There is a sausage in Catalonia that is eaten Carnival, it is yellow in color and is made with pork meat mixed with egg. This Thursday is Dijous Gras, the official start day of Carnival, and in Catalonia it is celebrated by eating a sausage that looks like it is dressed up for the occasion, and that is one of the gastronomic peculiarities of the country is the great costume party.
As we explained here, Dijous Gras is the starting date of Carnival, a festival that, traditionally, has been the time of madness and debauchery before the fasting and recollection of the Lenten season. For Easter the Christian tradition dictated abstinence, with diets from which meat and eggs disappeared. That is why a week before eating these two products became a tradition that brought forward the end of joy and the beginning of deprivation.
Thus, the Catalan Carnival has its own gastronomic debauchery, in which various products where meat and eggs predominate, and which build a universe of debauchery of its own. Perhaps today, in a world where you can order a triple hamburger in seconds, this sounds like a bit much, but nothing like embracing tradition and going out for Botifarras d’ou and coques de llardons to understand what an authentic Carnival in Barcelona is like.
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Thursday larder: Per dijous gras, botifarra menjaràs
One of the most typical dishes of the costume party in Catalonia is the botifarra d’ou, that yellow sausage we were talking about at the beginning that seems to dress up for the party. The butifarra, which apparently has its origin in Barcelona, is made with pork meat and bacon, but with the addition of the egg whose yolk gives it that characteristic color to a sausage that, once boiled, is ready to eat.
Born from the use of the remains of the slaughter, it was traditionally prepared only for Dijous Gras, but now, its characteristic mild flavor can be tasted all year round. Although, as the saying goes, tomorrow is the best day since “Per dijous llarder, botifarra menjaré or Per dijous gras, botifarra menjaràs”.
By the way, these were the best butifarras d’ou of last year.. And although the winning charcuterie for the best traditional butifarra is in Tarradell, the best butifarra d’ou Singular, which is made, attention, with kimchi, is prepared in Barcelona, so there is no excuse not to inaugurate the Carnival as tradition dictates.
Ous i truites
The omelette is another of the most iconic foods of the Carnival gastronomic tradition, because of the eggs (a rich and protein food forbidden during Lent). In Barcelona, the omelette contests, which are usually held on Dijous Gras, are one of the most deeply rooted traditions, and you can find them in the programs of the city’s festivals.
If you want the full combo you can make a butifarra d’ou omelette and eat all you need to inaugurate Carnival.
Coca de llardons
The other star product of the beginning of Carnival is the Coca de llardons, because what is more gocho than a sweet made with pork rinds? The pork rinds used for this recipe are obtained from pork fat, which is boiled in a pot and then left to cool. When you break it into pieces, you get those irregular and delicious little pieces that are sold in delicatessens(els llardons), and that if you haven’t tried us yet, you should.
And the coca, if you haven’t tried it, you’ve surely seen it. A dough that, apart from llardons, has eggs, of course, sugar, flour and pine nuts. There are crunchy and spongy versions, but in both cases it is a delicious sweet that meets all the requirements (egg and fat) to accompany the carnival rampage.
The other star sweet is the bunyols de vent, another of the Carnival cakes made with lardo and covered with sugar that abound these days in the bakery.
Shrove Tuesday: ranxo
The ranxo is a big escudella that, traditionally, is prepared on Shrove Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday, with food provided by the people on a voluntary basis. In Barcelona and other towns it has been a tradition to make collective meals where everyone simmers what they bring, recalling an ancient medieval tradition in which the feudal lord invited his subjects to a great feast before Lent.
Tupina, xatonades… the other stars of Carnival
Although botifarra or tortilla are the best known, they are not the only Carnival dishes. Tortillas become sandwiches and it is a tradition for children to take a tortilla sandwich to school these days). In addition, in Lleida they prepare the tupina de Lleida (sausage and pork ribs confit) and in other areas the ranxo de Ponts that we mentioned or xatonades (endive salad with coca de llardons). Everywhere this week is full of dishes that remind us that all traditions, even the craziest, have a gastronomic supporting actor that accompanies them.
Finally, there is also cod, one of the star dishes and surely that is why it is said that in Catalonia there are more than a hundred different recipes for cooking it. Formerly, it was a cheap and austere food that was associated with the harshness of Lent, but today it is highly appreciated in our gastronomy. Another typical dish of these days are the fritters; now you can always find them in bakeries, but before they were only sold on Wednesdays and Fridays.
Ash Wednesday: sardines to bid farewell to Carnival
Carnival begins with great feasts… and ends with another binge. Normally , in many places in the city, the burial of the sardine, on Ash Wednesday, ends with a communal dinner where large quantities of this fish are eaten.