Your cart
There are no more items in your cart
Time for Calçots - Tapas with a difference!
Find out what they are and how to eat this tapas here:
The “calçot” is an onion, but not just any onion: it has to be a plant recommended by the IGP Calçot de Valls, "Allium Cepa L", also known as "Blanca Tardana de Lleida".
The calçot harvesting season starts in November and ends at Easter, but the high season is from mid-January to mid-March.
The calçot is elongated and owes its name to the particular method of cultivation: so that the stalks become long and white, earth is piled up: "calza" (in Catalan calçar, to pile up earth).
The calçot owes its discovery to Xat de Benaiges, a farmer from the area of Valls, Tarragona, at the end of the 19th century. He prepared some grilled "onions" that were all burnt on the outside, but instead of throwing them away, he peeled off the outer, burnt layers and discovered that the inside was very tasty and tender. At least this is the most commonly accepted version of the story of the calçot.
The now popular "calçotades" in Catalonia are held between late winter and early spring, and have now become part of other neighbouring communities. The calçots are roasted over a live flame of vine shoots. They are then wrapped in newspaper, from 20 to 25 units each packet to cook for half an hour. Every 2 people are given a packet of wrapped calçots and they are eaten peeling the burnt outer part and accompanied by a very typical and excellent sauce: romesco sauce.
When the calçots are finished, the embers are used to roast meat and botifarra sausages, all accompanied by wine or cava.
The nutritional properties of calçot are the same as those of onions, in other words, they have a high mineral and vitamin content, and at the same time they are said to have toning, diuretic, digestive and aphrodisiac properties.
As you can see, it is not too much trouble to organise a calçotada in private, but if you don't have a place to roast them in the oven they can also be made. The romesco sauce can be bought, but if you make it at home it is a feast.
In the "recipes" section I tell you how to make your own homemade romesco sauce, which by the way is very tasty for any vegan dish and you can add a spicy touch at any time.
Here is the link: https://www.delitapas.com/es/blog/recetas/receta-salsa-romesco