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Catalan cookery
M
any people judge the food of Catalunya to be the best in Spain.
The region certainly has one of the oldest culinary traditions: its
inns were celebrated by travellers in medieval times, while the first
Spanish cookery book was published in Barcelona in 1477. Histori-
cally, Catalunya shares some of its dishes and methods with the region of
Valencia to the south and parts of France (such as Roussillon) to the north,
but nonetheless it’s possible to identify within its borders a distinct cuisine.
Fish and rice have always played a major part in Catalan cookery, but there’s
also an emphasis on mixed flavours, which you won’t find anywhere else in
Spain – some common traditional examples are rabbit cooked with snails,
chicken with shellfish, meat or poultry with fruit, and vegetables with raisins
and nuts. Meanwhile, contemporary Catalan chefs (see p.204) have rewritten
the rulebook regarding taste and texture, and their deconstructivist menus
– featuring intensely flavoured foams, reductions and concentrates – are
currently at the forefront of cutting-edge European cuisine.
We’ve stuck to traditional
recipes
below, the sort of dishes you’re likely to eat
on a day-to-day basis in Barcelona and Catalunya.You don’t need much in the
way of special
equipment
, though a
paella
(the dish is named after the wide, flat
metal pan it’s cooked in) and a
cassola
(earthenware casserole dish) are both useful.
They’re widely available these days from specialist cookery stores. Other than that,
you only need to be insistent on the best and freshest
ingredients
– the finest
tomatoes you can buy, proper salted anchovies, authentic rice and, above all, good
olive oil.All the recipes below are for four people, unless otherwise stated.
Pa amb tomàquet
The “bread with tomato” combination is a classic taste of Catalunya, eaten for
breakfast, or as a snack or appetizer. In traditional grill-restaurants and taverns,
you’ll often be brought the wherewithal to do-it-yourself before your meal
arrives – a basket of toasted bread, a handful of garlic cloves and an over-ripe
tomato or two.The basic method is given below, but, for more of a meal, pile
on shavings of ham or cheese, grilled vegetables or anchovy fillets.
Ingredients
Good continental bread
Vine-ripened tomatoes
Peeled garlic cloves
Olive oil
Salt
Method
Cut large slices from a loaf of good continental bread, preferably the dense,
heavy variety, and grill them (a ribbed cast-iron grill-pan is ideal for this). Cut
the garlic cloves in two and drag the cut sides over the toast. Cut the tomatoes
in two and squeeze and rub well over the garlic-impregnated toast. Dribble
generous amounts of olive oil over the slices and add salt to taste.
Amanida Catalana
Salad (
amanida
) is usually served as a first course in Catalunya and can be very
filling.
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Catalan cookery