Esgarraet is a typical dish from the autonomous region Valencia

Valencian Community

The Valencian Community is an autonomous community of Spain located in central and south-eastern Iberian Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Valencia...

 in Spain. It consists of grilled red pepper

Red pepper

Red pepper may refer to:* Capsicum, whose fruit is used as a vegetable or spice** Specifically, the cayenne pepper, especially in its dried and powdered form* The ripe form of black peppercorns* Red Pepper , in Uganda...

 salad, cured

Curing (food preservation)

Curing refers to various food preservation and flavoring processes, especially of meat or fish, by the addition of a combination of salt, nitrates, nitrite or sugar. Many curing processes also involve smoking, the process of flavoring, or cooking...

 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...

, 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...

, 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...

 and sometimes black olives. The name derieves from the preparation technique that requires to rip both, the peppers and the fish in fine strips..

It's also served as tapa

Tapas

Tapas are a wide variety of appetizers, or snacks, in Spanish cuisine. They may be cold or warm ....

 and is very typical for the city of Valencia and very popular as the flavour of the cod fish contrast very well with the sweetness of the peppers and its juice that mixes with the olive oil is commonly soaked up with bread.

Variations

In Valencia this dish may be considered as a variation of espencat, another popular dish of the 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...

.
In Catalonia

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...

 there is a variation that is called esqueixada

Esqueixada

Esqueixada 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...

which means "torn" or "ripped" in catalan

Catalan language

Catalan is a Romance language, the national and only official language of Andorra and a co-official language in the Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencian Community, where it is known as Valencian , as well as in the city of Alghero, on the Italian island...

 and features grilled 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...

 instead of red peppers.
In the central region of Castellón

Castellón (province)

Castellón or Castelló is a province in the northern part of the Valencian Community, Spain. It is bordered by the provinces of Valencia to the south, Teruel to the west, Tarragona to the north, and by the Mediterranean Sea to the east. The western side of the province is in the mountainous...

 baked eggplant is added and all ingredients are chopped into little pieces. The recipe may also include Mojama

Mojama

Mojama is a Spanish delicacy consisting of filleted salt-cured tuna.The word mojama comes from the Arabic musama , but its origins are Phoenician, specifically from Gdr , the first Phoenician settlement in the Western Mediterranean Sea...

 or 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...

fish.