This month, Prospect's food columnist Wendell Steavenson discovers the perfect restaurant in Perpignan, on the French border with Catalonia. "Chez Henri is so small that there is no room for tables inside—four tables were set up in the alley," she writes. But the food is delicious—"the cuisine between the sea and the mountain," the proprietor, Henri, explains. Catalonia has a distinct cuisine with mixed historical influences that combines meat, fish, vegetables, oils, cheese, herbs, nuts and spices to create a diverse range of dishes. It is often considered to be among the best of Spanish food. Try some of the recipes below to find out why. Photo by Nuria Farregut
Rossejat de fideus
This recipe for rossejat de fideus—or toasted noodles—comes from Spanish food blogger Núria Farregut. You can find plenty more Catalan recipes on her blog, www.spanishrecipesbynuria.com. "You don’t want to miss this dish," she says. "The noodles get all the fish stock flavour and their toasted texture is something really special to try. Just make sure to prepare a good tasty fish stock and the rossejat will be done."IngredientsServes 4 400g vermicelli Homemade fish stock (you can find Núria's recipe here) 1 ripe tomato 2 cloves of garlic 1.5 tbsps fresh parsley Olive oil Salt Directions 1. Grate the tomato, mince the garlic and parsley. 2. Take a paella pan (or similar), pour in just enough olive oil to cover the surface and heat. Throw the vermicelli in and stir until they become toasted. 3. Add the tomato, garlic and parsley and stir for 30 seconds. 4. Pour in between 0.75 and 1 litre of boiling fish stock. 5. Taste and add salt if necessary. 6. Cook the vermicelli until they absorb all the stock or you have reached the cooking time indicated on the packet. 7. Let it rest for one minute and serve with allioli (Catalan garlic sauce). Photograph by Nuria FarregutSuquet de rap
This classic Catalonian dish is a kind of monkfish stew. According to Núria, who has also provided this recipe: "As with most of our traditional dishes, it has humble origins… Ingredients ready to hand that make a quick delicious meal to prepare [for fishermen on board their boat]. Nowadays it is not considered humble at all… it’s one of the best dishes you can present to your guests!" Make sure you have enough bread to soak up the leftover juice, she says, and if you prepare it a few hours' before you intend to serve it the flavours have more time absorb.Ingredients Serves 4 600g fresh monkfish (without the head and spine) 200g fresh clams 4 medium potatoes 3 medium onions 2 ripe tomatoes 0.5 cup dry white wine 100g peeled and toasted almonds Flour to coat the fish 3 garlic cloves Black pepper Olive oil 0.5 tsp sweet ground paprika (optional) Saffron threads (optional) 1 slice toasted bread and salt Directions 1. Place the clams in a bowl with fresh water and salt. Prepare a fish stock with the head and spine of the monkfish and one onion. When it starts to boil remove the foam. Let it simmer for half an hour, strain and put to one side. 2. Dice the monkfish, clean it under tap water and dry with kitchen paper. Season the fish with salt and pepper. Coat in flour and fry in a big casserole dish with some olive oil. When it goldens up, leave it on kitchen paper to absorb the oil. 3. Peel the onions and garlic and finely chop. Grate the tomatoes. In the same casserole dish, fry the onion on a low heat. When transparent, add the garlic and when it smells add the tomato. Stir and fry on a low heat for approximately 10 minutes. 4. Add the paprika and saffron if using. 5. Peel the potatoes, cut and let them cook for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the picada: in a mortar grind the leftover garlic, the toasted bread and almonds into a paste, and then add to the casserole dish. Stir it all and simmer for five more minutes. 6. Place the clams into the dish and cook until they are open. 7. Let it rest for five minutes with the lid on and serve hot. 8. To thicken the soup you can pick out the monkfish, clams and most of the potatoes and set aside in another serving bowl. Then blend the two or three potatoes left with the sauce and pour over the main ingredients. Photo by Katherine PriceCrema Catalana
Crema Catalana is Catalonia's famous custard, most commonly used to make a citrus-infused crème brûlée-style pudding—as Spanish-born Ollie Templeton, head chef at London foodie hub Carousel, shows us how to do here, topping it with caramelised figs. But the custard can also be used to fill pastries and top desserts, or can simply be served with fruit salad.IngredientsServes 4
Custard 1 litre whole milk Peel of 1/2 lemon, pith removed Peel of 1/2 orange, pith removed 5cm cinnamon stick 6 large free-range egg yolks 50g caster sugar 40g cornflour Caramelised figs 4 black figs 4 tablespoons soft brown sugar
Directions
1. Combine the milk, lemon and orange peel and cinnamon in a heavy-based saucepan. Place over a medium heat and bring just to the boil, then remove and leave to infuse for an hour. Once cool, strain the milk through a fine sieve, discarding the solids. 2. Beat the egg yolks and caster sugar until thick and pale, followed by the cornflour, and then whisk in the infused milk. Return the custard to a clean heavy-based saucepan and cook, stirring continuously, for about 10 minutes over a medium heat, until the mixture is thick and coats the back of a wooden spoon. 3. Cool slightly, then strain into a jug. Pour the custard into four shallow ramekins and refrigerate until set; this should take 2 to 3 hours. 4. Slice the figs in quarters almost all the way through and place one on top of each crema Catalana. Scatter the soft brown sugar over both the figs’ gooey centre and the custard. To caramelise the sugar, the easiest option is to use a blowtorch and blast the sugar until bubbling and golden; if you do not have one, place the custards under a very hot grill and keep an eye on them to make sure they do not burn. Eat immediately.
