The essence of Catalan gastronomy: local products
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Catalonia has all the ingredients for the best gastronomy: a region with landscapes as diverse as its treasured cuisine, some of the best chefs in the world and high-quality, varied and seasonal produce. We want to show you the ingredients of Catalan gastronomy.
High-quality products right on your doorstep
The larder is one of the jewels of Catalan gastronomy. The variety of local products kept there is spectacular, with products from the sea and the mountains: meat, fish, vegetables and more. Everything is of the highest quality. The larder contents vary depending on the season. The markets found throughout the towns and cities of Catalonia are prime examples of this.
Quality trademarks
Thanks to their excellent quality and uniqueness, Catalonia has many products that are awarded the official European label of Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), or Protected Geographical Indication (PGI). Both are awarded to typical products that originate from a region which gives them a specific character and an inimitable flavour.
If you want to taste typical Catalan products with proven quality, you can choose from those with the official Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) label, such as: rice from the Ebro delta, different varieties of oil, Reus hazelnuts, Lleida pears, butter and cheese from L'Alt Urgell and La Cerdanya, beans from Ganxet and Santa Pau.
Products with the Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) classification include: the Terres de l'Ebre clementines, Prades potatoes, Valls spring onions, Agramunt turrón, veal from the Pyrenees, artisan bread, Vic sausage, Prat chicken and Girona apples.
Four seasons and various celebrations mark the gastronomic calendar. Spring is the time for colourful fields, strawberries, peas and mussels. The San Juan festivities mark the start of summer, and there is nothing better to celebrate it with than the traditional 'coca' pastry and cava. Autumn is the time for the traditional dessert 'panellets' and chestnuts. At Christmas time, 'escudella' stew and cannelloni are the main event. For the rest of winter, 'xató' sauce and 'calçots' spring onions fill the table and are the basis for cooking workshops.
Please come and try our Catalan products. Cooking workshops, fairs, and weekly markets are an excellent way of discovering Catalan gastronomy.
High-quality products right on your doorstep
The larder is one of the jewels of Catalan gastronomy. The variety of local products kept there is spectacular, with products from the sea and the mountains: meat, fish, vegetables and more. Everything is of the highest quality. The larder contents vary depending on the season. The markets found throughout the towns and cities of Catalonia are prime examples of this.
Quality trademarks
Thanks to their excellent quality and uniqueness, Catalonia has many products that are awarded the official European label of Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), or Protected Geographical Indication (PGI). Both are awarded to typical products that originate from a region which gives them a specific character and an inimitable flavour.
If you want to taste typical Catalan products with proven quality, you can choose from those with the official Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) label, such as: rice from the Ebro delta, different varieties of oil, Reus hazelnuts, Lleida pears, butter and cheese from L'Alt Urgell and La Cerdanya, beans from Ganxet and Santa Pau.
Products with the Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) classification include: the Terres de l'Ebre clementines, Prades potatoes, Valls spring onions, Agramunt turrón, veal from the Pyrenees, artisan bread, Vic sausage, Prat chicken and Girona apples.
Four seasons and various celebrations mark the gastronomic calendar. Spring is the time for colourful fields, strawberries, peas and mussels. The San Juan festivities mark the start of summer, and there is nothing better to celebrate it with than the traditional 'coca' pastry and cava. Autumn is the time for the traditional dessert 'panellets' and chestnuts. At Christmas time, 'escudella' stew and cannelloni are the main event. For the rest of winter, 'xató' sauce and 'calçots' spring onions fill the table and are the basis for cooking workshops.
Please come and try our Catalan products. Cooking workshops, fairs, and weekly markets are an excellent way of discovering Catalan gastronomy.
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To create a good meal, you need quality products. A newly harvested tomato, flavourful oil or fresh fish is the key to cooking a successful dish.
Protected Designations of Origin and Geographic Indication
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Thanks to their excellent quality, lots of the products that define Catalan gastronomy deserve the official title of Protected Designation of Origin (DOP), or Protected Geographical Indication (IGP). Here you have a few.
Empordà olive oil PDO
El Empordà has a deep-rooted tradition of olive tree growing dating back to when the Greeks arrived in the sixth century BC and founded the settlements of Empùries and Roses.
Terra Alta olive oil POD
In La Terra Alta, more specifically in the village of Horta de Sant Joan, is where the oldest thousand-year-old olive tree in Catalonia can be found.
Baix Ebre-Montsià olive oil PDO
The oils of El Baix Ebre and El Montsià are extra virgin oils of excellent quality which is why they were granted the Protected Designation of Origin (PDO).
Siurana PDO
In the area of El Camp de Tarragona oil has been being produced for more than a thousand years. For several years it has been the holder of the Siurana Protected Designation of Origin.
Les Garrigues PDO
Les Garrigues is one of the Catalan districts with the longest tradition in the production of oil. It is for good reason that it is holder of the oldest Designation of Origin in Spain.
Prades potatoes
Potatoes have been grown in the village of Prades for centuries. The selection of varieties, a carefully implemented technique and a favourable climate have led them to obtain the Protected Geographical Indication.
Wine Designations of Origin
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Between tradition and renovation. This is just where the wines and cava of the 12 Catalan Designations of Origin -11 of wine and one of cava- leave you. They are a reflection of the landscape, the climate and the grape varieties. Do you fancy trying them?
DO Priorat
The Carthusian monks started to grow vines in this inland part of the province of Tarragona way back in 1262.
DO Penedès
As far back as Roman times, the wines of El Penedès were appreciated throughout the empire and exported to Gaul, Britannia and even to Mauritania, making use of the Via Augusta. Such international recognition has stood the test of time until now: a third of the production is consumed abroad.
