Catalan cuisine
Encyclopedia
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
. It may also refer to the shared cuisine of Roussillon
Roussillon
Roussillon is one of the historical counties of the former Principality of Catalonia, corresponding roughly to the present-day southern French département of Pyrénées-Orientales...
and Andorra
Andorra
Andorra , officially the Principality of Andorra , also called the Principality of the Valleys of Andorra, , is a small landlocked country in southwestern Europe, located in the eastern Pyrenees mountains and bordered by Spain and France. It is the sixth smallest nation in Europe having an area of...
, which has a similar cuisine to the Alt Urgell
Alt Urgell
Alt Urgell is a comarca in Catalonia, Spain, a modern representation of part of the historic County of Urgell , seat of the Counts of Urgell and the historic region of Urgellet.- Municipalities :...
and Cerdanya
Cerdanya
Cerdanya is a natural comarca and historical region of the eastern Pyrenees divided between France and Spain. Historically it has been one of the counties of Catalonia....
comarques
Comarca
A comarca is a traditional region or local administrative division found in parts of Spain, Portugal, Panama, Nicaragua, and Brazil. The term is derived from the term marca, meaning a "march, mark", plus the prefix co- meaning "together, jointly".The comarca is known in Aragonese as redolada and...
, often referred to as "Catalan mountain cuisine". It is considered a part of Western Mediterranean cuisine.
Alternative views
Some contemporary Catalan authors, such as Josep PlaJosep Pla
Josep Pla i Casadevall was a Catalan Spanish journalist and a popular author. As a journalist he worked in France, Italy, England, Germany and Russia, from where he wrote political and cultural chronicles in Catalan.His figure is somewhat controversial for present day Catalans...
, Jaume Fàbrega
Jaume Fàbrega
Jaume Fàbrega is a Catalan gastronomy writer, journalist, historian and professor at some universities. He has written more than fifty gastronomy and cooking books, he has won five times the Gourmand World Cookbook Award and he has made Ferran Adrià known over the world as a Catalan chef...
or Eliana Thibaut i Comalada, and others like Colman Andrews
Colman Andrews
Colman Robert Hardy Daniel Andrews is an American writer and editor and authority on food and wine. In culinary circles, he is best known for his association with Saveur magazine, which he founded with Dorothy Kalins, Michael Grossman, and Christopher Hirsheimer in 1994 and where he served as...
, have suggested that, besides Catalonia proper, this cuisine takes in the Balearic and Valencian cuisines, but this opinion is challenged as politicised, and is not widespread, nor is supported by either the Catalan
Generalitat de Catalunya
The Generalitat of Catalonia is the institution under which the autonomous community of Catalonia is politically organised. It consists of the Parliament, the President of the Generalitat of Catalonia and the Government of Catalonia....
, Balearic or Valencian government
Generalitat Valenciana
The Generalitat Valenciana is the generic name covering the different self government institutions under which the Spanish autonomous community of Valencia is politically organised....
. In any case, mutual ties do exist between Catalan gastronomy and other Western Mediterranean gastronomies, such as Balearic cuisine
Balearic cuisine
Balearic cuisine is a Mediterranean cuisine as cooked in the Balearic Islands, Spain. It can be regarded as part of a wider Catalan cuisine, since it shares many dishes and ingredients with Catalonia and the Valencian Community. Others view it as part of a more global Spanish cuisine. Traditional...
, Valencian cuisine
Valencian cuisine
thumb|250px|[[Coca |Coques de Mullador]], or ratatouille cocas.Valencian cuisine is a Mediterranean cuisine as cooked in the Valencian Community, Spain. Its basic ingredients are vegetables, seafood and meat. It is famous worldwide for its rices, such as paella, and its citrus fruits...
, Southern French cuisine, Aragonese cuisine
Aragonese cuisine
Aragonese cuisine refers to the typical dishes and ingredients of cuisine in the Aragon region of Spain. These include roast lamb ; ham from Teruel; olive oil from Empeltre and Arbequina; a local taste for unusual vegetables as borages and sweet varieties of onion as well as wines from Cariñena,...
or Murcian cuisine.
