Picture courtesy of VirtualTourist.com

After a hot summer day, a light mist rolls in from the visible sea shores of Tamariu over hazy hay-wheel dotted farms surrounding the pueblo. Within it winds quaint cobblestone streets with Romanesque walls and arches dripping with hundreds of years of Catalan history. Sprinkled along these passages are shops selling locally made products like wine straight from the barrel, cheese, sausage, dark chocolate and a gelateria where we’ve stopped to have some of the richest ice cream we’ve had in a long time. This is just what we needed—a peaceful stroll through Pals. We cannot hide we’re in love with Pals – it appears on so many of our Spanish Culinary Tours!

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It’s too bad Montserrat tomatoes aren’t grown widely out of Spain because they’re gorgeous specimens. As soon as you cut slices of this Catalonia-grown tomato, which looks like some giant mutating piece of produce at first, an elegant almost floral-like design falls onto the plate. Delicate ruby-colored pockets of juice stud its center and especially taste divine when sprinkled with olive oil and sea salt. As a Catalan specialty here, the tomato often finds its way onto the platters of the area’s innovative gourmet chefs including the world-renowned Ferran Adria. At Gourmand Breaks we do the best Montserrat tomatoes pick at la Boqueria market and then we make the most of them at our Spanish cooking classes!

Almost exclusively produced in the Emporda region of Catalonia, the seeds for this plant are created by the local farmers themselves and not commercialized as of yet. Harvesting of this tomato lasts from June until early autumn, so if you want some, hurry up and come visit!

Since the name of this dish comes from the Catalan word escalivar, meaning “to roast over ashes or embers,” it is traditional to cook this over a real flame. If you can’t though, you can bake these in the oven with good results as well. On Gourmand Breaks Spanish cooking classes we frequently prepare this dish as a first course or as an accompaniment to a main course.

Ingredients

• 4 small eggplants
• 4 spring onions or large scallions
• 4 red bell peppers
• 3 tomatoes
• Extra virgin olive oil or brushing, plus 1/3 cup
• 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• Salt and peper to taste

Prepare a hot fire in a charcoal grill or preheat the oven to 500ºF. Brush the eggplants, onions, bell peppers and tomatoes with olive oil. If using a grill, place the vegetables directly over the fire and grill, turning frequently, for 15 to 30 minutes, or until the skins blacken and the vegetables are tender. The variation in timing depends on the heat of the fire, and some vegetables, such as the tomatoes, may be ready before the others. If using an oven, arrange the vegetables on a rimmed baking sheet or in a roasting pan and roast, turning every 10 minutes, for 30 minutes, or until the skins blacken and the vegetables are tender. Remove the vegetables from the grill or oven, wrap in foil and let cool for about 1 hour.

Unwrap the vegetables. Peel the eggplants, peppers, and tomatoes, and peel away the outer layer of the onions. Split the bell peppers in half, discard the seeds and stems, and cut lengthwise into strips about 1 1/2 inches wide. Transfer to a bowl. Trim the stems from the eggplants and core the tomatoes, and then cut them into strips of the same size as the pepper strips and add to the bowl. Trim the onions, cut into rings, and add to the bowl along with the garlic.

Add the 1/3 cup olive oil, season with salt, and toss to mix well. Serve at room temperature.

Suquet de Peix is a fish stew that is very typically Catalan and can be made with any type of fish, though there tends to be a preference to use the firm, meaty flesh of the Monk fish. The word “suquet” comes from the verb suquejar which in Catalan means “to release juice”.  Suquet de Peix originates from the Costa Brava and began as a way to make use of fish that arrived at the market in a damaged state and was thus not saleable at normal prices. Suquet is prepared with a very simple sauce and the dish can be as basic as it is with fish and potatoes wrapped in the delicious sauce, or made more sophisticated by the incorporation of clams, mussels and large prawns. Either way it is a fantastic way to bring your friends together to enjoy a large bowl of Suquet, which really only needs some good bread, a bowl of salad and a glass of wine to make a feast for all.

Feel free to experiment with the type of fish you use–the sauce and Picada are the most important parts of this recipe! Every Catalan cook along the Costa Brava, north of Barcelona, has a different way of preparing this dish. The recipe below is the one we follow at our Catalan cooking classes in the heart of Emporda. The name suquet comes from the Catala word suc, which means “juice,” and is a proper name for this juicy fish stew.

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On Gourmand Breaks Barcelona cooking classes we frequently prepare this delicious local dish as as a main course, it is an original  alternative to the well-known paella.

