Catalan food - we've tested and cooked it

Last night we were invited to a gourmet experience by the Tourist Board of Catalonia. These press conferences are very exciting because you never know what will happen. This time it was even more interesting because we were not only going to try Catalan food, but also law a Catalan dish.

What is Catalonia?

Catalonia is an autonomous region in north-eastern Spain with about 8 million inhabitants. Barcelona is the largest city in the area, and you will also find the charming town of Tarragona. The region speaks its own language, Catalan, which is related to both Spanish and French. What about the food? Well, we found out more about that last night ...

Cooking Catalan food

The evening was long, and we learnt a few things about Catalan cooking. First, we watched a master chef prepare two Catalan dishes (noodles with prawns and mackerel with vegetables and fruit) while revealing various Catalan cooking tricks.

The evening continued past a mini version of a Catalan market, where we learned about different Catalan specialities: olive oil, vinegar, the Catalan onion calçot, different types of sausages and nuts dipped in various layers of toffee and chocolate. Then it was time to cook!

We each put on an apron and were given the task of mixing various ingredients in a mortar: nuts, pieces of bread, crushed tomato, onion, chilli paste, olive oil and vinegar. Could this really be good? On a plate, we had to put salad, anchovies, fish and small vegetables on it. olive, and over this we sprinkled the mess. Yep, very good!

Resultatet av vår katalanska matlagning: Godare än väntat! — The result of our Catalan cooking: tastier than expected!

Dinner: Catalonia for foodies

If you consider that the dish above was shared by three chefs, you'll realise that it sucked when it was time for dinner. But we didn't have to go home hungry, so to speak. One dish after another was brought out - and it was exciting stuff we got to taste!

The favourites were the tasty olives and mussels, the cannelloni with duck and spinach filling and the delicious desserts. Other dishes included black rice, squid, beans and Mediterranean prawns. Have you ever been to Catalonia? What is your experience of the food there?

Cannelloni med anka och spenat — Cannelloni with duck and spinach filling

READ MORE: The world's 10 best food countries - according to us

12 April 2016 7:34 am

Spain

exotic food, food and drink, cooking

Helena

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22 Comments

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Mr Steve says:

Delicious! It's exciting to learn about food from other countries. From visits to Barcelona, I have only good memories of Catalan food.

12 April 2016 - 7:40

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Lina says:

How good it looks! And exciting always fun to learn new things! Have a nice day! Hugs

12 April 2016 - 7:41

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Maria says:

It looks delicious.
Hugs

12 April 2016 - 7:51

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admin says:

Steve, isn't it? We also have great food memories, both from Barcelona and Tarragona.

Lina, it was good (almost all of it anyway) and nice to know a bit more about Catalan food!

12 April 2016 - 8:27

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Lennart says:

Nice evening.
Yes, we have tried some different dishes in Catalonia, but maybe we prefer Andalusia, then I think more about nature.
Spain has good food.

12 April 2016 - 8:32

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Veiken says:

Incredibly nice! Who said you don't get anything out of travelling? Don't you like it at home etc....I get tired when I hear people say that. Have a good time you two globetrotters! 🙂

12 April 2016 - 8:45

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Anette says:

I remember the food in Barcelona as delicious.
On the other hand, it was a bit like this in the countryside on the way up to the mountains. This was before the children had learnt Spanish and French, my Italian was extremely limited, we usually had no idea what we were ordering. It sometimes became a little too rustic. 🙂

12 April 2016 - 9:03

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Goatfish says:

What a nice evening!
I have eaten Catalan food, delicious and plentiful.
Have also eaten Galician food during my pilgrimage.
It is just SO wonderful to travel and meet other cultures!
Sunny hugs 😀

12 April 2016 - 9:49

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BP says:

What a fun event! Love it:-)
Alicante is half-Catalan so yes, I have eaten the food. Oh I like it very much. I like all Spanish food, but like you, I am also most fond of mussels, fish and olives.

12 April 2016 - 12:26

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admin says:

Lennart, we also like the food in Spain, although we think there is a bit too much fried food in some tourist places 😉.

Veiken, couldn't have said it better myself. It is not that you are unhappy yourself, but there is so much to experience around the world! 🙂

Anette, it is a bit tricky when you don't know the language and as a tourist it is difficult to know which places to choose. We have had both good and less good food experiences in Spain, so to speak.

Geddfish, isn't it fun and exciting to meet different food cultures while travelling? 🙂

BP, we also like almost all Spanish food, apart from the most touristy dishes where everything is fried. Mussels, fish and olives are never wrong, and we think the olives in Spain are usually very good!

