Characteristic products and tapas
In the Terres de l'Ebre, rice has a special place, as the delta produces almost 90% of the rice in Catalonia. It has a protected designation of origin. With fish, seafood or meat, such as duck, it makes up copious traditional recipes. Other specialties of the delta include seafood (oysters, mussels, razor clams, clams), eel, frog legs, various types of fish and wild duck. The hinterland is dominated by a local cuisine based on meat (game, lamb, pork, etc.) or snails, not to mention dried vegetables and mushrooms. The nyora pepper, round and dark red, is appreciated in the region for its light spiciness.
Catalonia, like the rest of Spain, is an expert in cured meats. The term embotit describes different types of sausages and salami whose fillings can vary greatly, such as botifarra, a variety of sausage that can be " blanca " (meat-based) or " negra " (blood-based). Baldana is a black pudding with rice, typical of the Ebro Delta. Fuet and llonganissa are two types of very thin and long sausages, while paltruc is very thick. The paltruc negre is a type of sausage with a little pig's blood, like a black pudding. Jamón ibérico, although widely consumed in Catalonia and the rest of the country, is not unique to this region but is produced in Andalusia, Extremadura and Portugal. However, the local varieties are known as pernil ibèric
.Tapas are an integral part of Catalan cuisine. For starters, why not try a simple pa amb tomaquet, made of bread rubbed with garlic and tomato, generously drizzled with olive oil, as basic as it is delicious. A little more sophisticated, theescalivada consists of a mixture of vegetables grilled for a long time in the oven, often served on bread and decorated with anchovies. Cargols a la llauna are also popular, usually accompanied by aioli. These snails cooked on the barbecue with a mixture of lard, herbs and spices are very common. Another tapa prepared over the coals, calçots are very sweet green onions grilled and served with a salsa romesco, a creamy sauce made of tomato, chili peppers, almond and olive oil. These long, leek-like onions are emblematic of the town of Valls, near Tarragona, and are eaten during the calçotada
, especially between January and April. The hearty amanida catalana is a salad of lettuce and tomato richly garnished with cold cuts and olives. The lighter esqueixada salad is a very fresh preparation of peppers, tomatoes and cod, cooked and shredded, which is very popular on hot summer days. Xató is the name of a salad and sauce made with almonds and toasted bread crumbs, vinegar, garlic, oil, peppers and chili pepper, served with lettuce, cod, canned tuna and anchovies. Another snack, coca de recapte, is a type of savory pie filled mainly with cooked vegetables and fish such as sardines or anchovies. Since the term " recapte " refers to anything you can find in your cupboards, the coca is very versatile, and it is also a popular dish par excellence.The classics of Catalan cuisine
In addition to appetizers and tapas, there are many other more hearty specialties, including many fish dishes. Sarsuela is a festive dish made from seafood cooked with saffron in a sofregit sauce (tomato and onion compote with olive oil). It is a dish generally consumed by the middle classes, unlike the simpler suquet de peix, which mixes fish and potatoes in a tomato sauce, sometimes served with aioli. A similar cod dish is called bacallà amb samfaina. The romescada is a stew of fish and seafood, bound with salsa romesco
.While many Spanish rice dishes - such as paella - originate in the Valencia region, there are many specialties in Catalonia such as arroz a la cazuela, a rice in sauce usually garnished with rabbit and pork meat, but prepared more with seafood in the coastal regions. The more famous arròs negre is colored with squid ink and garnished with slices of squid and shrimp. In the region you will also findarrossejat and rossejat de fideus - respectively prepared with rice or vermicelli - garnished with seafood, onion, tomato, garlic and chili pepper
.There are also many meat dishes, some of which are robust winter recipes, such as escudella i carn d'olla, which is a stew filled with winter vegetables (cabbage, potatoes, leeks, carrots, chickpeas) and large meatballs. Other meats such as lamb, chicken, ham bone and sausage are also used. The broth of theescudella is served with " galets de Nadal", a shell-shaped pasta that is very similar to the Italian pipe rigate
. This dish is traditionally served on Christmas Day, December 25. The simplerescudella de pagés is a soup made of slices of botifarra negra, bacon and ham, as well as potatoes, leeks, chickpeas and white beans. The rustic botifarra amb mongetes contains botifarra blanca and white beans, while the faves ofegades is a stew of beans and sausage. The patatas de Olot are slices of potato filled with pork stuffing and then fried. More surprisingly, conill amb xocolata is a stew of rabbit in chocolate sauce. The conill amb cargols, a dish made with rabbit and snails in sauce, is a peasant specialty par excellence. It is a mixture that may seem strange, even though these two ingredients are commonly found in Spanish cuisine, such as in paella.Desserts and hot drinks
To continue on a sweet note, it is impossible not to mention the Catalan cream, delicately flavored with lemon and cinnamon. It is usually served as a crème brûlée covered with a thin layer of crunchy caramel, but it can also be used as a topping for pastries such as xuixo, a fried croissant generously sprinkled with sugar. More simple, mel i mató is a fresh sheep's cheese with honey and nuts. For a sweet snack, nothing beats panellets. These small bites made of almond paste and pine nuts are traditionally served with a glass of sweet wine on All Saints' Day. The catànies are sweets made of almonds coated with caramel, then white chocolate or a mixture of almonds, hazelnuts and milk and finally sprinkled with cocoa.
