Barcelona Recommendations: Cook & Taste Barcelona Cooking Classes

Cook & Taste Cooking Class (Photo Credit Sandrine)

Last week the SAI Barcelona Family learned to make Paella Valencian style, Romesco sauce, Tortilla de Patatas (potato omelet), tomato bread, and Crema Catalan. Each dish, carefully made by all of us, turned out delicious. Without the help of Chef Mario and the beautiful kitchen that Cook and Taste provided us, our meal would not have turned out the way it did.

The kitchen was not ready for us (PC: Leticia)

Paella Valencian Style

The modern form of paella came about in an area near the Albufera lagoon. This lagoon is located on the east coast of Spain adjacent to Valencia. In the Valencian language, similar to Catalan, the word paella is used for cooking pans. It wasn’t until the dish’s popularity grew that the word paella started to identify with the dish. Soon after, it became a staple dish in Valencian culture.

Chicken Paella (PC: Sandrine)

Tortilla de Patatas

Also known as the Spanish omelet, this delicious dish made of eggs, potatoes, and occasionally onions and chives had our whole group going back for seconds. The aesthetic is thick like a cake and as Chef Mario said, “leave it slightly runny, you do not want it to be a frisbee.” The origin of the Spanish omelet is wildly disputed, but some tales suggest it was a simple, quick, and nutritious meal when rations were scarce during the Carlist Wars.

My experience in the pizza business came in handy cutting this dish  (PC: Sandrine)    

Jamie's best impersonation of Salt Bae (PC: Sandrine)

Tomato Bread

Pa amb tomàquet identifies heavily with Catalan cuisine and culture. One fascinating proposal of the source of this dish derives from Catalan cooking historian Nestor Lujan. He quotes in his thesis that, “the recipe would have been created in the rural world during an abundant tomato harvest. People would have used the tomatoes to soften hard and dry bread.”

Chief Mario helping Monika and Tala learn his craft (PC: Sandrine)

Crème Catalan

Every time I eat out with my friends in Barcelona, it is almost a crime not to try the restaurants, Crème Catalan. In other parts of Spain, this dessert is called Crema de Sant Joseph because traditionally it is served on the 19^th of March (Saint Joseph’s Day). One big difference between Crème Brulee and Crème Catalan is in how it is made. Crème Brulee is baked in the oven and Crème Catalan is continuously stirred over a stove top. According to Chef Mario, Crème Catalan is harder to make than Crème Brulee.

Caramelising the sugar  (PC: Sandrine)

Romesco Sauce

Romesco Sauce is a nut and tomato-based sauce typically paired with fish. It originated in Tarragona, Catalonia. Chef Mario did not have us try the sauce with fish rather a baked potato and asparagus. The sauce was foreign to my palate, but by the end of the starting dish, it was begging for more. Eating the sauce over a potato let me fully grasp the taste of it, which might not have been the case over a more powerful fish taste.

Immaculate presentation (PC: Sandrine) 

Stake Woke.

Adéu