Calcots

One of my favorite meals that I have had in Spain has been on the Valencia trip when we went to the sit down lunch. The food was so authentic and amazing. One of my favorite parts of this meal were the calcots. I liked them so much that I have gone numerous times since that trip to get them in restaurants.


Calcots are a variety of the green onion from Lleida, Catalonia. They are milder and less bulbous than onions. Apparently, they are between 15 and 25 centimeters and have a diameter of around 2 centimeters more or less. They are planted similarly to onions in trenches as a single bulb and grown throughout the autumn and winter. They are around the shape of a small leek. Xat de Benaiges was the peasant farmer who planted these for the first time. In catalan, calcar means to cover with dirt, which is how the name Calcot came to be.


Eating calcots is seen as a gastronomical event at the end of winter of beginning of spring. You peel away the charred part of the calcot and dip it in sauce. They are dipped in romensco sauce and usually accompanied by red wine or cava. Here are some photos from the first time I ate calcots.

calcots

My first taste

Remainders after we ate all of the calcots

Romensco Sauce

Ingredients

medium sized tomatoes                                                                                                                                                                                          1 head garlic, halved

2 Tbs. plus 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1.5 oz blanched almonds
1.5 oz peeled hazelnuts
1 dried chilli, de-seeded and slit open
2 to 3 Tbs. red-wine vinegar
2 Tbs. red wine
salt to taste

Put the tomatoes, half of the head of garlic and a generous pouring of olive oil in a hot oven to roast for about an hour or until they start to caramelise. When they are golden, but not burnt, take the tray from the oven and leave it to cool.

Meanwhile toast all of the nuts in a pan with a little olive oil for a few moments, until they are just brown and then put them to one side to cool. Press the chilli into the pan for a few seconds on each side and then put it in a cup of hot water to hydrate for about 15 minutes.

Next put the nuts, chilli and the rest of the garlic (chopped) into the food processor. Blend for a few seconds then add the cooled tomatoes and garlic from the oven, season with a couple of pinches of salt and slowly add olive oil, while blending. Add the vinegar and red wine at the last second to give it extra flavour. This sauce is supposed to be rustic and coarse so don’t blend it too much.

Calçots can be bought widely across Catalunya, but they maybe trickier to get hold of elsewhere. Many specialist grocers will stock them in season but if you cannot find any you can replace them with some good sized spring onions. Weather permitting, you need to barbeque them on an open flame until they are blackened on the outside but soft and white in the middle. You can use a regular oven grill if necessary.

Enjoy your feast the real Catalan way with plenty of friends, cava, and red wine!