One of the incentives of traveling is that you learn from the traditional cuisine of the area. Globalization has caused, in some way, some loss of excitement for discovering. This is because we have food from around the world just round the corner. However, it is sure that the most traditional dishes of the Catalan and Spanish cuisine, some of the most reputed gastronomies around the world, don’t reach to everyone. Take a holiday in Lloret de Mar to taste the gastronomic excellence of our territory! We warn you, if you continue reading, you’ll be hungry!
Did you know that the first European book of recipes is Catalan? It’s name is Sent Soví and it was published in 1324. This fact shows how seriously the cuisine is taken in Catalonia and Spain.
We all know that our meals of today are the result of all the civilizations that have passed through our territory, and in the case of Catalonia we are talking about Iberians, Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Jews and Arabs. Obviously the French and Italians have also left their mark, and so did the ingredients that came from the lands that Spaniards colonized, such as America.
Go into each of the two cuisines and their main dishes while you make your mouth water
At present there are two realities in Spanish cuisine: the contemporary cuisine, which combines techniques and ingredients from all over the world, and classic, popular and traditional cuisine with strong religious roots. This is the one with the recipes that have crossed borders, such as gazpacho, the famous potatoe omelette, nougat or churros!
Some typical behaviours of preparing and eating from some Spanish regions have been internationalized, such as tapas, also knowns as pinchos. Going out for tapeo is a widespread practice in the Iberian Peninsula. You will surely find the typical patatas bravas (spicy fried potatoes) throughout Spain. There are those who fry them, or who bake them in the oven but they will always have their spicy chilly kick, which is where their name comes from.
Now that the cold season is approaching, it is the perfect time for soups and stews, dishes with more calories. Each Spanish region has its own version, such as the cocido madrileño (stew made in Madrid with chickpeas, meat and vegetables) the caldo gallego (Galician broth with white beans, vegetables and potatoes) or the fabada asturiana (Asturian stew with white beans and cured pork sausages). In Spanish literature we also find the historical duelos y quebrantos (based on egg, pork and chorizo sausage, which Miguel de Cervantes already mentioned in El Quijote).
Spain is also a land of cheeses and wines. We have world renowned designations of origin, such as La Rioja! Who has never tasted drinks that are prepared based on wine, such as sangria or tinto de verano (wine with sugar-sweetened soda). Although the wine is the national drink, in some northern regions other beverages are popular, such as Sidra (cider).
Catalonia, with a very large and rich rural area, has a triple cuisine: the interior one, with its snails, or the coca de recapte (dough covered with red pepper and eggplant); the sea cuisine, who has brought us fish suquets or sea rices; and the mountain cuisine, with its star dishes such as the trinxat de la Cerdanya (cabbage, potatoes and pork bacon), or the dishes, like the duck with turnips. We can neither forget the dishes of surf and turf (sea and mountain) together, so typically Catalan, which are the perfect combination of meat and fish, such as chicken with crayfish or meatballs with cuttlefish.
If you are planning your holidays on the Costa Brava during the months from January to March you can not miss the calçots (Catalan spring onions). The calçotada is a traditional gastronomic festival that leaves the standards aside. Everyone roll up their sleeves, put on a bib and eat with their hands! In this case, it is well seen to finish the romesco sauce of the plate with with some good pa amb tomàquet (spread some tomato and olive oil on a slice of bread) both match so well with calçots!
During the cold months the Catalans warm up with our winter dishes. Our traditional escudella i carn d’olla (soup and all its meat, vegetables, legumes and galets), the cannelloni, which were formerly prepared on Sant Esteve's day, with the remains of the pot of Christmas day; or the fricandó beef stew.
If we come closer to the cuisine of Lloret de Mar and its surroundings, marine cuisine is a great asset. We talk about the recipes cooked by the fishermen in the fishing boat, with that day’s fish of rejection.
The cim i tomba (fish and potatoes stew), very typical of Tossa de Mar and Lloret de Mar, is a clear example. The fishermen cooked onion and sliced potatoes, pepper and tomato, and some garlic. There was added the fish of rejection (dogfish, gurnard, stargazer, angler-fish, cat-fish...) and a good dash of olive oil, and it was then covered with water and let cook on a high flame. Meanwhile, they made the allioli (olive oil and garlic sauce) with the mortar, which was put over the fish when it was cooked, and let it boil together for a few more minutes. They then removed it from the fire and it was ready to eat.
After tasting these exquisite dishes, put the finishing touch to the meal with a good crema catalana (crème brûlée), the most international Catalan dessert!
If you stay at Rosamar Hotels you can try some of the dishes of our traditional cuisine at our restaurants, certified with the AMED accreditation (official promoters of the Mediterranean Diet): the Main Buffet Restaurants of all hotels, the Grill Restaurant Avi Pere, the Cafe Ferretti Restaurant, and the different bars, such as Bar Marys, Pool Snach Bar Goofys, the Willy Pool Snack Bar...
Be sure to taste the escalivada (roasted cold aubergine, onion and Peppers) or the creamed spinach; the main ones, such as fideuà (similar to seafood Paella but with short noodles instead of rice), arròs del senyoret (seafood rice) or black rice, or a good fricandó! You can try them all and much more at the Rosamar Hotels establishments.
Discover one of the treasures of our land, what is hidden in the kitchens! Get the most out of your holidays in Lloret de Mar!