A festival…for onions?
Calçotadas are a Catalan tradition that signal spring is right around the corner
People, as I always say, Spain has the best food in the world. And I’m not biased (ok, maybe a little)—the food speaks for itself, and many of the world’s best restaurants are in Spain (three in the top ten on last year’s list!). The Basque Country alone has one of the highest concentrations of Michelin-starred restaurants anywhere in the world! And of course my dear friends Ferran and Albert Adrià put modern Spanish food on the global map with their amazing creativity and dedication to innovation.
But Spain also deserves credit for how we treat our most traditional foods, celebrating the most amazing ingredients you can find anywhere—whether it’s pressing Asturian apples for sidra season, or preserving plump and briny seafood in a tin—we try to always preserve the best of the best so we can share it with as many people as possible for as long as possible.
Today I want to talk about one of those ingredients that you just might have to travel to Spain to experience, because it’s hard to find them anywhere else. But if you eat these, you are really getting in touch with the soul of the region. I am talking about the unique not-quite-a-scallion and not-quite-a-leek allium delicacy known as calçots, which, in Catalunya, are a way to hurry spring along while you’re still shivering in winter. The word calçot comes from the Catalan word calçar, which refers to the interesting way these special onions are grown.
The planting season for calçots usually begins in the summer or early fall with onion seeds, and when those sprout up, the top of the onion is removed and replanted. When those begin to sprout again, the farmers pile soil around the sprouts to stop photosynthesis (remember white asparagus?). They do this a couple times until the white part of the onion is about 6-10 inches long…and it’s a big, sweet onion. And then, people, is when the magic really happens.
Because Spanish people will use anything as an excuse for a festival, of course we have to celebrate calçot season…yes, a party celebrating an onion, but this onion is worth a party! We are in peak season for calçotadas right now, so if you can find a last-minute flight to Barcelona, I suggest you try to attend one, because they are one of the best ways of experiencing Catalan culture. They happen at farms, at people’s houses, and in neighborhoods around the area—centered around the town of Valls, south of Barcelona, just outside of Tarragona.
The idea is simple: the calçots are harvested and cooked on big grills, charred until they’re black, and then wrapped in newspaper to steam. When the calçots are steamed, the party really begins! You will see PILES of the charred calçots ready to be eaten, and the trick to eating a calçot is really simple…no fancy utensils needed. You simply pull off the charred outside of the calçot, dip it in the salvitxada (basically a very close cousin of romesco sauce), tip your head back like you’re drinking from a porrón, and eat the whole onion. You can repeat this process until you’ve had as many calçots as you can handle, and of course there will be plenty of red wine and sparkling wine passed around in porróns.
The calçotadas are special because there’s nothing else like them, but they’re also symbolic because they mean that spring is coming, even if it doesn’t feel like it at that moment. Which is why I would encourage all of you, even if you can’t make it to Catalunya this month, to try and get outside on the few warmer days in between all the cold…fire up your grill, maybe pass around a few porróns, and remember that winter always passes.
What do you like to do on rare warm days in the winter?
Jose, can't wait to try this. Something new and exciting as always coming from your Longer Tables episode ❤️
They have a Garlic Festival in California each year too 😀