EatCatalunya

The biggest coca in the world

Jen

For the uninitiated, a coca is a Catalan pastry that's a bit like a pizza: breadlike base and toppings of all sorts, mostly savory, sometimes sweet. Below is a fine example of one, from our Flickr group member su-lin:

For those of you who might think that only us Americans are into contests honoring the largest version of food items, think again, as the world's largest coca was named last month in Barcelona:

A "c [...]

Recipe of the week: Panellets

Jen

One of Catalan cuisine's most treasured treats, panellets are traditionally made, sold and enjoyed for All Saints Day, and also during Easter. They are made with sweet potato and nuts, and come in lots of different shapes and the flavors differ depending on the ingredients added. The most common variety is the pinenut panellet.

When enjoying a panellet, try pairing with a Catalan vi dolci. Delicious!

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Catalan Products for this week at This Next

Jen

Looking for great ingredients for your next Catalan meal at home? Check out our recommendations on This Next .

Catalan Food Photo of the Day: Cargols

Jen

For those of you that haven't noticed, our Flickr photo group is in full swing, and we've already got hundreds of photos of Catalan cuisine and culture that our members are sharing with us. On our new blog we'll be featuring a Photo of the Day every now and then, in addition to the photos we feature on the site. Today we've chosen this amazing image of cargols (snails) by Flickr member perrimanson2 . Enjoy!

Mercat: Catalan cuisine takes NYC

Jen

Spanish restaurants -- both good and bad -- abound in this country. But up until recently Catalan restaurants were pretty much unheard of. The popularity of Catalan cuisine is growing, in large part due to the success of celeb chefs like Ferran Adria, but there is still a relatively small number of restaurants specializing in cuina catalana. According to Catalunya's El Periodico newspaper, the Big Apple is getting a new Catalan restaurant which is uber authentic due to the fact that the 25 [...]

Barcelona off the beaten path: El Laberinto de Horta

Jen

Travelers to Barcelona mostly stay on the beaten path, and barely venture outside of the safety of the Barri Gotic and Eixample. Said travelers are missing a lot, because Barcelona has a lot more to offer in terms of activities and cuisine than just the obvious in the Centro.

Spain's El Mundo newspaper has a feature today which explores Spain's most beautiful gardens AND where to eat when visiting them. One of the picks, not surprisingly, is in good old BCN, but in an area t [...]

Ferran Adria, regular guy

Jen

It must be hard being Ferr�n Adri� at times. People regard him as some sort of god, but his background is so normal. He was born in a working class suburb of Barcelona, and in spite of his meteoric rise to fame, he still leads a very regular life. Adri� himself talked about this in an interview with Spain's Diez Minutos upon receiving word that he was on the NYT's list of the 100 Most Influential People on the Planet:

How does it feel to know you are one of [...]

Can technology save Catalan wine?

Jen

That's the question Miguel Torres, president of Catalunya's (and Spain's) most successful winery, Torres, seems to answer in a compelling piece in the March 10th edition of The Australian News. Not only has Torres diversified its product offering by investing in lands beyond the Iberian peninsula (and as far as way as China), but the company is now using technology to help preserve (or in some cases revive) old Catalan grape varieties, as well as accelerate growth:

It [...]

Catalan Culture: Alive and well in NYC

Jen

Beyond Catalan cuisine, it would seem to the uninitiated that there are few examples of Catalan culture here in the U.S. This month, Catalan culture takes center stage at the Baryshnikov Arts Center in New York, where Catalan poetry, dance, music and theatre will be featured in a new exposition called Made in CataluNYa, Catalan culture in New York .

And this isn't just any cultural event. The words of poets Joan Brossa, Josep Palau i Fabre and Perejaume will be interpreted in En [...]

Nestle drops Adri�

Jen

Many in the culinary world shuddered as master chef Ferr�n Adri� took up with multinational Nestle (as well as other Spanish supermarket brands ) to promote their wares. Now it seems that Nestle is through with Adri�, though it's unclear why. Spain's El Pa�s reports that Nestle attributes the break to Adri�'s "workload", but:

"The company denies that the break had anything to do with the commercial failure of the brand on which he collaborared, Cailler, the [...]