Basic ingredients
Ingredient
An ingredient is a substance that forms part of a mixture . For example, in cooking, recipes specify which ingredients are used to prepare a specific dish. Many commercial products contain a secret ingredient that is purported to make them better than competing products...
s found along the Mediterranean coast, including fresh vegetable
Vegetable
The noun vegetable usually means an edible plant or part of a plant other than a sweet fruit or seed. This typically means the leaf, stem, or root of a plant....
s (especially tomato
Tomato
The word "tomato" may refer to the plant or the edible, typically red, fruit which it bears. Originating in South America, the tomato was spread around the world following the Spanish colonization of the Americas, and its many varieties are now widely grown, often in greenhouses in cooler...
, garlic
Garlic
Allium sativum, commonly known as garlic, is a species in the onion genus, Allium. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, and rakkyo. Dating back over 6,000 years, garlic is native to central Asia, and has long been a staple in the Mediterranean region, as well as a frequent...
, eggplant (aubergine), capsicum
Capsicum
Capsicum is a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family, Solanaceae. Its species are native to the Americas where they have been cultivated for thousands of years, but they are now also cultivated worldwide, used as spices, vegetables, and medicines - and have become are a key element in...
, and artichoke
Artichoke
-Plants:* Globe artichoke, a partially edible perennial thistle originating in southern Europe around the Mediterranean* Jerusalem artichoke, a species of sunflower with an edible tuber...
), wheat products (bread
Bread
Bread is a staple food prepared by cooking a dough of flour and water and often additional ingredients. Doughs are usually baked, but in some cuisines breads are steamed , fried , or baked on an unoiled frying pan . It may be leavened or unleavened...
, pasta
Pasta
Pasta is a staple food of traditional Italian cuisine, now of worldwide renown. It takes the form of unleavened dough, made in Italy, mostly of durum wheat , water and sometimes eggs. Pasta comes in a variety of different shapes that serve for both decoration and to act as a carrier for the...
), Arbequina
Arbequina
Arbequina is a cultivar of olives. The fruit is highly aromatic, small, symmetrical and dark brown, with a rounded apex and a broad peduncular cavity. In Europe, it is mostly grown in Catalonia, Spain, where it occupies 55,000 hectares, but it is also grown in in Aragon and Andalusia, as well as...
olive oil
Olive oil
Olive oil is an oil obtained from the olive , a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin. It is commonly used in cooking, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and soaps and as a fuel for traditional oil lamps...
s, wine
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
s, legumes (bean
Bean
Bean is a common name for large plant seeds of several genera of the family Fabaceae used for human food or animal feed....
s, chickpea
Chickpea
The chickpea is a legume of the family Fabaceae, subfamily Faboideae...
s), mushroom
Mushroom
A mushroom is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or on its food source. The standard for the name "mushroom" is the cultivated white button mushroom, Agaricus bisporus; hence the word "mushroom" is most often applied to those fungi that...
s, all sorts of pork
Pork
Pork is the culinary name for meat from the domestic pig , which is eaten in many countries. It is one of the most commonly consumed meats worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BC....
preparations (sausage
Sausage
A sausage is a food usually made from ground meat , mixed with salt, herbs, and other spices, although vegetarian sausages are available. The word sausage is derived from Old French saussiche, from the Latin word salsus, meaning salted.Typically, a sausage is formed in a casing traditionally made...
from Vic
Vic
Vic is the capital of the comarca of Osona, in the Barcelona Province, Catalonia, Spain. Vic's location, only 69 km far from Barcelona and 60 km from Girona, has made it one of the most important towns in central Catalonia.-History:...
, ham), all sorts of cheese
Cheese
Cheese is a generic term for a diverse group of milk-based food products. Cheese is produced throughout the world in wide-ranging flavors, textures, and forms....
