Calçots season begins! It’s a great notice for gourmands of all Catalonia because it’s Festival of Calçotada in Valls.
Have you ever tried Calçots or at least heard about it?
This typical Catalan tradition has more than 100 years old and as the legend says, it was a simple farmer from Valls, who discovered it by a chance, when by a simple carelessness he grilled some onions. Their exterior part totally burned, but the farmer peeled them and found out the tender texture of Calçots.
Since then Valls is a Capital of Calçots and every year The Great Festival of Calçotada is celebrated in that small village with all the traditions, local colours and noise, and you can live it, participate in a varied program of competitions, then take part in Calçots tasting and much more.
The Calçotada is a meal based on a specially grown onions calçots that are served with a Romesco sauce. The tradition of eating Calçots passed from generation to generation and nowadays moves thousands of people between November and April. Therefore, Valls is known as the Capital of Calçot, this gastronomic festive become so rooted, typical and popular in our country.
How to make a Calçotada?
The basic gastronomic elements of a Calçotada are calçots of Valls with Romesco sauce specially made to accompany the lamb and roasted sausage. For desserts, we used to eat oranges, Catalan cream and other pastries (there is a huge variety of them). Drinks that genuinely accompany the food are local wines and cava.
The ritual begins with the delicate operation of preparing calçots, which consists of cutting the greens to a measure, and then to put the roots, the onions in the racks, where they are roasting on the fire. When they are cooked, when they are soft and completely blacks outside, you should tightly wrap them with newspapers to keep warm.
Now you know all or almost all about Calçotada and we are sure you already desire to try the best calçots in Catalonia. Valls is not far away from Barcelona, so take a day or a half day and enjoy this fantastic culinary experience.
