Eat spring onions, get ash on your fingers and wear a bib so you don’t get dirty. It doesn’t sound like the most appetising plan in the world, but once you’ve tasted your first calçot, you’ll understand why Catalans fall in love with this product.
Its sweetness, its watery softness, its smoky flavour and the finishing touch of almond, roasted tomato and pepper sauce justify the stains, while the ritual of picking it up with your hands, putting it in your mouth and swallowing it with your eyes open guarantees fun.
Calçotadas – gatherings of friends or family to eat calçots and other grilled foods – are a winter classic in Catalonia, and we couldn’t resist trying them.
We went to the famous local restaurant La Caseta del Migdia, up in Montjuïc, to enjoy a day of sun, calçots, nature and live music. What a plan!