, poultry
Poultry
Poultry are domesticated birds kept by humans for the purpose of producing eggs, meat, and/or feathers. These most typically are members of the superorder Galloanserae , especially the order Galliformes and the family Anatidae , commonly known as "waterfowl"...
, lamb, and many types of fish like sardine
Sardine
Sardines, or pilchards, are several types of small, oily fish related to herrings, family Clupeidae. Sardines are named after the Mediterranean island of Sardinia, around which they were once abundant....
, anchovy
Anchovy
Anchovies are a family of small, common salt-water forage fish. There are 144 species in 17 genera, found in the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans. Anchovies are usually classified as an oily fish.-Description:...
, tuna
Tuna
Tuna is a salt water fish from the family Scombridae, mostly in the genus Thunnus. Tuna are fast swimmers, and some species are capable of speeds of . Unlike most fish, which have white flesh, the muscle tissue of tuna ranges from pink to dark red. The red coloration derives from myoglobin, an...
, and cod
Cod
Cod is the common name for genus Gadus, belonging to the family Gadidae, and is also used in the common name for various other fishes. Cod is a popular food with a mild flavor, low fat content and a dense, flaky white flesh. Cod livers are processed to make cod liver oil, an important source of...
.
The traditional Catalan cuisine is quite diverse, ranging from pork-intensive dishes cooked in the inland part of the region (Catalonia is one of the main producers of swine products
Intensive pig farming
Intensive piggeries are a type of factory farm ' specialized in the raising of domestic pigs up to slaughter weight...
in Spain) to fish-based recipes along the coast.
The cuisine includes many preparations that mix sweet and savoury and stews with sauces based upon botifarra
Botifarra
Botifarra is a type of sausage and one of the most important dishes of the Catalan cuisine.It comes in different versions, some of the most representative are:...
(pork sausage
Sausage
A sausage is a food usually made from ground meat , mixed with salt, herbs, and other spices, although vegetarian sausages are available. The word sausage is derived from Old French saussiche, from the Latin word salsus, meaning salted.Typically, a sausage is formed in a casing traditionally made...
) and the characteristic picada
Picada
The picada is one of the characteristic sauces and culinary techniques essential to Catalan cuisine. It is not an autonomous sauce like mayonnaise or romesco, but it is added as a seasoning during the cooking of a recipe....
(ground almond
Almond
The almond , is a species of tree native to the Middle East and South Asia. Almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of this tree...
s, hazelnut
Hazelnut
A hazelnut is the nut of the hazel and is also known as a cob nut or filbert nut according to species. A cob is roughly spherical to oval, about 15–25 mm long and 10–15 mm in diameter, with an outer fibrous husk surrounding a smooth shell. A filbert is more elongated, being about twice...
s, pine nut
Pine nut
Pine nuts are the edible seeds of pines . About 20 species of pine produce seeds large enough to be worth harvesting; in other pines the seeds are also edible, but are too small to be of great value as a human food....
s, etc. sometimes with garlic
Garlic
Allium sativum, commonly known as garlic, is a species in the onion genus, Allium. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, and rakkyo. Dating back over 6,000 years, garlic is native to central Asia, and has long been a staple in the Mediterranean region, as well as a frequent...
, herb
Herb
Except in botanical usage, an herb is "any plant with leaves, seeds, or flowers used for flavoring, food, medicine, or perfume" or "a part of such a plant as used in cooking"...
s, biscuit
Biscuit
A biscuit is a baked, edible, and commonly flour-based product. The term is used to apply to two distinctly different products in North America and the Commonwealth Nations....
s).
Savoury dishes
- Catalan-style cod (with raisins and pine nuts)
- EscalivadaEscalivadaEscalivada is a typical preparation of Catalan cuisine that consists of several types of grilled vegetables, such as eggplants , sweet red peppers , red tomatoes , and sweet onions...
