Bread, wine and oil. The essence of the Mediterranean diet, shared by Iberians, Celts, Greeks, Romans, Barbarians and Arabs, and based on these three ingredients. A combination of simple food--varied and balanced-- that throughout the centuries, without losing its own identity, has been enriched by the contributions and the mixing of ancient cultures.
As such, from theMiddle and Far East came cereals, legumes and many fruits and vegetables such as carrots, onions and apples. From Europe, cabbage and asparagus. From the Far East, chickpeas and aubergines. From Southeast Asia and Oceania, rice, pepper and sugar cane. From Africa, melon.From America, potatoes and tomatoes.
The existence of this cuisine is due in large part to the characteristics of the region, with the dry and rough nature of the Mediterranean Basin, where olive trees, vineyards and grain adapt perfectly. Orchards and small woods complement the landscape, along with a warm climate.
Since 2010, the Mediterranean diet has been included in UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage List. One of the reasons for the bid, submitted jointly by Spain, Greece, Italy and Morocco, was to protect this model of healthy eating against socio-cultural changes resulting from globalisation.
From before the Middle Ages, gastronomic fairs and markets have been held in Catalonia. They started as necessary meeting points between merchants and buyers, but also became points of social interaction.
The markets as we know them today emerged as a response to the scarcity of supplies as a result of the concentrations of people: dates had to be arranged for the commercial exchange. One of the oldest Catalan markets to have continued is that of Bellcaire, from the 14th century.
The fairs, on the other hand, relied on livestock movement and the trade routes, were linked to religious festivals and would be held annually. Currently there are still villages like Guimerà, Peratallada, Batea, Vic or Montblanc which, once a year, hold these fairs to recall those of the Middle Ages.
The appearance and the produce in markets and fairs in Catalonia are very different today. What has not changed is the character of a traditional and social event, and the fact that they are synonymous with a range of quality goods. In addition, there is now an extensive calendar of fairs and markets across the country, as well as gastronomic routes which have been created to promote the local products.
The festive cycle in Catalonia includes a mix of pagan, religious and civil celebrations, both of ancestral origin and those that have newly emerged. A calendar of traditional festivals and customs in which the food has a major role.
And one cannot imagine a good celebration without a good meal, a display of collective identity and social cohesion. Each festival is associated with a typical dish, and these include the crema catalana of Sant Josep, the ‘coca’ of Sant Joan, the chestnuts and the buns of All Saints day, Easter cake, or the various Christmas meals (soups, chicken, cannelloni, nougat, wafers, etc.).
In Catalonia, the prohibitions of the Catholic traditions, such as not eating meat during Lent resulted in the popularity of cod-based dishes or desserts such as ‘bunyols’ (sweet fritters). It is also the case that celebrations of religious origin such as the open-air gatherings, the ‘romeries’ and pilgrimages have become collective gastronomical meetings (ribs, roasts, sardines, grilled onions or snails).
The festive calendar also includes more familiar and intimate celebrations related to the cycle of life, such as wedding banquets, chocolate at baptisms, communion snacks and meals to celebrate Saints’ days and anniversaries.
Catalan cuisine has enjoyed a new golden age coinciding with the turn of the century and with prominent chefs in the country receiving global recognition for their work. The new Catalan cuisine involves a new way of understanding the restaurant trade: it must satisfy both the intellect and the emotions.
One of the highlights of this period occurred in 1999, when the French chef Joël Robuchon claimed that Ferran Adrià was the best chef in the world. His innovations, which ended up on the cover of The New York Times supplement, were based on new products and techniques, unprecedented presentation and surprising experiences.
Even though the media coverage of the most avant-garde cuisine was widespread, its gastronomic repercussions were wider. Thus, the traditional Catalan cuisine also saw a reinterpretation by great chefs with new techniques and more modern presentation. In addition, the concern for what we eat caused the emergence of concepts such as organic cuisine and zero kilometre cooking.
Also noteworthy is the effect of phenomena such as globalisation on the Catalan cuisine. The arrival of cuisines from other parts of the world ends up, inevitably, permeating our recipes and gives rise to concepts such as fusion cooking.
