ingredients

“Those sons of bitches in Reus trademarked it before we even thought about it”, I was a little taken aback by the language which issued forth from the, lady old enough to be my grandmother and as wrinkled as the prunes in jars behind her, she ran a small grocers in Reus and clearly felt that the subject of menjablanc (blancmange to you and me) is obviously not one to be taken lightly. “It was invented in Tarragona, where else? We have the best almonds. Here let me give you the recipe”. Catalan Menja blanc is indeed a delicacy worth getting passionate about; like a cross between a flan and a rice pudding it is made from almond and rice flours along with cinnamon and lemon peel. I know this because, despite her willingness to sell me a packet of “menjablanc de Reus” powder, the shopkeeper insisted on furnishing me with the recipe. By chance the recipe used almond paste, from Tarragona.

The passion that the people of Catalonia feel for their local cuisine is exceptional, even within Spain’s food centric culture. The cuisine of Catalonia is distinct from the rest of the Iberian peninsula and relies heavily on local, seasonal ingredients. Unlike the rest of the Mediterranean it has yet to be discovered by the wider culinary world. If Italy is about Pasta with tomato sauce, Spain about rice with seafood Catalonia is about bread with tomatoes and olive oil. Pa amb tomaquet is the side dish served alongside every Catalan meal. Again it relies on a very simple elaboration, a thin crusty flauta (flute, a baguette style loaf) rubbed with a special type of tomato and doused in local olive oil and sprinkled with sea salt. Pair this with some grilled sardines, a glass of cava and a dessert of miel I mato (curd cheese and honey) and you can dine exquisitely without having consumed anything you couldn’t have seen within a one hour drive.

Catalonia is a region with a wide variety of landscapes and climates. From the Pyrenees to the beaches all of these contribute to an equally varied cuisine. Mar I montanya dishes are cornerstones of Catalan cooking; the mountains give us their thick stews and braises, cooked for hours with a base of sofregit (long cooked onions and tomatoes) and including beef alongside cuttlefish, wildfowl and even cod tripe. Meanwhile the lighter cuisine of the coastal regions offers an alternative which is equally delicious; fideus resemble paella but in place of rice (which does not grow in the region) short sections of pasta noodles are used along with squid ink and aliolli “the Ghenghis Khan of the Catalan Cusine” (Josep Pla) a ferociously garlicky mayonnaise which, when made traditionally forgoes eggs in favour of impeccable technique on the part of the chef.

Alongside the savoury delights of local produce many wonderful pastries and desserts are on offer; local nuts have to be tasted to be believed. The almonds from around Tarragona really are the best in the world, roasted simply in their skins they are larger, flatter and simply more redolent of the essence of almond than those I have eaten anywhere else in the world. Pinyols and avellanas (pine nuts and hazelnuts) are also to be found in abundance locally. These are often incorporated in delicious desserts, alongside the menjablanc mentioned above one can find panellets pine nut and potato based cookies which are much more delicious than they sound. The local Hazelnuts (alongside finding their way into the latest Starbucks latte) are incorporated into a delicious nougat.

Although hard to come by Catalan restaurants can be found around the world, better yet invest in a trip to Barcelona (or, I feel the weight of the shopkeeper’s civic pride bearing down on me here, Tarragona). See the sights and eat the food. You could even try to make some at home but don’t whatever you do, use inferior ingredients, it won’t taste the same and you’ll incur the wrath of Catalan grandmothers.