(various grilled vegetables) - EscudellaEscudellaEscudella is a Catalan stew.It is characterized by the use of sausages called botifarra or pieces of meat spiced with peppers.Additionally, beans, potatoes, and cabbage, as as other types of meat, can be used....
(a stew, it may served as soup with pasta and minced meats and vegetables, or as the soup first and then the rest) - OlladaOlladaOllada is a traditional dish around the world. Is based in boiling vegetables and meat in a casserole-Ingredients:The ingredients can vary, but are based in vegetables , legumes and embotit or butchery....
(meat and vegetable stew) - EsqueixadaEsqueixadaEsqueixada is a typical salad of Catalan cuisine that consists of desalted and torn dried and salted cod mixed with vegetables, such as tomatoes, onions, and sometimes pepper. The tomatoes may be chopped finely or grated. It is dressed with olive oil. Olives are usually added, as well as other...
(salted codBacalhauBacalhau is the Portuguese word for codfish and—in a culinary context—dried and salted codfish. Fresh cod is referred to as bacalhau fresco .-Use:...
salad with tomato and onion) - Mongetes amb botifarraBotifarraBotifarra is a type of sausage and one of the most important dishes of the Catalan cuisine.It comes in different versions, some of the most representative are:...
(beans and pork sausage) - Pa amb tomàquetPa amb tomaquetPa amb tomàquet or pa amb oli is a simple and typical recipe in Catalonia, Majorca, the Land of Valencia and in some other places that were at some point under the domain of the Crown of Aragon, such as Italy and Malta.Pa amb tomàquet or pa amb oli consists of bread — optionally toasted — with...
(bread smeared with an olive oil, garlic and tomato sauce) - Tonyina en escabetx (tunaTunaTuna is a salt water fish from the family Scombridae, mostly in the genus Thunnus. Tuna are fast swimmers, and some species are capable of speeds of . Unlike most fish, which have white flesh, the muscle tissue of tuna ranges from pink to dark red. The red coloration derives from myoglobin, an...
escabecheEscabecheEscabeche is a typical Mediterranean cuisine which refers to both a dish of poached or fried fish that is marinated in an acidic mixture before serving, and to the marinade itself...
) - Suquet de peix (a seafood casserole)
- Savoury CocaCoca (pastry)The coca is a pastry typically made and consumed in Catalonia, eastern parts of Aragon, most of Valencia, the Balearic Islands, Andorra and in French Catalonia....
- Mar i Muntanya ("Sea and Mountain") dishes, which combine meat and seafood
- EmbotitsEmbutidoAn embutido , enchido or embotits is a generic term for sausages found in Spain, Portugal, the Philippines, and Central and South America....
, a generic name for different kinds of cured porkPorkPork is the culinary name for meat from the domestic pig , which is eaten in many countries. It is one of the most commonly consumed meats worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BC....
meat, including FuetFuetFuet is a Catalan thin, cured, dry sausage of pork meat in a pork gut. The most famous is made in the comarca of Osona and is also known as Vic fuet . Other places that have long tradition of making it are the city of Olot and the surrounding zones....
(a characteristic type of dried sausage) and Salchichón or LlonganissaSalamiSalami is cured sausage, fermented and air-dried meat, originating from one of a variety of animals. Historically, salami has been popular among Southern European peasants because it can be stored at room temperature for periods of up to 10 years, supplementing a possibly meager or inconsistent...
(salami). - CalçotCalçotCalçot is a variety of green onion known as Blanca gran tardana in the Catalan language from Lleida, Catalonia. The Calçot from Valls is a registered EU Protected Geographical Indication....
(specially cultivated onionOnionThe onion , also known as the bulb onion, common onion and garden onion, is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Allium. The genus Allium also contains a number of other species variously referred to as onions and cultivated for food, such as the Japanese bunching onion The onion...
