1st course

Some classic Catalan first courses

• amanida catalana- a salad of lettuce, tomato, peppers, onions and carrots, topped with cold cuts, eggs, anchovies, tuna, or whatever the chef thinks he can spare.
• calçotada- grilled fresh green onions served with a piquant sauce made with almonds, tomatoes, garlic, chili powder and oil.
• canalons- like Italian cannelloni, the pasta is stuffed with a variety of meats and baked in bechamel topped with Parmesan cheese
• escalivada- charcoal or oven roasted eggplant, red pepper and onions, smothered in olive oil, and sometimes chopped garlic.
• escudella i carn d’olla- a stewed hodge-podge of meat, sausages, turnips, chickpeas, cabbage, pasta and so forth.
• escudella- Catalan broth based soup with pasta or rice.

• espinacs a la catalana- lightly boiled spinach, then chopped and fried in oil with raisins and pine nuts.
• exqueixada- shredded salt cod salad, with olives, tomatoes, onions, peppers, topped with olive oil
• faves a la catalana- broad beans fried in olive oil with garlic, mushrooms and ham. Sometimes served with fresh mint.
• fideos con almejas- noodles with clams.
• fideujat- noodle stew with fish.
• gazpacho- Andalucian soup of tomatoes, green peppers, cucumber, and onion, served chilled with a garnish of chopped egg, croutons, and/or vegetables.
• pa amb tomàquet- the preferred way of eating bread... rubbed with tomato (and sometimes garlic), and sprinkled with olive oil and salt.
• pa de fetge- pork pâté
• paella- originally from Valencia, comes in many variations, but in Catalunya is apt to have as much chicken and pork rib as fish and shellfish.
• pimientos de piquillo- red peppers, oven baked, peeled, and stuffed with any variety of ingredients before batter frying in oil.
• pincho or pinchito- marinated pork kebab
• salpicón de mariscos- a cold shellfish salad with onions, peppers, and olive oil.
• sopa de ajo- garlic soup, Castillian variety with egg drop and shredded bread.
• sopa de bolets- strong-flavoured wild mushroom soup, (as opposed to the bland cultivated variety).
• trinxat- minced cabbage and potato fried with coldcuts.
• tortilla (de patatas)- Spanish omelete of potatos and onion. Also available made of all sorts of vegetables, including spinach, zucchini, mushrooms, etc.
• cargols a la llauna- oven baked snails served with variety of sauces.
• xató- cod, tuna and anchovies tossed in a salas with romesco sauce.