Dishes

The gastronomy of the Costa Daurada is characterized by the variety and production of dishes which are cooked with autochthonous products of great quality which are part of the known and healthy Mediterranean diet. All of them use vegetables, meat, fruit, fish and all the sea gastronomy in general. Some of the best known dishes of this territory are presented just here:

The Calçotada (Alt Camp): The calçots are a type of onion that is ony produced at the end of winter until principles of spring in certain regions of the province of Taragona. Thus, the ‘calçotada’ is a rural meal that consists in roasting the calçots in a bonfire which is made with the grapevines and, after that, wetting them with the sauce. This dish is completed with ‘butifarra’ and, sometimes, ‘cartxofes’. It is a very celebrated in Valls.

The White Food (Baix Camp): The "white food" is a typical dessert of Reus which is elaborated with almonds - a very cultivated fruit in this region -. This is a food with a height Caloric power, so it is cooked during the cold season.

The xató (Baix Penedés): The xatonada is a rooted and traditional meal and it is one of the most ancient and popular habits of the regions of the Garraf and the Baix Penedés. The xató is described like a salad that combines the products of the field with those of the sea: almonds, hazelnuts, cod, tuna, etc. The route of the xató starts in Sitges towards El Vendrell and ending in Vilanova i la Geltrú.

‘Suquet’ of fish (Montsià): The fishermen, once they finish their work, made a simple meal with those fishes that had come off spoiled of the manipulations of fishing. It was accompanied by a special juice, the ‘suquet’. To carry out this dish they used white or rock fish and, although it is possible to cook them with anchovies or sardines, the most common dishes are prepared with angler and grouper.

Omelette with juice (Priorat): The omelette with juice was a local dish of Lent, when the meat disappeared temporarily from the meals of the believers and the fish and the pulses charged protagonism. The recipe consists on cooking an omelette of spinachs and, in addition of making a mixture of onion, garlic and tomato sauce, it is needed to add a broth of meat, almond and hazelnuts. The dish can be accompanied with artichokes and hard eggs.

‘Rossejat’ of Noodles (Tarragonès): This dish is prepared in a casserole of mud, where the noodles are fried after cooking a mixture of onion, garlic and tomato sauce with onion, garlic, parsley, tomato, pepper, saffron and a water. Once toasted, the noodles boil with a fish broth prepared previously, and they are accompanied of the potatoes and ‘all-i-oli’.

Mostillo with walnuts and pine nuts (Terra Alta): It is a variation of the codonyat which is elaborated with the must of the grape and accompanied by the walnuts and the pine kernels of the land.

Cakes: The cake is another typical and distinguished product of the territory. The most well-known are made in Tortosa, Rasquera and Benifallet, but it is possible to buy them in all the villages of the Costa Daurada. Moreover, we must emphasize the following dessert, which are very typical aswell: the ‘menjar blanc’ or white food, the ‘cóc’, the ‘coqueta de sagí’, the ‘Garrofes del Papa’ and the ‘punyetetes’.