, grilled and served as a "Calçotada") - Cargols a la llauna (cooked snailSnailSnail is a common name applied to most of the members of the molluscan class Gastropoda that have coiled shells in the adult stage. When the word is used in its most general sense, it includes sea snails, land snails and freshwater snails. The word snail without any qualifier is however more often...
s) - Sonsos
Sauces and condiments
- AllioliAioliAioli ) is a traditional sauce made of garlic, olive oil, and egg. There are many variations, such as the addition of mustard or, in Catalonia, pears. It is usually served at room temperature. The name aioli comes from Provençal alh 'garlic' is a traditional sauce made of garlic, olive oil,...
, a thick sauce made of garlic and olive oil, used with grilled meats or vegetables, and some dishes. Allioli means garlic (all) and (i) oil (oli) in Catalan. - Samfaina, also called tomacat or pebrots amb tomàquet. It's a variety of OccitanOccitaniaOccitania , also sometimes lo País d'Òc, "the Oc Country"), is the region in southern Europe where Occitan was historically the main language spoken, and where it is sometimes still used, for the most part as a second language...
ratatouilleRatatouilleRatatouille is a traditional French Provençal stewed vegetable dish, originating in Nice. The full name of the dish is ratatouille niçoise.- Origin :...
or SpanishSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
PistoPistoPisto is the name of a Spanish dish typical from the Region of Murcia. It is made of tomatoes, onions, eggplant or courgettes, green and red peppers and olive oil. It is similar to ratatouille and is usually served warm to accompany a dish or with a fried egg and bread...
. - SalvitxadaRomescoRomesco is a sauce originating in Tarragona that is typically made from almonds, pine nuts, and/or hazelnuts, roasted garlic, olive oil and nyora peppers, a smaller, sweet, dried variety of red bell pepper. Other common ingredients include roasted tomatoes, red wine vinegar and onion...
(made from almonds, hazelnuts, garlic, bread, vinegar, tomatoes, olive oil and dried red peppers) from VallsVallsValls is the capital of the comarca of Alt Camp, in Catalonia, Spain. The typical food is calçots and also typical are the human towers called castells...
. - XatóXatóXató is a typical Catalan dish. Xató is a sauce made with almonds, hazelnuts, breadcrumbs, vinegar, garlic, olive oil, salt, and the nyora pepper...
, a variety of SalvitxadaRomescoRomesco is a sauce originating in Tarragona that is typically made from almonds, pine nuts, and/or hazelnuts, roasted garlic, olive oil and nyora peppers, a smaller, sweet, dried variety of red bell pepper. Other common ingredients include roasted tomatoes, red wine vinegar and onion...
without tomatoes.
Sweets and desserts
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- Crema catalana, the famous yellow cream made with yolks, milkMilkMilk is a white liquid produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals before they are able to digest other types of food. Early-lactation milk contains colostrum, which carries the mother's antibodies to the baby and can reduce the risk of many...
and sugarSugarSugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
; which denseness is between a crème pâtissière or natillasNatillasNatillas is a term used to refer different delicacies in the Spanish-speaking world. In Spain, this term refers to a custard dish made with milk and eggs...
and a flanFlanCrème caramel , flan , or caramel custard is a custard dessert with a layer of soft caramel on top, as opposed to crème brûlée, which is custard with a hard caramel top...
; used to stuff a great amount of pastries, or to make simple desserts with, for example, fruit, and that we also eat in a small flat pottery plate, after covering the cream with white crystal sugar and burning it, in order to create a layer of solid sugar that we have to break with a little spoon before reaching the cream. - Mató de PedralbesMató de PedralbesMató de Pedralbes or mató de monja, is a typical dessert from Barcelona made with flavoured and sweetened milk. It is often eaten with whipped cream or honey. The dish is believed to have been created in the nineteenth century, in Barcelona's prestigious Pedralbes neighbourhood...
or mató de monja is another kind of Catalan cream, similar to crema catalana, originated in BarcelonaBarcelonaBarcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
. - MenjablancManjar BlancoManjar blanco is a term used to refer to a variety of delicacies in the Spanish-speaking world. In Spain the term refers to blancmange, a European delicacy found in various parts of the continent as well as the United Kingdom. In the Americas it refers to a sweet, white spread or pastry filling...
