{"id":18507,"date":"2021-01-15T12:10:23","date_gmt":"2021-01-15T10:10:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pedratour.com\/2021\/01\/15\/posat-les-botes-que-fa-fred\/"},"modified":"2021-03-09T12:21:04","modified_gmt":"2021-03-09T10:21:04","slug":"typical-catalan-dishes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pedratour.com\/en\/2021\/01\/15\/typical-catalan-dishes\/","title":{"rendered":"In winter, get warmed up from the inside!"},"content":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s a lot we Catalan people may be bad at, but we certainly do know how to eat well. And now that winter\u2019s here, we\u2019ve got many typical Catalan dishes that will stick to our ribs to help us withstand the cold<\/strong>. Each region has its traditional winter recipes, without forgetting some very international classic ones, from winter salads to soups made of any imaginable thing. The common denominator of winter dishes is the high caloric content: stews, heavy stocks and thick sauces. Even\u00a0cal\u00e7ots<\/em>, which are inseparable from\u00a0romesco<\/em>, are quite an energy input to keep your body temperature. Also, it\u2019s time for certain delicatessen which are only found in this season and, however they are eaten \u2013even if it must be with your jacket on\u2013, we must enjoy them while we can.<\/p>\n

With this weather and this pandemic issue, there\u2019s little call to leave your home; staying in the coach with a cup of hot soup and letting the bad times go by is much more appealing. Furthermore, if there\u2019s something we do have right now, that\u2019s time to stay at home, so\u00a0it\u2019s a good time to bring yourself to try some new recipes<\/strong>. And if the thing should get better in a few days, maybe we can take a gastronomic getaway to enjoy the seasonal products and courses wherever they are typical.<\/p>\n

Escudella i carn d\u2019olla<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0(soup with boiled meat and vegetables and a typical pasta,\u00a0galets<\/em>) may be the most typical Catalan winter dish. It\u2019s always welcomed by the stomach but, if you get bored of it, there are many local variations which are always nice to taste. In Bergued\u00e0, we have\u00a0escudella de blat de moro escairat<\/em><\/strong>, made almost exclusively of pork and peeled \u2013aka\u00a0escairat<\/em>\u2013 maize. In Pallars they make\u00a0vianda<\/em><\/strong>, with noodles instead of\u00a0galets<\/em>\u00a0and \u2013strange as it may seem\u2013 pears. If they let us go out, you may taste in the\u00a0calderada<\/em><\/strong>, a gastronomic event which takes place in the main towns of Pallars Sobir\u00e0 on Carnival. Speaking of\u00a0escudella<\/em>, we cannot forget the\u00a0\u00f2lha aranesa<\/em><\/strong>, a traditional meal in Val d\u2019Aran and one of the most anciently documented casseroles in Europe. Warmth and energy to endure the whole winter!<\/p>\n

Another classic, particularly typical on St. Stephen\u2019s Day, but good for any time of the year, are\u00a0cannelloni<\/em><\/strong>. A heavy course, made of leftovers, admitting countless fillings. If you\u2019re sick of animal protein after the festivities, you can always stuff them with vegetables \u2013or with anything you want, for that matter\u2013, and if b\u00e9chamel is too heavy for you, try using a vegetable velout\u00e9. They are essential.<\/p>\n

In the Pyrenees \u2013where, after all, is the place where they know about cold\u2013 we can find the\u00a0trinxat\u00a0<\/em>of Cerdanya<\/strong>\u00a0and the\u00a0black peas from Bergued\u00e0<\/strong>.\u00a0Trinxat<\/em>\u00a0is made of smashed potatoes and cabbage (which, traditionally, should be winter cabbage), and it\u2019s quite spread around Catalunya; in the Moian\u00e8s region and in some places of Osona it even has a different name, being called\u00a0baiat\u00f3<\/em>. Black peas, on the other hand, are a variety which is limited to the Bergued\u00e0 and, in casserole, they are among the best winter meals I\u2019ve ever had.<\/p>\n

If we go South, it\u2019s time for\u00a0cal\u00e7ots<\/em><\/strong>, particularly for\u00a0cal\u00e7ots<\/em>\u00a0from Valls. Also in Costa Daurada, although mainly in Pened\u00e8s and the axis formed by El Vendrell, Vilanova and Sitges, it\u2019s the season of\u00a0xat\u00f3<\/em><\/strong>.\u00a0Xat\u00f3<\/em>\u00a0is a winter salad made of escarole with salted fish (cod, anchovies, tuna, \u2026) and a variation of\u00a0romesco\u00a0<\/em>sauce. You cannot miss the\u00a0cal\u00e7otades<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0xatonades<\/em>, whether it is this year or the next one!<\/p>\n

