Surreal Meals

The sun came up all golden and fiery over the horizon as our plane began its descent about 7 a.m. Barcelona time. It had been a few years since I’d been someplace new, and I was hungry.

To be totally honest, I didn’t quite know what to expect of Barcelona. Eating, not reading, has always been my travel itinerary of choice, and I feel I learn more about a place by eating in its markets and restaurants than by visiting its museums. When I imagined Barcelona, my mind conjured cliche images of Spain--dark bars, swaths of red, black and yellow and a general tone of ole! Yet walking its wide streets, with the elegant buildings in pastel colors and Alice in Wonderland shapes and iron balconies, I discovered a Barcelona that was nothing like what I expected.

It took all of one lunch to convince me of what I’d shrugged off as a technicality: Barcelona is not Spain, exactly. It is a place unto itself, located in the region of Catalonia. The Catalan people speak a language as different from Castilian (what we call “Spanish”) as is French. And their cuisine couldn’t be farther from the copper dishes of paella and pitchers of sangria that define Spanish food in America. What I got in the way of lunch that first afternoon in a brightly lit, refined restaurant with crystal chandeliers, was a riveting meal that included blood sausages and salt cod intestines. Welcome to Barcelona.

The next morning, I started my day with a visit to the famous market, La Boqueria, where piles of Spain’s delicious roasted peeled almonds and little square, corked jars of saffron assured me I had indeed gotten on the right plane. That is, until I stopped at Bar Pinotxo for a simple breakfast of green lentils with cuttlefish and its ink, sausages in brown sauce, anchovies on toast and eggs scrambled with clams. This at 10 a.m., with multiple glasses of cava, a dry Spanish sparkling wine--talk about a wake-up call.

In the week that followed, I ordered adventurously from menus that read like the anatomy of farm animals: head and foot, brain, tripe, liver, kidneys, sweetbreads, blood. One evening at dinner with friends the decorative tiles and photographs of bullfighters in the restaurant transported me momentarily to the Spain of my imagination, but the menu quickly returned me to reality. We dined on a stew of cuttlefish, meatballs and shrimp, and pork jowls with wild mushrooms. The defining dish was delicately named “espardenyas” (a synonym for “espadrilles” and a more appetizing way of saying “sea slugs”) with pistachios and those lovely salt cod intestines again. Don’t misunderstand. Trying new things is always exhausting, but these bizarre and often unexpected combinations can awaken the palate in a manner that borders on the surreal.

I ate my last meal at one of the city’s finest restaurants with six friends, Catalans and Americans, who live in Barcelona. By that time, I was smashing anchovies on my bread like they were butter. Pa amb tomaquet--grilled crusty white bread rubbed with tomato and drizzled with olive oil--had become a part of my vocabulary, as had moltes gracies (thank you) and crema catalana, Catalan’s less firm and more delicious version of creme brulee. But as our friends exchanged bites of sea slugs and creamed foie gras with chickpeas across the table, I sat back, unable to eat another bite. I was content. And I was ready to go home.

Peix Espasa en Cassola

(Swordfish with Raisins and Pine Nuts)

Serves 4

1 1/2 pounds swordfish, about 1 inch thick, cut into pieces about 2 by 4 inches

Flour

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup dry white wine

1/2 cup orange juice, fresh-squeezed

1 tablespoon lemon juice

16-20 almonds, blanched and roasted

1 sprig parsley, minced

1 sprig fresh mint, minced

1 sprig marjoram, minced

1/3 cup golden raisins or sultanas, plumped in warm water for 10 minutes

1/3 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted

Salt and pepper

Dredge swordfish pieces in flour. Pour olive oil into a large skillet and brown swordfish lightly on all sides.

Remove the fish from the skillet and drain it on paper towels. Add wine, orange juice and lemon juice to skillet, and reduce the liquid by half.

Meanwhile, grind the almonds with a mortar and pestle. Add herbs and mash into nuts. Add enough liquid from the skillet to form a paste, then add to the pan along with the raisins and pine nuts, stirring the ingredients together well.

Return the fish to the skillet and heat through. Salt and pepper to taste.

Pa amb Tomaquet

(Catalan Tomato Bread)

Serves 4 as an appetizer

4 thick slices country-style French or Italian bread

4 small fresh tomatoes, very ripe

Mild extra-virgin olive oil

Salt

8 anchovy filets, soaked in water for 1 hour and patted dry, or 4 very thin slices prosciutto

Grill the bread lightly on a wood-burning fire or barbecue, or toast lightly under a broiler (turning once in the latter case).

Cut the tomatoes in half crosswise. Rub both sides of the toast (including the crust) with the cut side, squeezing gently as you do, to leave a thin red film, including some seeds and bits of tomato flesh, on both surfaces.

Drizzle oil on both sides of the toast to taste, then salt to taste.

Place anchovies or prosciutto on top of the toast, and serve with knife and fork.

Crema Catalana

(Catalan “Burnt Cream”)

Serves 4

1 pint half-and-half

Peel of 1/2 lemon

1/2 cinnamon stick

3 egg yolks

3/4 cup sugar

Heat the half-and-half, lemon peel and cinnamon stick in a saucepan over medium heat until just boiling. Remove from heat immediately, discard the lemon peel and cinnamon stick, and allow to cool.

Beat the egg yolks with 1/4 cup of sugar until thick. Strain cooled half-and-half into the eggs, stirring constantly.

Reheat the custard mixture in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly until it thickens slightly and coats the back of a wooden spoon. Allow to cool slightly. Pour the custard into four 1-cup ramekins. Allow custard to set, then sprinkle each with a thin layer of sugar and caramelize under a very hot broiler or using a mini acetylene torch until dark amber in color.

Pomes Farcides amb Crema Catalan

(Apples Stuffed with Catalan “Burnt Cream”)

Serves 4

4 large baking apples

Butter

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 recipe of Crema Catalana (see above), without caramelized sugar

Core the apples, being careful not to cut through the bottoms. Pare a one-inch strip from around the top of each.

Lightly butter a baking dish and arrange apples in dish. Bring 1/2 cup of water to a boil, then stir in half the sugar. Pour mixture over apples.

Bake uncovered in a 350-degree oven, basting occasionally, for 30 to 40 minutes, or until apples are tender and the skin begins to crack.

Remove the apples from the oven and allow them to cool for about 10 minutes, continuing to baste occasionally.

Fill each apple with Crema Catalana (some may be left over). Sprinkle the top of each with remaining sugar and place under a hot broiler until the sugar is dark brown. Allow to cool slightly before serving.

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Recipes adapted from “Catalan Cuisine: Europe’s Last Great Culinary Secret,” by Colman Andrews.

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Food stylist: Christine Masterson