The punyetes of Roquetes are small sanded rings with olive oil and almond, flavored with anise, lemon and mistela, a grape liqueur. The coca de Llavaneres is a shortbread pie filled with custard and decorated with whole almonds. The pastissets are small turnovers filled with cabell d'àngel, a pumpkin jam. Finally, the xocolata desfeta is halfway between drink and dessert. This hot chocolate is so thick that you could stick a spoon in it, even though it is normally used to eat churros (" xurros " in Catalan), which are eaten mainly for breakfast. Catalans are obviously big coffee drinkers, which they enjoy with a dash of milk(cafe con leche).
Wines and beers
Thanks to its mild climate and rich soil, Catalonia has long been a land of vineyards, a dozen of which have a Denominación de Origen (DO), the Spanish equivalent of our AOC. More than 300 wineries are scattered throughout the territory, most of them small family-run operations, which often sell their wine directly and open their cellars to visitors. Wine tourism enthusiasts can also travel through the region following the itineraries offered by the tourist offices, with Priorat, Conca de Barberà and Terra Alta being the most suitable areas.
Thanks to its sunny south-facing valleys with little rainfall, Priorat is an exceptional wine. This variety is available in red wines with a dark color, dense taste and intense aroma, and in white wines, both dry and sweet. This grand cru has a D.O.C.(Denominación de Origen Calificada) or D.O.Q.(Denominació d'Origen Qualificada) in Catalan. It is the only Spanish wine with the Rioja appellation to enjoy this additional distinction. Tarragona's vast wine-growing area produces robust reds, light whites, good aromatic rosés, cavas, as well as sweet wines, such as Muscat of Alexandria. Its official designation is D.O. Tarragona. It is west of the provincial capital, between the Montsant mountain range and the Mediterranean Sea, where the vines that give rise to D.O. Montsant wine grow. About three quarters of the production is red wine.
The Terra Alta, near the Ebro River, bordering Aragon, produces full-bodied red wines and whites with high alcohol content, very low acidity and very fruity. North of Tarragona, the region produces light, highly aromatic, moderately acidic wines, such as Conca de Barberà, offering new reds, low alcohol whites and light rosés, as well as cavas. This region is increasingly competing with the Penedès.
The Penedès is a vineyard located between the coastal plain of the Costa Daurada and the Montserrat massif, further north. If about 10% of the production is red wine, almost the entire majority of the vines give a very good white wine, the rest being used to produce cava. Consumed in Catalonia as champagne is consumed in France, cava is a typically Catalan sparkling wine. The varieties of grapes used to make it are mainly Macabeu and Parellada, while the process of elaboration is the same as that of champagne.
The Catalans are also important consumers of beer and we can mention the Estrella Damm, a blonde, the Voll-Damm, a dark beer of the Märzen type, the Xibeca, very light and the Estrella Levante, all produced by the brewery S.A. Damm, founded in Barcelona in 1876. In September, the town of Tortosa hosts a new edition of the Ebre beer, the Craft Beer Fair of Terres de l'Ebre.
