up Monjüic and offers some spectacular views of the bustling city lights of Barcelona below. The restaurant is not cheap, but for a special occasion you can choose from a fantastic quality menu, and fantastic desserts – which you need to order on arrival, as they are made especially for you.
Staying up on Montjüic, and perhaps the best surprise to spring on a loved one, is the cable car dinner. That’s right – a special dinner inside the Montjüic cable car all the way up to the old castle. The local brewery Moritz have organised a “Picnic in the sky” with a 3 course meal, and plenty of Aigua de Moritz – the alcohol free version of their brew. The cable cars can be occupied by up to 8 people, Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: catalonia cuisine, catalonia culinary