Spain Food Nation

Feb 12 2023

GREAT BRITISH CHEFS - The ultimate foodie guide to Aragon and Catalonia

The areas inland from the northern Mediterranean coast of Spain may not get as much attention as other parts of the country when it comes to food, but they are in fact rife with exceptional produce and well worth exploring. We find out more about what these regions have to offer

Published in GREAT BRITISH CHEFS

FEATURES

While the Mediterranean coast of Spain is familiar to many, the areas inland of the northern Mediterranean are far less so. And here is where we are missing out. The inland part of the province of Girona and the landlocked province of Lleida in Catalonia, and the provinces of Teruel and Zaragoza in the autonomous community of Aragon, are all full of great food and drink that you may not be aware of.

(...) Bread with olive oil is a popular breakfast or snack and the regional speciality of pa amb tomaquet bread rubbed with sliced tomato and drizzled with extra virgin olive oil, is now a favourite on menus across the whole of Spain. (...)

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Catalonia and Aragon - The autonomous communities of Catalonia and Aragon are found in Spain's northeastern corner and are home to exceptional produce and wine, and some of the best restaurants in the world.

(...) Between the two of them, the regions of Catalonia and Aragon (situated to the west of Catalonia) boast both stunning Mediterranean coastline, and therefore a bounty of amazing seafood, but also thriving olive groves and vineyards further inland. Aragon is also famed for its lamb and has PGI protected status for three breeds of sheep, while the Catalan Pyrenees has similar recognition for its beef. (...)

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Ingredient focus: Spanish Black Truffle - The village of Sarrión in Teruel may have just 1300 inhabitants, but it is famed for producing some of the finest black truffles in the world. Rachel McCormack visits this small municipality to find out more.

(...) Black truffle, tuber melanosporum, has always grown wild in this area but, unlike Perigord in France, it was only until recently that it was appreciated by its inhabitants. ‘My great grandparents called it the black potato and didn’t ever think much about it, but more recently we realised that not only was it an amazing product, but that here in a place where almost nothing grows is the ideal place to cultivate it." (...)

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Wine: The wine regions of Spain: Campo de Borja D.O. - Aragon’s Campo de Borja D.O. produces some of the finest examples of garnacha wines in the world. We take a closer look at this winemaking region and chat to those working at some of its most renowned bodegas

(...) Grapes have been grown here since at least Roman times but, in common with other parts of Spain, it was only after the Reconquest, with monks building monasteries to consolidate the gains of the Aragonese crown over the Muslims, that wine making practices returned. In Campo de Borja, the Cistercian monastery at Viruela is held responsible for bringing back wine-making to the area and nowadays the monastery building hosts the D.O.’s wine museum (...)

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City: Girona: Catalonia’s culinary gem - It may be a fraction of the size of Catalonia’s capital, but Girona is undoubtedly home to some of the region’s most exceptional food. We take a look at everything this beautiful city has to offer by way of restaurants and produce

(...) Unlike many other cities in Spain, Girona doesn’t have a real tapas tradition, you might get a local vermut with some local olives, charcuteries like fuet, bull blanc and PGI Vic salchichón, or a local cheese like D.O.P L’Alt Urgell y La Cerdanya cow’s cheese, but the Gironin tradition is to sit at one restaurant and have a lunch menu or an a la carte dinner. What they cook is their Mediterranean coastal suquets – fish stews with a tomato base and potatoes often finished with a picada of almonds and hazelnuts – as well as their own versions of Mediterranean seafood rice dishes (...)

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HOW TO COOK

How to cook calçots - Calçots are the onions at the centre of one of Catalonia’s messiest and most fun culinary traditions: the calçotada. Cultivated around the city of Valls in Tarragona, Catalonia, these vegetables are larger than spring onions but smaller than leeks, and are prized for their sweet flavour. PGI protected, they are known as ‘Calçot de Valls’ and are cooked outdoors over open fire, where they crackle and blacken on the grill, their fragrant smoke wafting under the noses of expectant diners.

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How to cook escalivada - Escalivada is a traditional vegetable dish from the Catalonia region of Spain. The name derives from the Catalan verb ‘escalivar’, which means ‘to cook in the ashes’ and this grilling of the vegetables over live fire is an essential element of the flavour profile. The method adds smoky, charred flavours and enhances the natural sweetness of the ingredients. A typical combination of vegetables is aubergines, peppers and onions, but garlic and tomatoes are also often added.

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RECIPES

Suquet de Peix - This version of a classic Catalonian seafood stew is made with a tomato-based sauce, slow-simmered squid, clams and prawns. It’s thickened with a ground almond paste, called a picada. Serve with plenty of crusty bread.

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Rabbit with snails and grated black truffle - Rabbit and snails is a classic pairing in Northeastern Spanish cookery. Here they are combined into a rustic stew. This dish is perfect served with crusty bread to soak up the sauce. We’ve added a touch of luxury with some grated black truffle. Some cooked snails are sold with their shells but separated from them. If that’s the case, just tuck the snails back into their shells before adding them to the stew.

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Slow-roasted lamb shoulder with allioli - In this Aragón-inspired dish, a whole shoulder of lamb is slowly cooked until the meat is falling apart, then served with a bold allioli and gold-tinged saffron potatoes. The Spanish region of Aragón is known for its rare breeds of sheep, such as the Rasa Aragonesa, and its fragrant Jiloca saffron. This is a show-stopping centrepiece dish that can be served family-style at the table.

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Leeks with romesco - Every year in Catalonia the arrival of calçot season is celebrated with a calçotada festival, where many of these onion-like vegetables are barbecued and consumed alongside rich romesco sauce. Calçots are not widely available in the UK, so we recommend using leeks instead. Cooked over live fire, their interiors become tender and sweet.

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Migas aragonesas - In this traditional Aragonese dish, dried bread is fried with bacon, topped with a fried egg and garnished with grated, preserved black truffle. If you are using very stale bread, sprinkle it with a little water and then set it aside for 10 minutes to soften. Take care to use just enough water to slightly moisten the bread but not turn it into mush.

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