posted by Savanah on Feb 18
The cuisine of the city of Barcelona, Spain ranges from neuvo-experimental dishes and spice combinations to the more traditional and simple time-tested flavors. Tomatoes and garlic are key ingredients to any dish. And the cooking would not be complete nor true without a generous helping of olive oil. Added to the list of ingredients in this region, which differ from the other areas of Spain, are items such as nuts and raisins. These are added most often to vegetables, chicken dishes or other poultry are often mixed with oranges, grapes, apples and other fruit. And dishes such as escargot with rabbit are quite common.
The city of Barcelona is very close to the Mediterranean Sea, which provides the chef’s of this region a large variety of fresh seafood to choose from and utilize in the creation of some of the tasty dishes in the world. This city is also very close to Valencia and France, and the trading of the use of and variety of spices and herbs from these regions has influenced the local flavor as well. And while the flavors and tastes may be delicious and may seem complex, the ingredients are really rather simple. Take something so simple as garlic bread. This is often a favorite breakfast of the people of the area and is made by using a lavish amount of olive oil rubbed over crusted loaves of baguettes. The baguettes are then toasted with garlic and tomatoes and finished off with a bit of salt. Garlic and tomatoes are also key ingredients in the local dish of roasted baby onions. Red peppers, almonds and of course, generous amounts of olive oil are then added which creates a delicious vegetable dish that is cooked over fire, and remains tender and flavorful. Various main dishes are prepared with various combinations of seafood and meat. Paella is a signature Catalan dish and is a veritable melting pot creatures from the sea, shrimp, lobster, squid, mussels…they are all tossed together with spices, lemon, tomatoes and olive oil. These dishes are sometimes served with rice and sometimes served over pasta.
And the most famous dessert, served in small restaurants to the dining rooms of the resorts and various 5 star Barcelona hotels, is called Crema Catalana. Here it is easy to see the French influence as it is basically, Creme Brulee. It is made up from a tasty vanilla creme pudding and finished with raw sugar caramelized by a small blow torch. The effect is the sugary, and hardened topcoat that when cracked delicately with a spoon gives way to the delightful simplicity of vanilla. A perfect finish to any Catalana meal.
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