or menjar blanc is typical of TarragonaTarragonaTarragona is a city located in the south of Catalonia on the north-east of Spain, by the Mediterranean. It is the capital of the Spanish province of the same name and the capital of the Catalan comarca Tarragonès. In the medieval and modern times it was the capital of the Vegueria of Tarragona...
but eaten all over Catalonia, is a kind of white cream made with almondAlmondThe almond , is a species of tree native to the Middle East and South Asia. Almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of this tree...
s, of which we obtain first a sort of milk, and after we make with this a cream which will be eaten with a small spoon. - Peres de Lleida is a typical dessert originated in LleidaLleidaLleida is a city in the west of Catalonia, Spain. It is the capital city of the province of Lleida, as well as the largest city in the province and it had 137,387 inhabitants , including the contiguous municipalities of Raimat and Sucs. The metro area has about 250,000 inhabitants...
composed by peeled pears cooked in a kind of lighter crema catalana and served cold, covered by meringue and decorated with cherries. - Xuixos are fried pastries created in GironaGironaGirona is a city in the northeast of Catalonia, Spain at the confluence of the rivers Ter, Onyar, Galligants and Güell, with an official population of 96,236 in January 2009. It is the capital of the province of the same name and of the comarca of the Gironès...
and stuffed with crema catalana. - Mel i matóMató cheeseMató is a Catalan fresh cheese made from cows' or goats' milk, with no salt added. It is usually served with honey, as a dessert.It is quite similar to non-industrial variants of Italian ricotta, brull , brossat , brocciu , curd cheese, or Caleb Yoon.The mató from Montserrat mountain is...
, a dessert of mató cheeseMató cheeseMató is a Catalan fresh cheese made from cows' or goats' milk, with no salt added. It is usually served with honey, as a dessert.It is quite similar to non-industrial variants of Italian ricotta, brull , brossat , brocciu , curd cheese, or Caleb Yoon.The mató from Montserrat mountain is...
with honeyHoneyHoney is a sweet food made by bees using nectar from flowers. The variety produced by honey bees is the one most commonly referred to and is the type of honey collected by beekeepers and consumed by humans... - PastissetPastissetPastissets , also called casquetes, pastissets or flaons are small stuffed fried cakes in the Catalan Countries. They can be filled with cabell d'àngel jam, sweet potato jam, or almonds, even with mató cheese and codonyat. They are typical of Terres de l'Ebre and in Valencian Community...
s, or casquetes, de cabell d'àngel are sweet half-circle shaped pastries stuffed with cabell d'àngelCabell d'àngelCabell d'àngel is a transparent threaded jam made from Siam pumpkin pulp and white sugar. It originated in Mallorca but its use has spread to the rest of Spain and some countries in the Americas.-Uses:...
(a sort of marrow jam) and covered with white crystal sugar which are eaten at coffee time - Carquinyolis are little almond crunchy biscuits often eaten at coffee time.
- CatàniesCatàniesCatànies is a chocolate sweet typical of Vilafranca del Penedès and some other near towns that is made with marcona -a prestigious Catalan type- almonds, toasted and covered first by caramel and afterwards by a thick lay of white chocolate or a mixture of almond, hazelnut and milk...
are Catalan marcona almonds covered by white chocolate and powdered black chocolate to eat with the coffee. - Pets de monja are small nipple-shaped and sized biscuits also eaten at coffee time. At first they were called pits de monja (nuns' nipples) but time has changed their name to current pets de monja (nuns' farts).
- Sweet coquesCoca (pastry)The coca is a pastry typically made and consumed in Catalonia, eastern parts of Aragon, most of Valencia, the Balearic Islands, Andorra and in French Catalonia....
were at first eaten only in holydays. Catalans have at least on type of traditional coca for each holyday and feast day of the year. - Orelletes are thin fried pastries covered with sugar and eaten in carnivalCarnivalCarnaval is a festive season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February. Carnaval typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, mask and public street party...
