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Food, food, food – Catalonia is all about food. Of course there are also fabulous beaches, Gaudi art and the Pyrenees mountain range. But mostly, it’s about food. As one of Spain’s best known gastronomic province, Catalonia is home to the country’s best chefs  and exclusive Michelin-rated restaurants. We set out on Day Two of our Catalunya Experience to dig deeper into Catalan gastronomy.

La Boquería Market

To begin our culinary education, chef-turned-cooking instructor Teresa Ríos from Cook and Taste guided us through Barcelona’s major food market, La Boquería. Weaving through the labyrinth of multi-hued fruit stalls, jamon butchers and seafood stands, Teresa introduced us to the region’s unique food culture bit by bit.

Jamón, the holy grail of Spanish culinary world, is particularly worshipped by the Catalans. Why do they love it so much? The Catalans explain, ‘it’s in our blood.’

The entire process of producing the perfect Spanish ham is tedious -  starting from the breeding of the pig, it has to immaculate.

From pata negra to jabugo, these top-notch species of jamón can be found in the market. In our culinary class, Teresa lets us taste different varieties of jamón, and explains the differences.

Seafood is the Spaniards’ Christmas delicacy – unlike many other European countries, Spanish families cook a big feast of prawns, crayfish and shellfish on the 24th December. Percebes (pictured above right) and lobsters (above left) are often on the X’mas menu.

Although seafood is better known in Galicia (Northern Spain) for the freshest products, Catalunya has its own distinctive way of preparing them.

Take the bacalao (cod fish) for example, a popular Catalan dish is the Esqueixada de Bacallà (Cod fish salad).

Preserved cod fish is marinated with olive oil and vinegar and mixed with fresh leafy greens to  get a refreshing fish salad.

Calçot (pictured above left) is a specialty in the Catalunya region, with the activity of calçotada (a group of friends getting together to eat calçots) extremely popular among the Catalans. They are typically grilled over a fire and dipped in nutty tomato sauce, called romescu.  Calçotada festivals are even held in towns throughout Catalonia from late November through March.

Trufas (above right) are another exorbitant food item that form an essential part of Catalan gastronomy. As a special type of mushroom that is also a root plant, picking trufas is especially difficult. That perhaps explains the extravagant prices that often come with it. At the market, we spotted some trufas that cost 4000euros per kilogram!

Cook and Taste

After scouring La Boquería for the freshest ingredients in town, we crossed over to the nearby Cook and Taste school where we would be learning the ropes from Teresa.

We were handled the recipes of the dishes we would be making – the first dish pumpkin soup, main course fideau and crema catalana for dessert.

Each dish was prepared by ourselves, with step-by-step guidance from Teresa. We all took turns to get involved and get down and dirty. The experience turned out to be surprisingly fun, practical and insightful.

The results of our labour: A thick lathery sweet yet savory pumpkin soup, often enjoyed by the Catalans in winter; a stirred-till-soft fideua (noodle paella) punctuated with bits of tomato, cuttle fish and cockles and the zingy crema catalana torched to crisp sweetness – a dessert representative of the region.

About the Chef

Teresa, after working as a professional chef for over 20 years,  found her passion in teaching people the art of cooking. A brilliant teacher and knowledgeable culinary expert, she tells me,

‘What I like about my job, is being involved with people. When they like what they enjoy what they’re eating and cooking, I can see the smiles from their faces.’

Cook and Taste organizes culinary experiences for companies, students and tourists who are keen on taking a peek into Catalan’s gustatory world.

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Follow my journey through Catalonia as I bring you more of my adventures in the coming posts. Look out for updates from my fellow bloggers or check on Twitter under the hashtag (#catexp).

Disclosure: This press trip was sponsored by the Catalunya Tourist Board as part of their ‘Blogtrip 2009 – The Catalunya Experience’.

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