12 April 2016 - 16:29

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Ditte says:

What a nice and tasty evening! Nice that you got to try cooking yourself. I like Catalan food in general, as long as it is not too "heavy".
We skip the tourist food in Spain, with its frequent deep-frying, but otherwise there is a lot of good stuff. And I am very fond of fresh seafood, olives, fish, etc.
Travelling is also done through food, and that's a big part of travelling itself.

12 April 2016 - 17:18

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Across the board says:

It's fun to be involved in the cooking process!
I like Fideúa very much and especially in those restaurants they "burn" the surface at the end so it becomes crispy. Yummy 🙂

12 April 2016 - 19:39

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admin says:

Ditte, we completely agree that the tourist food in Spain, with a lot of fried food, is boring, but otherwise there is a lot of good food in Spain. And of course the food is a big part of the trip!

Criss-cross, oh thank you for the word! It was exactly the dish the chef made in the beginning, but I forgot the name 😉.

12 April 2016 - 20:29

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Ruth in Virginia says:

In Barcelona I encountered 'tapas' for the first time.
The menu displayed pictures of the different varieties, and
the names were written in three languages. Easy to order. Just point. 🙂
Good food in general.

12 April 2016 - 20:29

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Comsi Comsa says:

Gosh, it looks so good! .... 🙂
Hugs from food-loving me :D)))

12 April 2016 - 22:35

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ikas USA says:

Wow, what a lovely evening! I would not have said no to it, not the food either:)

13 April 2016 - 0:34

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Casa Annika says:

how fun it sounds!
I have only been to Barcelona and Gerona in Catalonia, so I probably don't have much to say, other than that I thought the food was terribly expensive compared to Andalusia! No ordinary small cheap, good tapas there.
Then I have heard from people from Barcelona that the food in their bars and restaurants is rarely "homemade" but is cooked in large kitchens and heated, unlike the south and Portugal where they cook directly from fresh ingredients, often in small family-run places. But that's just what has been said to me. Otherwise, I like Barcelona and would love to go back, and see the rest of Catalonia!

13 April 2016 - 0:45

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allotment says:

You have hit the nail on the head here.
Love Barcelona. Have been there five times and booked another trip at the end of August.
and when it comes to food, it's their various tapas that appeal. Absolutely wonderful flavours. As you say, the language is a bit difficult to understand. But I made myself fairly understood in my school Spanish and English! 🙂
Thank you for this wonderful presentation of, for me, new dishes.
Many hugs

13 April 2016 - 4:50

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Snows says:

A perfect and delicious evening! It is always fun to learn more about the food of different countries and regions. Getting to try it yourself is always better. But strangely enough, some dishes always taste best abroad, although I guess it's about the environment and the overall impression!

13 April 2016 - 6:43

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admin says:

Ruth in Virginia, tapas are nice and tasty! We like 🙂 Catalonia is not really the centre of tapas, but it is of course all over Spain.

Comsi Comsa, I'm glad there are more people than us who are foodies 🙂 .

Ika's USA, we were happy to accept, delicious and interesting!

Casa Annika, it is indeed two of the larger places in Catalonia 😉 It is possible that Barcelona is more expensive than the rest of Spain. Tarragona we did not experience as particularly expensive, but on the other hand we did not compare a lot of prices 😉 Interesting to hear what you heard about the restaurants, whether it is true or not.

Kolonilotta, we also like tapas, especially the way of eating different small dishes! Catalonia is not really the centre of tapas, but there are quite a lot of tapas there anyway!

Znogge, I understand what you mean that the dishes can taste best in their proper environment! It is perhaps slightly better to sit in the sun by the Mediterranean, it affects the flavour experience as well, haha 😉.

13 April 2016 - 7:12

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Miss M says:

god how fun! I love to cook and eat food,
but I have never tried Catalan !

13 April 2016 - 21:28

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admin says:

Miss M, food is fun, we also like to cook and eat food 🙂 .

13 April 2016 - 22:18

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Catalan food - we've tested and cooked it

What is Catalonia?

Cooking Catalan food

Dinner: Catalonia for foodies

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22 Comments

Mr Steve says:

Lina says:

Maria says:

admin says:

Lennart says:

Veiken says:

Anette says:

Goatfish says:

BP says:

admin says:

Ditte says:

Across the board says:

admin says:

Ruth in Virginia says:

Comsi Comsa says:

ikas USA says:

Casa Annika says:

allotment says:

Snows says:

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Miss M says:

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