A Catalan Lunch

Our professor Josep brought Renée and I out for a fabulous lunch in a town close to Barcelona. We went to a restaruant where they used an open fire oven to cook everything. Durring this time of year there is a traditional dish called Calçots. They are a winter Onion that are long and usually served with a dipping sauce. Normally people get together in large groups and cook the onions over a fire and then everyone sits around eating and talking. You pull off the outter leaves of the onion and then dip the insides into the sauce and eat it. They are quite delicious! Our professor also showed us how to make the traditional bread here. Pan con tomate.

First you cut the tomato in half then you rub it on the bread then add a little bit of olive oil. For a little more flair one can also rub a little bit of garlic. We had a wonderful time at lunch learning about catalan culture!

Thanksgiving

As one might think they do not celebrate Thanksgiving in Barcelona. Renée and I were not expecting to do much for dinner but we were surprised by Dr. José Manautou. He had come to Barcelona for a couple days to visit and got in contact with us. We went out to dinner at an amazing restaruant called Casa Alfonso. http://www.casaalfonso.com/ It has many classic Spanish dishes.

They have boards covered in different cheeses and cuts of the best meats, including the famous ham called jamón iberíco. That particular ham comes from pigs that are fed only acorns so the meat takes on a specific taste.

We had croquettes, tortillas with potato and the catalan bread with tomato. Dr. Manautou had liked the shirts that the servers were wearing and asked if they were for sale. The told him no but then brought us all aprons to have instead. It was a wonderful night and a great Thanksgiving.