Opulent menus, inspired by the French cuisine and disdain for the traditional and home-made. In the 19th century the Catalan bourgeoisie and the great restaurants opted for a luxurious and sumptuous gastronomy, though it never became mainstream.
Instead, the popular and high-quality Catalan cuisine continued to live on in the fondes de sisos (the Inns of the Sixes - the cost in reales to stay the night), bringing homemade meals at affordable prices to everybody. These establishments popularised dishes such as sausage or pork loin with beans, pan-baked cod or baked macaroni gratin. The creativity and sense of humour stand out in the names of dishes such as la barretina - the Catalan hat - (vegetables with herring) or samarreta amb allioli - vest with aioli - (baked tripe). The Inns of Sixes also gave rise to customs such as the Thursday paella, a commercial event that sought to attract more customers on a particular day of the week that was usually slack.
The first references to the pa amb tomàquet (bread with tomato) are also from the 19th century. According to the gourmand Nèstor Luján, the Catalan dish par excellence appeared in the rural world in an age with an abundance of tomatoes, taking advantage of them to soften the dry bread.
During the modern era, the basis of the rural Catalan cuisine was laid down. Exceptionally refined and complete, the gastronomy of the Renaissance, Baroque and the Enlightenment was the gateway to the traditional Catalan cuisine.
From the 16th to the 18th century, it underwent a revolution with the arrival of new products from the Americas: tomatoes, peppers, beans, corn, cocoa, turkey and vanilla. In addition, it introduced changes in tastes, with the distinction between sweet and salty, and the popularity of new tastes such as cold drinks, salads, chocolate, rice and pasta. The lower classes and the convents were the most receptive to these new products, while the aristocrats and bourgeois were more conservative, preferring to stay with the medieval cuisine.
The most notable written evidence of Catalan cuisine in the modern era are Nuevo arte de cocina (Juan Altimiras), the Llibre dels secrets d'agricultura, casa rústica i pastoril (Fr Miquel Agustí), Instrucció breu i útil per los cuiners principiants (Francesc del Santíssim Sagrament), Avisos y instrucciones per lo principiant cuyner (Francesc Orri), El llibre de l'art de quynar (Fr Sever d'Olot) and the Llibre de cuina de Scala Dei (Monastery of Banyoles).
The current "boom" in Catalan cuisine has much in common with the first golden age of gastronomy of our country, which in the 14th and 15th centuries was considered the first in the Christian world, especially by the courts of Naples and Rome. This is reflected in documents such as the Llibre de Coch (Mestre Robert) or Com usar bé de beure e menjar (Francesc Eiximenis).
Far from the collective imagination that has Kings and nobles eating with their fingers, the Catalan medieval cuisine was noted for its refinement and its wealth of recipes both simple and exquisite. Becoming a symbol of social status, it also had gourmets and famous chefs, and was noted for its good table manners.
Despite not yet having products from America, there was a wealth of ingredients: cereals, all kinds of vegetables, spices and fresh fruit, nuts and dried fruit and pork. The rich added rice, noodles, poultry and game, and fresh or dried fish to their diet.
Catalan cuisine is also innovative from this period because for the first time women could participate in banquets, great meals conceived as theatrical spectacles. Also notable were the great variety of techniques, cooking vessels and utensils.
Santa Caterina, opened in 1848, was the first covered market in Barcelona. Since 2005, the roof has become its stand-out element. It is this last alteration which has made the market a benchmark for contemporary architecture and a point of interest for tourists. The undulating and colourful roof has already become a new symbol of Barcelona.
In 1997, the architects Enric Miralles and Benedetta Tagliabue reformed the market that was originally designed by Josep Mas i Vila. The project maintained 3 out of the 4 original facades and raises up a skeleton of iron, steel and concrete, to the interior of the building, standing between the structure of wooden arches that form the ceiling.
But certainly the starring role of the new market goes to the roof: a huge wavy structure covered by 200,000 ceramic hexagons in 67 different colours. The work of ceramicist Toni Cumella, it represents the fruit and vegetables sold from the market stalls and fills the area with light and colour.
The launch of the market has helped to re-energise the neighbourhood. Now, brought together under the same roof as the stalls of fresh produce, is a supermarket, restaurants and the display of the remains of the old Dominican convent.