In Priorat, on Lent, it is typical to have\u00a0truita amb suc<\/em><\/strong>. It\u2019s a spinach omelette stewed along with artichoke \u2013which season is also right now, especially in the deltas of the Ebre and Llobregat rivers\u2013, hard-boiled eggs and cod (in its premium version), without forgetting the sauce. It\u2019s not easy to find in restaurants; it\u2019s a home dish, one of those which recipes are zealously kept by each grandma. To taste it, you better go to Ulldemolins on the second Sunday of March, when the\u00a0Truita amb Suc<\/em>\u00a0Festivity\u00a0<\/strong>takes place \u2013let\u2019s hope the restrictions are over by then\u2026<\/p>\n

Now, let\u2019s talk about the special products, these which are important by themselves \u2013regardless of how they are cooked\u2013 because they can\u2019t be found at any other time. Winter is the season for three highly valued animals:\u00a0galera<\/em>,\u00a0garoina<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0angula<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Galera<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0(mantis shrimp)<\/em>\u00a0is a crustacean \u2013cousin to shrimps, to put it short\u2013 which is fished during winter and \u2013according to experts\u2013 it is delicious; if you feel curious about it, the\u00a0Galera<\/em>\u00a0Gastronomic Event\u00a0<\/strong>takes place in L\u2019Ametlla de Mar during the last week of February.<\/p>\n

Garoines<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0(or\u00a0garotes<\/em><\/strong>) are the sea urchins \u2013no, we do not eat the spines, we eat the red thing inside the animal\u2013, a highly-valued delicatessen in Costa Brava. You can find them all along this coast, but the\u00a0Garoinada<\/em>\u00a0of Palafrugell<\/strong>\u00a0is a particularly renowned gastronomic campaign lasting from January to March. There\u2019s always some individuals who go fishing\u00a0garoines<\/em>\u00a0in June \u2013they live quite attached to the rocks, it\u2019s not like they make it very far\u2013 but it\u2019s in winter when they\u2019re full and when picking them does not affect the species reproduction.<\/p>\n

Angules<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0(elvers, in English) are baby eels \u2013they\u2019re not to be confused with \u201cgules<\/em>\u201d, which are fish leftovers that have been triturated and shaped into something that kind of looks like elvers.\u00a0ANgules<\/em>\u00a0are fished in estuarine areas \u2013in Catalunya, mainly in the Ebre Delta\u2013\u00a0<\/strong>from October to March, which is when these little fishes arrive in our costs from all across the Atlantic to grow up at the headwaters of the rivers. Aside from a gourmet \u2013and extremely expensive\u2013 product, they\u2019re also the babies of an extraordinary animal which is rarer every year. So, come on, eat them with moderation \u2013since the demand stimulates the fishing\u2013 and always with the certainty that they\u2019ve been captured in accordance with the legal measures. Thank you in name of all elvers!<\/p>\n

To end with, although they\u2019re not typical winter products, we mustn\u2019t forget\u00a0olive oil\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0wine<\/strong>\u00a0when talking about\u00a0traditional Catalan cuisine<\/strong>. Olive oil is essential in Mediterranean cuisine and a national product; furthermore, we make quite a good oil in Catalunya. And wine\u2026 Well, I don\u2019t intend to defend alcoholism, but I have to say, there\u2019s nothing like a good national wine to wash down a\u00a0gastronomic experience<\/strong>. If you\u2019re gourmands and all this COVID-19 thing spoiled your plans of going eating delicacies, oil and wine are a great option because they can be enjoyed all year round. Moreover, they both have a whole tourist culture around them, and it\u2019s very interesting to learn about the production process, from the vine and the olive tree to the glass and the oil bottle. Hence, let me invite you to use the outings \u2013that, at some point, will be possible again\u2013 to visit some winery, as the\u00a0Gramona experience<\/a>\u00a0or to go for an oleotouristic experience, as the\u00a0oleoturistic visit in Torrebesses<\/a>.\u00a0It won\u2019t disappoint you and, if we end up missing the winter gastronomic events, we\u2019ll always have that.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

May you all eat high on the hog!<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s a lot we Catalan people may be bad at, but we certainly do know how to eat well. And now that winter\u2019s here, we\u2019ve got many typical Catalan dishes that will stick to our ribs to help us withstand the cold. Each region has its traditional winter recipes, without forgetting some very international classic […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":18419,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_joinchat":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[246],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18507","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gastronomia-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pedratour.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18507","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pedratour.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pedratour.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pedratour.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pedratour.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18507"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pedratour.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18507\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pedratour.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18419"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pedratour.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18507"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pedratour.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18507"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pedratour.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18507"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}