. They also exist in nearby regions in Spain or France. - Sweet bunyolsBuñuelosA Buñuelo alternatively called bimuelo, birmuelo, bermuelo, burmuelo, bonuelo; ) is a fried dough ball. It is a popular snack in Argentina, Colombia, Cuba, Mexico, Spain, Peru, the Philippines, Turkey, Greece, Morocco, and is a tradition at Christmas, Ramadan and among Sephardic Jews at...
as bunyols de vent, bunyols stuffed with crema catalana or bunyols de l'Empordà are typically done and eaten on Wednesdays and Fridays during lent. - Mona de Pasqua is a pastry richly couvered with almonds, yolk jam, chocolate eggs (or currently big chocolate sculptures) and coloured decoration that the godfather and godmother give as a present, every year, to their godchildren in Easter (Pasqua). It is a very old tradition that existed before Christianity and which marked the passage from childhood to the adult's world. At first, it has one egg for each year of the children's age and that stopped at twelve, as at thirteen they were no longer considered children.
- Panellets are small pastries made of pine nuts, almonds and sugar with different shapes and flavors, eaten during la CastanyadaCastanyadaThe Castanyada is a popular Catalan festival, celebrated on All Saints' Day. In Occitania, the Castanhada is celebrated too as autumn's festival, but no on All Saints' Day. Like Halloween, its origins are in an ancient ritual festival of the dead. It consists of a meal of chestnuts, panellets,...
, that Catalans celebrate on 1 November instead of HalloweenHalloweenHallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
. Their origin is Jewish, before the Middle Ages, but the tradition of castanyada is very much older. - Tortell, also called torta or roscó in northern and southern dialects. It is round, it can be made of puff pastry or a mixture similar as lionesas and palos, stuffed with trufa (a mixture of cacao, chocolate and cream) or with crema catalana. It is typically bought and eaten after Sunday's lunch, in family or with friends. It is also typical, as an alternative, the braç de gitano, that in Catalonia is always covered with yolk jam.
- A specific tortell is in fact a special cocaCoca (pastry)The coca is a pastry typically made and consumed in Catalonia, eastern parts of Aragon, most of Valencia, the Balearic Islands, Andorra and in French Catalonia....
that Catalan only eat the day of the Three Kings (6 January) which is called "tortell de reisTortellright|thumb|A Tortell de Reis This size, approx. 50 [[Metre#SI_multiples|cm]] diameter, usually serves 8 people.Tortell is a Catalan typically O-shaped pastry stuffed with marzipan, that on some special occasions is topped with glazed fruit. It is traditionally eaten on January 6 , at the...
", or galeta de reis in French Catalonia, a typical ring-shaped pastry stuffed with marzipanMarzipanMarzipan is a confection consisting primarily of sugar and almond meal. Persipan is a similar, yet less expensive product, in which the almonds are replaced by apricot or peach kernels...
or Catalan cream (crema catalana) and topped with glazed fruit and nuts. - Torró, a Christmas sweet made with almonds with DAODAODAO may refer to:* D-amino acid oxidase, a peroxisomal enzyme.* Data access object, a design pattern used in object-oriented software engineering* De-asphalted oil, a crude oil refinery process stream...
of AgramuntAgramuntAgramunt is a municipality in the comarca of the Urgell in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated in the north of the comarca, near the border with the Noguera....
(LleidaLleidaLleida is a city in the west of Catalonia, Spain. It is the capital city of the province of Lleida, as well as the largest city in the province and it had 137,387 inhabitants , including the contiguous municipalities of Raimat and Sucs. The metro area has about 250,000 inhabitants...
). - NeulesNeulaNeula is a type of Catalan biscuit, eaten traditionally in Christmas with cava and torró. They are often dipped into cava. It consist of a very thin sheet of a mixture of egg whites, butter, sugar and flour, flavoured with lemon and rolled...
are also eaten on Christmas in Catalonia. They are dipped in cava (Catalan champagne). They have the same origin as Waffles and Belgian Goffres.