DO Cava
This sparkling wine, famous all over the world, started to become known in the area of Sant Sadurní d’Anoia (Alt Penedès) in 1872, when Josep Raventós produced the first 3,000 bottles in the historical Codorníu winery. Currently more than 200 million bottles are produced each year.
DO Empordà
In El Empordà the vines are barely a few centimetres from the ground to prevent the Tramontana from spoiling them. This has been the case for more than 2,000 years, when the Greeks established the vineyards in these locations.
DO Costers del Segre
This young Designation of Origin from the province of Lleida, created in 1983, quickly gained prestige thanks to experimenting with unusual wines.
DO Alella
The wines in this area were already praised by the Roman writers Plinio el Viejo and Marcial in their epigrams.
Highlighted traditional recipes
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The time has come to put on your apron and practice before the stove. These are some of the typical dishes of Catalonia.
Fricandó amb moixernons
Fricandó, or casseroled veal, is without doubt one of the best known dishes in Catalan cuisine.
Suquet de Peix
How many ways are there of making a suquet? Or should we say suquets? Because there are as many versions of this typical fish stew as there are fishermen.
Escudella i carn d'olla
Escudella was formerly an everyday winter dish in Catalonia, and more elaborate versions were prepared at Christmas.
Trinxat de la Cerdanya
Trinxat from La Cerdanya has become popular all over Catalonia, above all in mountain areas from the Pallars to the Empordà regions, and including the Garrotxa, Ripollès and Berguedà regions.
Fesols amb bacallà
Different types of kidney beans with cod make a sensational dish which is served with different variations from Girona to Tarragona.
Bunyols de l'Empordà
Brunyols are typical in Lent and at Easter, but in Girona they are eaten all year round.
WHAT IS AROUND HERE?
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DO Siurana olive oil tasting
Masroig, el / Costa Daurada
WalkArbre3Masroig, el
Visit the oil mill Masroig winery and taste the oils
Esencia y secretos de Tossa de Mar
Tossa de Mar / Costa Brava
StreetNou60Caldes de Malavella17455
Visita guiada a cargo de un arqueólogo e historiador que revela los secretos más escondidos de la historia de Tossa de Mar, en un viaje hacia el pasado a través del patrimonio y el paisaje del litoral.
Balneario Vichy Catalan y Caldes
Caldes de Malavella / Costa Brava
StreetVall-Lloberas/nCaldes de Malavella
Pasea por la Caldes termal y modernista, y vive el termalismo
Caldes de Malavella y la gastronomía catalana
Caldes de Malavella / Costa Brava
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Conoce y disfruta de la Caldes Termal
Maridaje de arqueología y cerveza artesana
Vidreres / Costa Brava
StreetCosta Brava272Vidreres
Visita guiada al castillo de Sant Iscle de Vidreres y la Selvaseria
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Agramunt nougat
Agramunt / Terres de Lleida
Nougat chocolate, wafers, mantecados and marzipan are the typical sweet delights at Christmas time. They round off hearty Christmas family meals.
All cremat de Vilanova
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Pelad los ajos y laminadlos. A continuación, pelad las patatas, cortadlas a dados y reservadlas. Poned una cazuela con aceite al fuego.
Allioli
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Allioli (garlic mayonnaise) is a sauce which is used to accompany a variety of meat dishes particularly char-grilled meats and additionally as a finishing touch for many dishes.
Amanida catalana
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Catalan salad is popular all over Catalonia and each region adds or omits certain ingredients depending on their availability in the home or in the season.
Ametlles garapinyades
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Sugared almonds are some of the most popular sweets in the fairs and festivals in towns and villages around Catalonia. The confectioners use copper vats, although earthenware containers are also good. The recipe can be made with hazelnuts.
Anguila Xapada Guisada
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Also know as xapadillo, this dish is very popular in Terres de l'Ebre. The term xapada means open down the middle, soaked in brine and then dried for twelve hours. This xapadillo can be made without beans. Add cherries, parsley, red pepper, etc. Or simply grill it over charcoal, accompanied with a good allioli (garlic mayonnaise) or bread rubbed with half a raw tomato.
Anxoves amb Sal
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Salted anchovies can always be found in the larders of sea-going folk. The anchovies must be recently fished and not frozen, as they lose their taste.
Arrop
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Arrope is a Medieval sweet prepared with the must from ripe black grapes which is cooked (in the old days in copper vats) with different fruits and vegetables until it is reduced to a syrup.
Arròs Negre de l'Empordà
Bisbal d'Empordà, la, Figueres / Costa Brava
Black rice is a typical dish all up and down the Costa Brava, made by cooking the onion very slowly until it is well caramelised and honey-coloured.
Arròs a la cassola
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Casseroled rice is a dish which is typically served on Thursdays throughout Catalonia.
Arròs amb Llet
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Rice pudding is a dessert known throughout the world, which appears to have originated in Portugal.
Arròs brut
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The name arròs brut (dirty rice) comes from the animal blood which is used to give this dish its characteristic colour and flavour.
Arròs caldós de llamàntol
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Creamy rice and its variants, is prepared up and down the whole of the Catalan coast. It can also be found in Minorca, where creamy lobster rice is a very well-known dish.
Arròs de Conill Sèpia i Escamarlans
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Rice with rabbit is made all year round with seasonal ingredients.
Arròs de Sardines
Vilanova i la Geltrú, Amposta, Tortosa / Costa Barcelona
Catalan maritime cuisine features a wide variety of rice dishes and suquets (fish stews) made with oily fish: rice with anchovies, sardine stew, rice with tuna.