Nuria Canal Archives - Page 3 of 5

Barcelona restaurant: Arume

Arume means aroma in Galician, the language of Galicia, one of the most appreciated regions of Spain in terms of gastronomy.

This small restaurant is located in the ancient part of the city. In El Raval, calle Botella number 13 – a place with history, where Manuel Vázquez Montalbán (a great writer from Barcelona) was born.

From the moment you walk in, you perceive the singularity of the place. A bar crowded with people waiting for their tables next to where the dishes come from the kitchen. While waiting you can have a look at the delights coming and going, but if you are hungry, this can definitely be pure torture.

The overall tone of the place is warm, informal and intimate.

The Galician product is the foundation of the menu, although Catalan cuisine is also present. The tradition is in the recipe, but the dishes blend with modernity very successfully.

The chef is Manuel Nuñez, Galician born in Sada, trained in Galicia and with extensive experience in different restaurants (Casa Solla, Hotel Neri …).

Among other dishes, we tried the Crispy Galician octopus with paprika, potato foam and codium (seaweed), which you really have to try!

best-eats-barcelona

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1 December, 2016 Nuria Canal Leave a comment

Food culture, Shopping in Barcelona, Spanish Christmas Food, Spanish Culture, Traditional Spanish Food

Turrones – traditional Christmas sweets from Spain

Christmas is a time for trying traditional sweets like polvorones (an almond shortbread) candied fruits (peaches, apricots and apples) or finally delicious nougat bars named turrones. Today we talk about the nougat.

Turron en La Campana

Tradition

Spain is recognized as a second producer of almonds worldwide and as a country with one of the highest rates of its’ consumption as well. Since 16th century Spain had been producing many vareties of confectionery based on almonds: sugared almonds, marzipan, almond cakes, shortbreads and nougat bars (turrones).

The nougat stems from south of Spain, where almonds and honey (main ingredients of turrones) had beed brought and rooted by Arabic settlers. An interesting fact is that name turrón may derive from a Latin word torrere (to toast) or an Arabic turun (a dessert). Continue reading →

24 November, 2016 Nuria Canal Leave a comment

Catalan tradition, Food culture, Food Lovers recommendation, Gastronomic Culture, Markets in Barcelona, Shopping in Barcelona, Spanish Culture, Spanish Food, Traditional Spanish Food

5 of the best local shops in Barcelona

Do you want to visit the most authentic stores in the city? Follow our recommendations. We chose 5 places with amazing histories and respect for tradition.

1. Mercado Gotico, Avinguda de la Catedral, 6

The first step is Mercado Gothico. The market stalls are fulfilled with antiques and second hand articles. You will find here beautiful old ceramics, dolls, silver and other precious trinkets. The market is open all year on Thursdays, except for August.

Mercat Gothic in Barcelona

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4 November, 2016 Nuria Canal Leave a comment

All Saints Day in Spain, Castanyada, Food culture, Food Lovers recommendation, Gastronomic Culture, Spanish Culture, Spanish Food, Traditional Spanish Food

Castanyada – chestnut time in Catalonia

Castanyada is a Catalan festival originally dedicated to the memory of our ancestors. Catalans celebrate these days with a special focus on eating typical for this part of the year goodies. What goodies?

Origins

The origins of Castanyada are related to Christian and pagan tradition of celebrating people who passed. Depends on the region of Spain, people treat this part of the year differently. The main way to celebrate these days was to visit family’s graves and light a candle. Some historical sources say that Castanyada was a time, when people who had to ring the church’s bell for many hours during the night (to remind others to pray for deceased) had to maintain their energy through eating seasonal specialties – chestnuts, sweet potatoes, marzipan candies with a finish of sweet wine called Muscadell. Thanks to this, Barcelona in the time of Catanyada has to offer great food specialties!

Celebrations

La Castanyada in Spanish means chestnut time. The name is related directly to the word castanyes which exactly means chestnuts. As we said, during this period of the year people from Catalonia change typical seasonal food into traditional delicatessen. Apart from roasted chestnuts you will find sweet marzipan candies called panellets.

Panallets in Barcelona.

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28 October, 2016 Nuria Canal Leave a comment

Food culture, Food Lovers recommendation, Gastronomic Culture, Spanish Culture, Spanish Food, Traditional Spanish Food

Autumnal Catalan tradition… Wild mushroom hunting.

Today we want to tell you about an autumnal Spanish tradition, which guides whole families, tourists and adventure enthusiasts to dimmed, deep woods.

Hunting mushrooms for Catalans is a way of spending weekend mornings with family. For local boletaires is a perfect moment to show their talents and for tourists is just a great experience of tasting pure Spanish culture.

Bolet is the Catalan word for mushrooms. When you come to Spain in the season of hunting, it’s sure that you’ll see restaurants’ and bars’ menus filled with dishes based on all edible variations of bolets.