Wines
There are 11 Catalan wine-growing regions qualified by the INCAVI (The Catalan Institute of Wine): PrioratPriorat
Priorat is a comarca in Catalonia, Spain. The central part of the comarca, "Priorat històric," produces the famous and prestigious wine of the Denominación de Origen Calificada Priorat. Wines from elsewhere in the comarca are denominated as Montsant...
, Penedès
Penedès
Penedès is a natural and historical region of the autonomous community of Catalonia, Spain. It is located in the south of the Principality of Catalonia between the pre-coastal mountain range and the Mediterranean sea...
, Catalunya, Costers del Segre
Costers del Segre
Costers del Segre is a Spanish Denominación de Origen for wines located in the province of Lleida and is divided into several separate sub-zones. The four original subzones created in 1988 are Artesa, to the northeast of Lleida, Valls de Riucorb to the east, Garrigues and Raïmat...
, Conca de Barberà
Conca de Barberà
Conca de Barberà is a comarca in the province of Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain.-Municipalities:*Barberà de la Conca - pop. 434*Blancafort - pop. 412*Conesa - pop. 123*Espluga de Francolí - pop. 3,687*Forès - pop. 60*Llorac - pop. 128...
, Montsant
Montsant DO
Montsant is a Spanish Denominación de Origen for wine located in the province of Tarragona and covers 12 municipalities. It was previously known as the Falset subzone of Tarragona , and was created as a separate DO in the early 2000s...
, Alella
Alella
Alella is a village in the comarca of Maresme inCatalunya, Spain. It is situated on the south-west side of the granite Litoral range, just by the sea. The town is known for...
, Tarragona
Tarragona
Tarragona is a city located in the south of Catalonia on the north-east of Spain, by the Mediterranean. It is the capital of the Spanish province of the same name and the capital of the Catalan comarca Tarragonès. In the medieval and modern times it was the capital of the Vegueria of Tarragona...
, Empordà-Costa Brava, Pla del Bages and Terra Alta
Terra Alta
Terra Alta is a sparsely populated inland comarca in Catalonia, Spain. Its capital is Gandesa. It is also known as Castellania, a name dating back to its medieval status as a fiefdom held by the Order of Knights of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem under the Crown of Aragon.- Municipalities...
.
The sparkling wine cava, made mainly in the Penedès
Alt Penedès
Alt Penedès is a comarca in Catalonia, northern Spain. The capital is Vilafranca del Penedès.-Municipalities:*Avinyonet del Penedès - pop. 1334*Les Cabanyes - pop. 603*Castellet i la Gornal - pop. 1562*Castellví de la Marca - pop. 1497...
and Anoia regions, is the Catalan equivalent to champagne. It is widely exported.
"Moscatell
Muscat (grape and wine)
The Muscat variety of grapes of the species Vitis vinifera is widely grown for wine, raisins and table grapes. Their color ranges from white to near black. Muscat almost always has a pronounced sweet floral aroma. Muscat grapes are grown around the world...
" (Empordà
Empordà
Empordà is a historical region of Catalonia divided since 1936 into two comarques, Alt Empordà and Baix Empordà....
), is a sweet Catalan wine which have similar varieties in other countries as France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
, Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, Rumania, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, other regions of Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, etc. However, Catalan moscatell is thicker than French muscat and not drunk before eaten -in the aperitiu- but after, with or after dessert.
Chefs and restaurants
Chef
A chef is a person who cooks professionally for other people. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who cooks for a living, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation.-Etymology:The word "chef" is borrowed ...
s are widely renowned and critically acclaimed all over the world. Two of the five best restaurants in the world are in Catalonia, and four restaurants have three Michelin stars. Barcelona has nine Michelin stars and has been chosen as the best gastronomical city by the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
TV network MSNBC in 2009, topping the list of the ten best gastronomical cities in the world.