Feb 24
Soups, salads, vegetables & potatoes | Traditional Spanish Recipes
Calçotada
I want to buy some new flowers and paint my terrace in bright colours… food and recipes will have to wait a bit.
This is how I spent last Saturday… a glorious day with sun, friends, wine, calçots, romesco, grilled lamb and smoke! See what a calçotada is :D.
Using the branches of the vineyards to set the fire
“Sewing” the calçots together with a wire to operate with them easily.
Cooking them on the burning branches.
That’s how they have to look… nearly burnt outside.
Wrap them in newspapers and take them to the table.
Peel them and dip in Romesco Sauce
The Calçot is an onion picked at the end of the summer, cut in a particular way and returned to the earth, buried at the beginning of the autumn. During the growing process, we get a new onion from the bulb and the calçot that grows down into the ground. The result is a sweet onion that won’t make you cry if you cut it raw and won’t leave a hard breath in your mouth. The time to harvest them starts in January and the best way to cook them is burning them in a fire done with the prunning branches of the vine
Peel the calçot’s burned leaves, dip in Romesco sauce and eat… it’s a Feast!
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Oh, I’m so jealous! I’m never in Catalunya during February so haven’t been to a calçotada yet!
I saw a program on TV about these recently. A Spanish chef who lives in Washington, D.C. and has a TV show goes back and forth to Spain introducing viewers to the culture, traditions and food. In this episode he went into the country while they picked, prepared and ate the calcots — much like in your video. They look like green onions but I don’t know if they are available in the U.S.
You are making me long for sunshine and warm weather as well as Spain Nuria!!ENJOY!!
Ah spring! It is still two months away here in cold New York, so I appreciate your photos. They give me a lift.
What a lovely breath of springtime air! Enjoy your spring beginnings, Nuria!
I just saw a rerun of an Anthony Bourdain show where he showed them making and eating these. Oh how I’d love to try them someday – I love Romesco and the charred onions seemed like a perfect accompaniment. Your spring looks absolutely gorgeous – flowering trees are one of the most beautiful things in the world!!
i don’t know what i’m more jealous of, the calçots or the blooming trees… or maybe it’s the warmth? spring seems so far away. one day i will eat Calçots…
enjoy the time… i wouldn’t be thinking about cooking either!
I can’t wait for the sun to make its way to chicago – lol.
Nuria, first of all Happy (belated) Birthday! I am very far behind on my blog reading as caring for the baby is demanding much of my spare time these days. That said, let me also thank you for sharing the information on the calçotada tradition. It is a lovely practice, may it continue for many many more generations!
Spring is still only a notion for us here in Canada, but posts like this one do help to remind us that winter will not last forever.
Be Well,
Sam
Bona tarda Nuria,
Quin bon temps tenim ja per aquí, oi?
M’agrada llegir els comentaris (plens de sana enveja) de la gent, i sentir-me orgullosa de la rica gastronomia que tenim a casa.
Les fotos, fantàstiques, per cert, a quina zona les vas fer?
Felicitats pel teu blog.
Oh lucky you, spring already reached you and we are still fighting frigid temperatures. Go out and enjoy that I will do the same once it start to warm up here :)
Hola Nuria, que fotos mas bonitas que hiciste, se nota que pasasteis un día estupendo…y la calçotada ummm me encanta, no me canso de los calçots mojados en abundante salsa romesco ñam ñam…besitos
I just saw the same show Laurie wrote about and I fell in love with this tradition and with absolutely everything about Spain that was shared on this show. I have been dreaming up a trip there for the last three days–how lovely that would be!
That show depicted how regular onions are planted into the ground and then grow into the calcots–I am eager to try this in my own garden.
Calçot does sound like shallot, doesn’t it? Lovely spring pictures. The almond trees have bloomed here in Greece as well.
Hola Su-Lin! Now you have a good reason for visiting this time of the year ;D
Hola Joan, I think you are talking about José Andrés, he is a great chef :D. Yes, they look like green onions but there’s some differences among them. Thanks for your patience Joan :D, I plan to visit soon.
Thanks so much Val! It feels great to see the sun some days in a row :D.
Thanks Rachel! The weather helps me to get in the best of moods!!!
Thanks Jen :D
Laurie, it’s so easy… buy a cheap ticket and I’m taking you for a Calçotada ;D
Hola Amy! I’m sure calçots will be in fashion in N.Y. soon!!!! The warmth feels great :D
Hola Darius! I guess we are very lucky with this sneak peak of spring :D
Thanks Sam! Babies deserve all the time and love in the world!!!! I’m also late in my comments and I don’t have such a beautiful excuse :D. Spring is the best Season!!!!
HOla Olga y gràcies per les floretes :D. Les fotos del video son de les afores de Falset. Jo també em sento molt orgullosa de la nostra gastronomia i m’encanta compartir-la amb la resta del mon! Peró sobre tot, gaudir-la a taula ;D.
Querido Ben… la primavera me levanta el espíritu ;D. Ya llevamos más de una semana con sol y temperaturas de 16 grados aprox… es una delicia!!!!
Gracias Maria José. La verdad es que pasamos un día estupendo de solecito, vino y calçots… ¿que más se puede pedir en la vida? ¡Salud!
HOla Ivy! I bet that the fields in Greece look more or less like the ones here… blooming and beautiful :D
I saw these on Anthony Bourdain a while back and wished I knew someone who lived in Spain that I could visit. Loved your slideshow.
I would be out enjoying the Spring weather too!
I hope you had a wonderful birthday, chica.
Looks like a lovely day. I wish our winter were shorter. I don’t think we’ll see many signs of spring for at least a month.
Thank you for the great blog! I posted a link to this entry on my blog entry about calçots on my site, http://www.orangepolkadot.com.
Hi Jennifer and welcome to Spanish Recipes! Thanks for the link and thanks for the nice words :D. That’s why I keep on blogging ;D. I’ll visit yours right now.