Catalonia: Must Try Food you Need to Know

Hello, God? This is Thyra. I am happy to say I have been eating extremely well in Western Europe but can you please send some spicy food my way? Thanks. Also, I have had enough bread for a while now – I am good.

While in Catalonia I ate delicious lunches and dinner every day, which was a welcome change from my famous sandwich I would make in the Balkans when I was feeling poor. Almost every lunch was homemade Catalan food at Aida’s house and dinners was either tapas out, potato pancakes at someone’s house, or a delicious seafood meal. I really, really loved the food there – although I did not eat very healthy. Weeks later, I still feel sightly -with child- after the whole ordeal.

Pan amb Tomaquet (ft. jamón)

A classic Catalan side dish is bread with tomato. This is quite literally a baquette with the smushed insides of a tomato on it. The tomatoes are apparently special (for the authentic version at least) but can be done with any variety. I crave this daily. Some people don’t like it because it makes the bread moist but I disagree, it adds another element to the typical bread side dish. A common dinner we would have here is that topped with veggies or sliced meat. Something I loved about Spain is that on a technical level everything we cooked was quite simple, but with delicious ingredients.

Seafood

Because Catalonia is on the coast, we had some very terrific seafood while I was there. I always jump to eat seafood, something to do with the fact I grew up as far away from the sea you can get. For my birthday we went to the Costa Brava and Aida treated me to this fancy tapa-based meal on the coast. We ate SO much (and even thought we could have eaten more) and it was SO good. I have become my father, I moan and yell YUM with really good food.

Clara

Something I have heard of before but loved was Clara. Clara is simple, it is beer with lemon juice. It is so delicious, tastes like summer, and goes with everything!

Paella

A spanish classic, Aida’s parents took us for a seafood paella on my birthday. The paella was great but the company was better!

Mato

A traditional Catalan dessert, this is fresh unsalted soft cheese. Add honey and you are ready to go! Family favorite.

Potatoes

Like bread, potatoes are a big component of food in Catalonia. A common appetizer when we went out to eat was roasted potatoes. Paired with aoili these are delish! Another common meal is the tortilla espanola, which is potato with egg and onion. You can buy these in the freezer section at the supermarket and for a few euros have a delicious meal paired with some sangria!

It is apparent that the food in Catalonia is good and caloric. I am excited to return in November, just for the pan amb tomaquet! I am also seeing my friend Andrea, we traveled together for two months in Asia and she is finally coming home! SO pumped.

T