Catalan Cooking Without Vegetable Oil

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs veal round, sliced thin
• 3 tbsp flour, for dusting
• 5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 yellow onions, grated
• 4 ripe tomatoes, halved and grated
• 1 oz dried wild mushrooms (moixernons or porcini)
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 2 cups beef broth
• 12 toasted almonds, 2 garlic cloves and a handful of parsley, for the picada
• Salt and black pepper

Method

1. Cover the dried mushrooms with warm water and let them soak while you cook. Keep the soaking water.
2. Season the veal, dust it lightly with flour and brown it in olive oil over medium high heat, in batches. Set aside.
3. Lower the heat, add the grated onion to the same pan and cook it slowly for 20 minutes, until sweet and golden.
4. Add the grated tomato and cook 10 minutes more, until the sofregit darkens and pulls away from the pan. Pour in the wine and let it reduce by half.
5. Return the veal with the broth, the mushrooms and their strained soaking water. Simmer gently, covered, for about 1 hour.
6. Pound the almonds, garlic and parsley to a paste, stir the picada into the pan and simmer 10 final minutes, until the sauce coats a spoon.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs monkfish or cod, cut in large chunks
• 12 large shrimp, shell on
• 1 lb waxy potatoes, sliced thick
• 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 3 ripe tomatoes, grated
• 4 cups fish stock, warm
• 1 tsp sweet paprika and a pinch of saffron
• 10 toasted almonds, 2 garlic cloves and parsley, for the picada
• Salt

Method

1. Warm the olive oil in a wide cazuela and sear the shrimp for a minute per side. Remove them and set aside.
2. In the same oil, cook the onion slowly until translucent, then add the grated tomato and cook until thick and jammy.
3. Stir in the paprika and saffron, then add the potatoes and turn them in the sofregit so every slice is coated.
4. Pour in the warm fish stock, season with salt and simmer 15 minutes, until the potatoes are nearly tender.
5. Nestle in the fish chunks and the shrimp and simmer 6 to 8 minutes more, without stirring, just shaking the pan.
6. Pound the almonds, garlic and parsley into a picada, loosen it with a spoonful of broth, stir it in gently and rest the pot 5 minutes before serving.

Ingredients

• 3 red bell peppers
• 2 medium eggplants
• 2 sweet onions, unpeeled
• 2 ripe tomatoes (optional, traditional in many homes)
• 5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, sliced paper thin
• Flaky salt
• A few anchovy fillets, to serve (optional)
• Crusty bread, toasted

Method

1. Heat the oven to 400 F. Set the whole peppers, eggplants, onions and tomatoes on a tray and rub them with a spoonful of olive oil.
2. Roast for 50 to 60 minutes, turning once, until the skins are blistered and the vegetables have gone soft.
3. Pile the vegetables in a bowl, cover it and let them steam for 15 minutes so the skins loosen.
4. Peel everything by hand, discarding skins, stems and seeds, and tear peppers and eggplant into long strips. Cut the onions in wedges.
5. Lay the vegetables on a platter, scatter the garlic over, season with flaky salt and pour the remaining olive oil generously on top.
6. Rest at least 20 minutes and serve at room temperature, with anchovies if you like, and toasted bread to catch the juices.

Ingredients

• 2 chicken thighs and 1 lb beef shank
• 1 ham bone or 1/2 lb pork ribs
• 1 fresh botifarra or mild pork sausage
• 1 cup dried chickpeas, soaked overnight
• 1/2 savoy cabbage, in wedges
• 2 carrots, 1 leek and 1 celery stalk
• 2 potatoes, halved
• 1 cup galets or large pasta shells
• For the pilota: 1/2 lb ground pork, 1 egg, 2 tbsp breadcrumbs, 1 garlic clove and chopped parsley
• Salt

Method

1. Put the chicken, beef, ham bone and drained chickpeas in a large pot with 4 quarts of cold water. Bring to a simmer and skim well.
2. Cook gently, partly covered, for 1 hour, skimming now and then. Season lightly with salt.
3. Add the carrots, leek, celery, cabbage and potatoes and simmer 40 minutes more.
4. Mix the pilota ingredients, shape into two long meatballs and dust them with flour. Slide them into the pot with the sausage.
5. Simmer a final 25 minutes, then lift out all meats and vegetables, keeping them warm on a platter.
6. Strain the broth into a clean pot, bring it back to a boil and cook the galets in it until tender.
7. Serve the broth with the galets first, then the platter of meats, chickpeas and vegetables as a second course.

Ingredients

• 3 1/4 cups bread flour
• 1 cup warm water
• 2 tsp fresh yeast (or 3/4 tsp dry yeast)
• 5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus more for the tray
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 roasted red peppers, in strips
• 1 roasted eggplant, in strips
• 1 handful black olives
• 6 anchovy fillets (optional)
• Flaky salt, to finish

Method

1. Dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Mix in the flour, salt and 3 tablespoons of olive oil until a shaggy dough forms.
2. Knead 8 to 10 minutes until smooth, then cover and let rise about 1 hour, until doubled.
3. Heat the oven to 450 F. Oil a large baking tray with olive oil.
4. Divide the dough in two and stretch each piece by hand into a long oval, thin in the middle, directly on the tray.
5. Lay the pepper and eggplant strips over the dough, scatter the olives and anchovies, and drizzle with the remaining olive oil.
6. Bake 15 to 18 minutes, until the edges are deep golden. Finish with flaky salt and cool slightly on a rack before slicing.

Ingredients

• 4 cups whole milk
• 8 egg yolks
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 cinnamon stick
• Peel of 1 lemon, in wide strips
• Peel of 1/2 orange (optional)
• 6 tbsp sugar, for the burnt top
• A pinch of salt

Method

1. Bring the milk to a bare simmer with the cinnamon stick and citrus peels, then turn off the heat and infuse 15 minutes.
2. Whisk the yolks with the sugar, cornstarch and salt until pale and completely smooth.
3. Strain the warm milk and pour it slowly over the yolks, whisking the whole time.
4. Return the mixture to the pot over low heat and stir constantly until it thickens enough to coat the spoon. Do not let it boil.
5. Divide among six shallow cazuelas or ramekins and chill at least 4 hours, until fully set.
6. Just before serving, sprinkle each custard with a tablespoon of sugar and burn it with a hot iron or kitchen torch until deep amber and crackling.