Gastronomy is one of the cultural pillars of Barcelona, together with its historical heritage and its marvellous setting, which joins the Mediterranean and—a few hundred kilometres away—the Pyrenees over a small distance. It is precisely its location that allows this Spanish city to offer a wide variety of sea, mountain and garden products and to develop a culture of good eating cultivated by world-renowned chefs like Ferran Adrià, Carme Ruscalleda and the Roca Brothers.
This product and dishes offering goes far beyond the paella and the chorizo that come to mind to anyone who thinks about what to eat in Barcelona. In this post we recommend 20 gourmet products of Catalan cuisine that you can not miss in your visit to the city.
This offering of products and dishes goes far beyond the paella and chorizo that comes to mind when thinking about what to eat in Barcelona. In this post we recommend 20 gourmet products from Catalan cuisine that you cannot afford to miss on your visit to the city.
Wondering what to eat in Barcelona? The gastronomic richness of the Catalan capital encompasses “everything and more”, since it includes a wide variety of seafood, meats (sausages, pâtés), fruits and vegetables, mushrooms and more. Read on to discover a guide with the essential products you won’t want to miss.
In the last two decades, there has been a significant increase in the production and commercialisation of cheeses with designation of origin in Catalonia, not only in terms of quality but also in terms of the variety produced. The most typical Catalan cheeses are made with cow's milk, like l'Alt Urgell and Cerdanya.
In Catalonia, sausages are considered the starter par excellence, but unlike other parts of Spain, here it is served with bread that has been rubbed with tomato and seasoned with olive oil. It can also be found in salads (the "Catalan salad" usually consists of lettuce, onion, tomato, asparagus, pepper and sausage slices on top). Sausage production in Catalonia is focused mainly in Osona (between Barcelona and Girona), although sausage is produced throughout the territory. Some of the top sausages are longaniza, fuet, botifarra blanca and bull.
While many varieties of high-quality ham are produced in Catalonia, the most sought-after is acorn-fed Iberian ham (‘jamón ibérico de bellota’), a delicacy from the south of Spain (Huelva) that is just as special and delicious as caviar, foie gras or smoked salmon. Over time Catalonians have come to understand that a bread and tomato appetizer needs some rose-coloured slices of delicious Iberian ham.
Penedés pâté is a delicious meat and liver spread with cava and truffle that offers a balanced flavour and unique texture.
Barcelona exemplifies how simplicity can be synonymous with a masterpiece. If you ask any Barcelonan what the greatest Catalan invention of all time is, it is very likely they’ll say "pa amb tomàquet". More than a simple recipe, a culinary technique or a tradition, the gesture of spreading tomato on bread is a sign of Catalan identity.
La escalivada es uno de los entrantes más emblemáticos de la cocina catalana. Es una receta muy ligera y saludable típica de la dieta mediterránea. Su elaboración es muy sencilla: base de verduras de temporada asadas (berenjenas, pimientos rojos y verdes, tomates y cebollas)una pizca de sal, que puede ir acompañado de ventresca y huevo cocido.
The most well-known and exported Catalan cava is from Penedés, where production is led by family-run companies such as Freixenet and Codorníu. Some compare this sparkling wine to champagne, but although it is true that the method of production is the same, the grape variety is different and in Catalonia it is usually enjoyed as an aperitif rather than as a dessert.
Catalonia is also distinguished by its great wine tradition. The areas of Penedès, Empordà, Alella, Priorat and Segre are major producers of a wide variety of quality wines, which can sometimes reach close to 100 Parker points (the maximum score in the ranking proposed by Robert Parker).
Ratafia is a sweet Catalan liqueur that is generally drank as an aperitif and is very popular in the Girona region. It is made by macerating different local ingredients (fruits, medicinal herbs, roots, fruit pits and spices) in spirits. Some ratafias are made with a single ingredient while others mix more than 100.
Although beer doesn’t originate in Catalonia, this territory produces some of the best craft beers in the country. Barcelona, Tarragona, Lleida and Girona produce one-of-a-kind brews that are well worth a try, such as Montseny Blat or Guineu IPA Amarillo. There are also signature Catalan beers designed to accompany meals, such as Estrella Damm Inedit, a beer created by the Ferrán Adrià’s team of sommeliers.
Barcelona and its surroundings have a large number of nice restaurants where you can taste these delicious specialties. However, if you want to make the tasting of unique products part of an original experience, you can order a spectacular gourmet basket with many of the products from this guide (sausages, cheeses, ham, gazpacho, bread with tomato and more), and we’ll deliver it to the most emblematic places in the city. The Barcelona menu will even let you taste the culinary work of Michelin-starred chefs, featuring a dessert from Celler de Can Roca.
Where in other areas of Spain churros are the classic sweet snack, in Catalonia, the typical accompaniment for a good cup of thick hot chocolate are melindros: a kind of elongated finger-shaped cookies with rounded ends that are sweet, dry, light and very fluffy. They combine very well with the sweetness of the chocolate. Indulging yourself in this delicious treat is (almost) an obligation on winter evenings.
This variety of sponge cake is light and fluffy and is made of flour, eggs, sugar, and yeast. It is one of the most typical sweet specialties throughout Catalonia and is usually eaten for breakfast or a snack.
Gazpacho is a cold soup made with tomato, cucumber, peppers, onions, garlic, vinegar and olive oil. Although it has its roots in Andalusia, it has become a top dish in Catalan cuisine. A good gazpacho balances the slightly acidic flavour of the tomato with the sweet taste of the red pepper and the spicy touch of garlic and onion. It’s a refreshing drink that leaves a pleasant aftertaste on the palate.
Calçots are a kind of long, tender and sweet-tasting onion and are one of the flagship dishes of Catalan cuisine, especially in the southern region. They are cooked on the grill (until the outer layer is completely charred) and eaten by extracting the inside and dipping it in a delicious sauce called romesco (made from roasted tomato and pepper —see escalivada above —almonds, garlic, paprika, and olive oil) to make this food a real delicacy. They are eaten during the winter months.
This particular savoury cake is made and eaten in all the provinces of Catalonia. In reality, it is bread dough with a little oil just like a pizza base, where all kinds of ingredients are placed on top, such as peppers and/or roasted eggplant, tuna, hard-boiled egg, onion, sardines, olives, tomatoes, seasonal mushrooms, etc. It is an ideal dish for any informal dinner that is sure to please everyone.
Collecting this type of mushroom could be considered a national sport. They are usually sautéed with garlic and parsley as an accompaniment, and veal stew with rovellons is one of the most typical traditional dishes of Catalonia.
Their bright red bodies, firm texture, freshness and incomparable flavour make red prawns from Palamós a delicacy. Their unique, intimate and, inexplicable profile delights even the most discerning palates.
The fishing village of L'Escala, in Alt Empordà, has always been a bountiful place for anchovy fishing. This type of anchovy is known for preserves, which keep its flavour and richness fully intact. Many people eat them on top of a slice of bread with tomato and a generous stream of oil.
The coca de llardons is a sweet cake typical of much of the Catalan Pyrenees. Years ago, they could only be found in the days leading up to Lent, but today they are available year round and are part of the great variety of sweets during the most popular festivities, such as Sant Joan or Sant Pere. The coca de llardons is usually accompanied by sweet wine, muscatel, malvasía or cava.
Simple and succulent. Mel i mató is one of the most popular desserts in Catalonia, along with “crema catalana” and combines delicious cottage cheese (milk curd, originally from goat) with honey.
If you are already clear about what to eat in Barcelona but do not want to settle for just any plan, enjoy the best of Catalan cuisine away from the hustle and bustle (in a park, from an overlook, on the beach at dusk and more), with one of our gourmet tastings accompanied by a good local wine. We’ll bring it to you anywhere in the city. Just choose your picnic and we’ll set the table for you.
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