Ingredients

• 10 oz. fideos (or angel hair broken into 2″ pieces)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium-size onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 3 large ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded and finely chopped
• 1 tsp sweet paprika
• 12 small clams or mussels, scrubbed under cold water
• 6 oz shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 6 oz scallops (large ones cut into quarters, small ones cut in half or left whole)
• 8 oz monkfish or other firm white fish, cut on the diagonal into 1/2-inch slices (up to)
• 3 cups fish or chicken stock or bottled clam broth, or as needed
• 1/4 tsp saffron threads
• salt, freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley (for garnish)

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There’s only one time of year in Spain to come and participate in the grape harvest and it’s here! Most grape harvests, or “vendimias,” happen in September and October, but this week Raimat vineyards owned by Codorniu have already started, according to La Vanguardia newspaper.

We’re excited because it’s a unique time for visitors to come visit the region and learn first hand from vineyards how to recognize, pick and store ripe grapes for some of the most highly regarded wines in the world. We have launched our Grape Harvest Tour, so our guests can come and experience with us this smashing good time!  It also brings the excitement of all the harvest festivals that are just around the corner–ones like Cava Week in Sant Sadurni. In the beginning of October this town, which is the capital of cava production, prepares train tours to all the vineyard harvests, hosts several tasting events, the election of the Cava Queen and her patriotic speech of course.

Ever since the advent of the Google image search, I’ve had a habit of longingly gazing at several pictures of my travel destination until the date of my trip. But if you’re preparing a trip to Barcelona and its surrounding areas now, there’s new enticing visual imagery that will beat the Google image search any day: Woody Allen’s new movie Vicky Cristina Barcelona.

At Gourmand Breaks we love Woody and we love Barcelona, that’s why we have just launched our  Vicky Cristina Barcelona Tour visiting the movie locations here.  We are the first and by now the only travel agency in Spain to have this tour available – the city of Barcelona provides a pretty background to the plot and here at Gourmand Breaks we believe it will be great fun for Allen’s and travel lovers to be able enjoy the Mediterranean culture here, the same as Vicky and Cristina did.
Vicky and Cristina are two American girls, one of which is working on her studies in Catalan culture, and the seductive relationships that entangle them during their trip to Barcelona. While I can’t guarantee you’ll be seduced by Scarlett Johansson, Penélope Cruz or Javier Bardem on your own trip, I will guarantee that the scenery of Barcelona and the Catalan countryside surrounding will, just like it does in this sensual film. Below is a trailer for the movie …

Tours including Barcelona: On The Border: Between France and Spain; Sublime Spain; Long Weekend in Barcelona; Bites in Barcelona; Traditional Catalan Cooking; Fusion, Modern and Contemporary Cuisine; Cuisine and Art; For Chocolate Lovers: A Blissful Affair; Tailor-Made Tours

Here goes Catalan Creme recipe, exactly the same as used at our Barcelona cooking classes; and believe me it’s absolutely delicious!

• 2 cups (15 fl. oz) whole milk
• 1 cinnamon stick
• Rind of 1/2 lemon
• Rind of 1/2 orange
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 medium egg yolks
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 cup (7 oz) superfine sugar
• 4 small, shallow heat-proof dishes, preferably cazuelas
  

4 Servings

Pour some of the milk into a cup. While warming the rest of the milk with the cinnamon, lemon and orange peels over low heat, not forgetting to stir the milk every now and then, mix the yolks of egg together in another bowl with the sugar and the cornstarch until creamy. Then stir cornstarch into the cup of milk at room temperature and stir until it is very well dissolved.

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We told you so

Well, of course, we know what a finely preserved treasure Catalonia is–we’ve dedicated our careers to it! But just in case you need an outside opinion to elaborate on the subject, the New York Times (we’re fans of this publication too) put out a wonderful article this weekend about the quiet aquamarine shores of Catalonia’s peaceful fishing villages. You can read it here and browse its lovely slideshow here.

The quiet villages it references–Cadaqués, Pals, Empuries–are important pieces of our Spanish culinary  tours because they do much more than give our clients a truly relaxing spot to vacation: They give our clients an opportunity to really savor a centuries-old culture undisturbed by the unfortunate overdevelopment that plagues so many other areas in Spain. From the bucolic scenery of farms and vineyards near Pals to the clear tropical-blue shorelines of real fishing villages, you are able to take advantage of the best in traditional Catalan cuisine, wine and personal hospitality.

Browse all of our tours through this area

This multi-media fashion map from the New York Times–called “The Born Supremacy“–is a handy little feature on Barcelona’s booming Born District that’s worth taking a look at before visiting. We’re especially proud of its recommendations, as they include a few outstanding spots, we visit on our Barcelona Tapas Tours through this section of town.

While discovering innovative designers of some of the most beautiful clothes, china, furniture and food in Spain today here, you can also enjoy the history of innovation here from people like Pablo Picasso. Many works of Picasso, who lived in this district while frequenting a diner called “4 Gats,” are housed here in the Museu Picasso. And until August 28 (hurry!), the museum is housing an impressive exhibit called “Las Meninas,” which investigates the influences of Velasquez on several artists like Picasso.