Spaniards as a nation of people who pay an exceptional attention to the culinary art, discovered in picking mushrooms a true passion!

An example of person, whose experience reaches more than 50 years is Llorenç Petrás, an icon. His market stall at La Boqueria is a legend! When you come to Barcelona, you have to go there, at least to see how somebody can care about the business.

petras la boqueria

Llorenç Petrás at La Boqueria, photo by: Aneta Maciejewska

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21 October, 2016 Nuria Canal Leave a comment

Catalan wines, Coctail bars in Barcelona, Drinks in Barcelona, Food culture, Food Lovers recommendation, Gastronomic Culture, Night life in Barcelona, Spanish Culture, Spanish Food, Spanish wines, The best bars in Barcelona, The best restaurants in Barcelona, Traditional Spanish Food

Jamón Iberico in Barcelona – our recommendations

Autumn has appeared and Barcelona is changing along…

Streets are getting quieter, sun is shining less clearly but still enough to enjoy a cup of coffee outside of the bar. Evenings however, became chilly, so when it comes to dinner, it is important to choose a warm and pleasant place.

Last time we talked about Jamon Iberico, where we explained why this product is so original and important for Spanish gastronomic culture. This time, we would like to share our recommendations of two restaurants with great quality food and equally good atmosphere.

Casa Alfonso

Casa Alfonso Barcelona

Casa Alfonso is located between Eixample and El Born areas, next to metro Urquinaona. This 80 year old restaurant has several seats outside, and much more inside.

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6 October, 2016 Nuria Canal Leave a comment

Food culture, Food Lovers recommendation, Gastronomic Culture, Spanish Culture, Spanish Food, Traditional Spanish Food

Jamón ibérico, cured Spanish specialty

Do you recognize this nutty flavor ham, cut directly in front of you eyes? Do you know the reason why this ham is so appreciated by gourmets? Thanks to Spanish tradition, we can tell you a story about… Jamón ibérico.

jamon-iberico

Photo by FLC

It is a type of cured ham produced in Iberian Peninsula, especially in Spain and Portugal. According to Spain’s Denominación de Origen principles related to food products, jamón ibérico has to be made from black Iberian pigs or cross-bred pigs as long as they are at least 50% ibérico.

iberian-pigs

Iberian pigs; Photo by: http://www.spanish-passion.com

The reason why Jamón ibérico is perceived as the best product of Spain, concerns a specific process of production.

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29 September, 2016 Nuria Canal

Catalan wines, Drinks in Barcelona, Food culture, Food Lovers recommendation, Gastronomic Culture, Spanish Culture, Spanish Food, Spanish wines

An introduction to Catalan Wines

Dear Food Lovers,

It’s high time to raise the curtain and say something about a Catalan wine making tradition…

wine_region_priorat

Priorat vineyard. Photo by: http://winetourismspain.com/

Catalonia consists of 10 denominated wine regions. Nine of them has a certificate of Denominació d’Origen or Denominación de Origen (DO) and one of them has a Denominació d’Origen Qualificada Certificate (DOQ).

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21 September, 2016 Nuria Canal Leave a comment

Food culture, Food Lovers recommendation, Gastronomic Culture, Spanish Culture, Spanish Food, Traditional Spanish Food

Mató, Catalans’ favourite cheese for dessert

Spain is notorious fot its’ diversified selection of cheese…

Maturated, mold, curd – here you can find whatever you need. Today we want to talk about a curd cheese called Mató.

Mató is an original product of Catalunya. This amazing quality cheese tastes a little bit like Ricotta… But the way how Catalans prepare it, makes Mató an absolutely refined local specialty.

Mató is a whey cheese, produced from cow’s or goat’s milk. A taste of Mató is very specific because manufacturers don’t use salt during the process of production.

This sweet, soft, milky, slightly granular but spreadable cheese is used by Catalans to prepare their traditional desserts called Mel y mató.

miel-y-mato

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16 September, 2016 Nuria Canal Leave a comment

Food culture, Food Lovers recommendation, Gastronomic Culture, Spanish Culture, Spanish Food, The best restaurants in Barcelona

Our amazing experience at… Disfrutar

Dear Food Lovers,

Today we want to share with you our recent experience from one of the most interesting restaurants in Barcelona.

The last Saturday was fulfilled with excitement, enjoyment and a great taste.

Disfrutar is located in a heart of Eixample neighborhood, close to the middle of Avenida Diagonal, maybe the longest street in the city.

Surroundings seemed to be rather typical for Barcelona’s architecture and design but with taking the first steps and with coming into the restaurant, we felt like…

…home.

Not our home but somebody’s who is very easy-going, self-confident and aware of what should be done. We felt entertained and hosted.

We ordered a menu „Festival” which constists of 19 courses.

Here you have several examples of our favorites: