Catalan Cuisine Revised Edition

Award-winning author Coleman Andrews explores a once undiscovered gem among Europe's great culinary traditions. The cooks of Catalonia use many of the same popular ingredients found in other Mediterranean cuisines, but they combine them in fresh and unexpectedly delicious ways. Try Paella Vallenciana, Tumbet (a Majorcan vegetable casserole), Canalons (the local spin on cannelloni), or the delightful Bunyols (fried pastries), to name just a few of the savory regional dishes. By learning their culinary secrets, you'll discover a fascinating history and culture of the Catalan people.

Catalan cuisine authority Daniel Olivella serves historical narratives alongside 80 carefully curated Spanish food recipes, like tapas, paella, and seafood, that are simple and fresh. In proud, vibrant Catalonia, food is what brings people together—whether neighbors, family, or visitors. By the sea, over a glass of chilled vermouth and the din of happily shared, homemade Pica Pica (tapas) is where you’ll find the most authentic Catalonia. The region is known for its wildly diverse indigenous ingredients, from seafood to jamon Ibérico to strains of rice, and richly flavored cuisine that has remained uniquely Catalan throughout its complex and fraught history. In Catalan Food, the recipes are intended to be cooked leisurely and with love—the Catalan way. Featuring traditional dishes like Paella Barcelonata (Seafood Paella) and Llom de Porc Canari (Slow-roasted Pork Loin), as well as inventive takes on classics like Tiradito amb Escalivada (Spanish Sashimi with Roasted Vegetable Purees) and Amanida de Tomàquet amb Formatge de Cabra (Texas Peach and Tomato Salad with Goat Cheese), Catalan Food brings heritage into any home cook’s kitchen, where Catalonia’s cuisine was born. To know a culture, you must taste it; none is more rich and stunningly delicious than Catalonia’s.

“A great source of inspiration,” this cookbook is a stunning, mouthwatering homage to the unique, beloved, and healthy cuisine of Catalonia (Alice Waters, chef/owner of Chez Panisse). Once an undiscovered gem among Europe’s culinary traditions, the cuisine of Catalonia, a province of northeast Spain, has become an inspiration to some of the world’s top chefs. Catalan Cuisine is the definitive guide to authentic Catalan cooking—the book that introduced this remarkable cuisine to America, and a volume that is found today in the kitchens of some of Catalonia’s most famous chefs. Using many of the same fresh ingredients as other Mediterranean cuisines—tomato, garlic, olives, beans, pasta, fruits, and a bounty of meat and seafood—Catalan cooking combines them in unexpected and mouthwatering ways. With 200 memorable recipes that are easy to prepare and sure to amaze, plus fascinating facts about the traditions, history, and culture of Catalonia, Catalan Cuisine is required reading—or eating—for any adventurous gourmand or Spanish food aficionado. “An intelligent, superbly written, profound study of a great and fascinating cuisine.” —Paula Wolfert “Colman Andrews is one of the most important champions of Catalan cuisine. This significant book expresses a great love for our culture.” —Ferran Adrià, chef/owner of El Bulli

Widely associated with avant-garde gastronomy and lavish food markets, Barcelona has become a top destination for gourmands and chefs around the world, especially after the spectacular rise of chef Ferran Adrià of the famed elBulli, soon to be reborn as elBulli1846. Barcelona is a city that attracts millions of visitors in search of art and culinary experiences while cookery apprentices from around the world arrive looking to perfect their skills and expand their gastronomic horizon. The city offers an unequaled combination of restaurants, chefs, restauranteurs, media and local government initiatives to help those who arrive seeking an extraordinary culinary experience. But how has the city established itself as a global culinary referent while becoming synonymous with cutting-edge cuisine? This book narrates Barcelona’s urban and culinary development from the Middle Ages to the present, tracing the origins and the growth of the culinary prestige of this part of Catalonia. Barcelona has been a cosmopolitan center since the 1700s because of its location and busy port. The city has always been well supplied with food, and its residents built a strong culinary tradition enlivened by its contact with other cuisines and novel products afforded by its geographic location and the people who migrated to the area. With literature, painting, music and architecture, cooking has been a crucial activity in creating and maintaining a Catalan identity. Past, present and future visitors of the city will find a fascinating history of the unforgettable culinary importance of one of the most popular cities of Spain.

‘A truly beautiful book, written by my favourite Spanish man. These pages are packed with joyful rays of inspiration and utter deliciousness.’ – Jamie Oliver Located in the northeast of Spain, Catalonia borders France’s Pyrenees mountains and has a heritage and scenery like no other place in the world. In Catalonia, José Pizarro travels from the impressive Gaudi architecture in buzzy Barcelona, to the Roman and Greek ruins in Girona and secluded beaches in Costa Brava to create some of the best-loved dishes from the Catalonian region at home. Starting in the markets, José revels in the fresh meat, fish and vegetables, with dishes including classic Patatas Bravas, a delicious Duck Egg and Mushroom Stew, and a Rabbit Rice, typical of the region. From a Roast Chicken with Langoustines, Baby Squid with Mint that’s perfect for spring, to a wintery Civet of Venison with Ceps and Mash, and the delicate Hazelnut and Plum cakes, José’s interpretation of the regional flavours will inspire you to get into the kitchen. Set to the backdrop of stunning location photography, Catalonia will make you feel truly transported to this special region.

The Book of Sent Soví, composed around the middle of the fourteenth century, is the oldest surviving culinary text in Catalan. It is anonymous and, like the majority of medieval cookery books, is the product of a complex process of transmission, with multiple manuscript copies and readers who have left their mark on it. The contents are eminently practical. Successive cooks have recorded their own methods of preparing the dishes and recipes included, blending several culinary traditions in a single work. Sent Soví is also a reliable source of information on the cookery of the territories of the Crown of Aragon before the revolution caused by the arrival of products from the Americas. This edition includes both an English translation, by Robin Vogelzang, and the original Catalan version. It has been the editor's aim to clarify the difficult passages in the book - sometimes corrupted because of the complex manuscript tradition - so that it can be understood as easily as possible by its twenty-first-century readers. JOAN SANTANACH lectures on medieval literature at the University of Barcelona. Published in association with Editorial Barcino.