Catalan Cooking

The year was 1324 when the first food manual appeared in Catalunya. A manuscript called Libre de Sent Sovi was one of the very first food manuals in all of Europe. Two hundred years later the first Catalan cookbook was printed. It was called Libre del Coch and written by Rupert de Nola.

The book also included recipes from Italy and Provence. Not surprising when you consider that historically Catalunya was much closer, in every respect, to these areas of the Mediterranean.

Fast forward to today and when many people think of eating out in Catalunya they may think of dining outside a bar or restaurant in beautiful Barcelona. There are many excellent such establishments there that do not cost a fortune and do not cater only for the tourist who wants fast refreshment for their next assault on the staircases of tourist sites such as La Sagrada Familia or preparing to wander Las Ramblas.

But to think of only the city of Barcelona when considering culinary Catalunya is akin to thinking Rome is the only location serving good Italian food or presuming that you have to be in London to savour good food in the UK. All such thinking is wrong.

In a region as large as Catalunya, it is not surprising that the food on offer varies considerably. Catalunya takes in such diverse locations all of which, in my experience at least, have the benefit of serving good Spanish food.

The people consider themselves to be set apart from the rest of Spain and the chefs there will be quick to tell you that they are the best when it comes to creating in the kitchen. It doesn't matter whether they are serving food along the Costa Brava, in classy medieval inland locations such as Pals, Palafrugell and Begur or in grand cities like Girona; the Spanish food they deliver is exquisite.

The influence from their French counterparts is plain to see and the influence of Provence is undeniable in the meat dishes produced in the kitchens of many a Catalan restaurant. The cooks there are not too proud to 'steal' ideas from other countries and then turn such recipes into meals ideally suited to using Spanish ingredients. They mix meat with fish or seafood in Catalunya. They call it Mar i muntanya (sea and mountain) cooking.
You really have to know what you are doing in the kitchen to pull that one off in such a manner that people come back for more. And they do.

Today Catalunya is famous for serving a variety of good quality ingredients that combine to make some unique meals, some of which I have entered under our recipes section. Catalan fish stews might include shrimps, tuna or salt cod. Meat dishes include stuffed pig trotters or rabbit with rice. Salt cod fritters, Suquet de Peix and so many dishes that include truffles.

Catalan chefs are also very inventive when it comes to puddings. Although there is one regional classic, Crema Catalana. A recipe for which is also on this site.

Some people have got the impression that you need a second mortgage to eat out in Catalunya. That is nonsense. Look past the high profile restaurants that are always featured in magazines and on television. I could name you several top quality establishments dotted around Catalunya at which you could sample great food at very reasonable prices.

It shouldn't be a surprise. The very first Spanish cookbooks were written in the Catalan language and published in Catalonia. The area led the way when it came to providing great recipes for Spanish food. And while much else may have changed in Spain in the intervening centuries; that remains as true today as it was back in 1324.