Can Marc Restaurant: An Excellent Choice at Montseny National Park

Can Marc restaurant should be in the top five list of best places to eat while enjoying the company of nature at Montseny natural park near Barcelona. I say this out of respect for the rest of good options in the area.

This little gem is hidden in a very modest road in Sant Esteve de Palautordera, a town at the Valles Oriental county (the Eastern side of Montseny park). Sant Esteve is 55 kms away from Barcelona city but still in the Barcelona province limits. There are plenty of rural activities at your disposal in this town first documented in history back in IX. As a matter of fact Can Marc is not only a restaurant but a rural farm or "Mas" in Catalan with attractive and comfortable rooms devoted to fans of nature, hiking and horse riding.

But let's go to the main course, the exquisite cuisine of Oriol Sabé with his team led by Sergi Planas

I will give you some examples with pictures. All dishes were part of the 28 Eur menu of the day although you can go A la Carte of course.

A delicious mellow rice with all the subtleties of fresh seafood, especially the famous Blanes shrimps adorned with this delicate foam.

A fresh marinated cod and clams with crisp flavors although not too strong accompanied with apple slices.

A succulent portion of roasted suckling pig with mushrooms and asparagus.

An attractively presented mushroom sautee on egg and bacon.

And for dessert a great tatin sided with what tasted like mint or rosemary, I couldn't tell but the combination was surprisingly good.

The staff is polite and very efficient. We had the Agaliu 2017 white wine (Costers del Segre D.O), ecologic and 100% Macabeu grapes which I strongly recommend you.

Catalan Cuisine Suggestions: Restaurant La Violeta, Castelltersol, Barcelona

One the good things in life, if not the best, is to go out and find a nice meal, at a nice restaurant in a nice place. When it comes to enjoying excellent Mediterranean dishes, Catalan cuisine, is one of the best choices. It's been a long time, I haven't recommended an interesting restaurant in or out of Barcelona and in fact I always forget to use cellphone pictures I take while traveling around Catalonia to share them here with you. That's what a blog is for after all.

Today I want to suggest Restaurant La Violeta in Castelltersol (there should be a letter cedilla after the R but Google spiders don't like foreign letters too much), a Catalan municipality that is part of Barcelona province which historically devoted to the textile industry and took its name after a castle that dates back to the ninth century. Restaurant La Violeta and the hotel with the same name, are located in a house from 1860, restored in the 90s. Apparently is just another normal local restaurant, but I have to say that if you happen to be nearby you shouldn't miss it because its cuisine is certainly worth tasting. When I say nearby, I mean, you could be watching eagles fly in renown Cim d'Aligues natural park or admiring the views at Sant Miquel del Fai. 

But let's talk about the menu at La Violeta:

For starters, I recommend you don't miss their special tapas, like Formatges arrebossats amb melmelada de violetes (breaded cheese dice in violet marmalade) in the picture above, or the Patatas Bravas a la Violeta. In fact, my wife and I fell in love with that violet flavor and that's why we always try to return when we have the chance. They have a nice selection of salads like the season salad with nuts, cheese, quince and apple.

For the main course, you can either have pasta dishes like the Rossejat de fideus mariners (a sort of Paella but with noodles and sauce) or a good shrimp risotto. I would go for the Arros amb llamantol (rice with lobster) but as you can see in the image, pan fried tuna can suit you well for less money. We were fortunate it was summer and they had the Gazpacho, one of the best I have tried, out of Andalusia of course.

For dessert, there was this homemade ice cream with strawberries that was just the cherry on top of the day. As to the price, it is slightly pricey, not much, but you get quality food and they are not minimalist at all, if you know what I mean. More details on their website following the first image.

Peeling Calçots, Masia Can Palau, Vilanova del Valles

In Catalonia, there is this part of the year when going out to peel calçots for lunch at any of the many masias spread around the country becomes almost a matter of state.

Most well-known places for calçotades are in the southern province of Tarragona, in a region called Valls but around Barcelona it is not strange to find a good spot in an idyllic environment.

The place I will mention today is just an example and of course you are free to choose. It is called Masia Can Palau and it is located in Vilanova del Valles some kilometers away from the city of Barcelona.

The 30 eur menu included Calçots with Romescu sauce, grilled meat (a mixture of chicken, sausage, lamb and rabbit with fries) and dessert. We had two generous rounds of calçots per person. They came wrapped in aluminum foil and were very hot.

But how do you peel Catalan calçots?

You have to grab the calçot by the leaves and with the other hand, press gently on the black roasted skin of the bulb and peel it off. Beware you don't press to hard and pull away the inner part of the calçot. It requires some practice. It should come out clean.

After that you soak the tender and juicy stems of the plant in an exquisite romesco sauce which is made with almond, garlic, red pepper, hazelnut, tomato, olive oil, vinegar, crumbs of fried bread, salt and pepper.

If you want to know how they cook calçots and what they are, check my previous posts: Catalan Traditions - Calçotada: A Close Look and Grilled Leaks...Check the sauce in next post.

Grilled Leaks Soaked in Romesco Sauce? No, Just Some Calçots

Do you dig grilling some baby leeks to later soak them in romesco sauce? I do! Well, it is not exactly a leek nor it is an onion or a garlic plant but something in between. It definitely reminds you of onions when you smell it and taste it. Maybe the only difference is that calçots, as such is their name in Catalan, neither bite nor make you cry.

Here you have a great bunch of calçots that are traditionally consumed this time of the year. I won't get any deeper into the story about what they are or the ritual followed before and during a calçotada since that has already been described in this previous post of mine: Catalan Traditions, La Calçotada.

Catalan Traditions: Calçotada. A Close Look

Half way between leeks and onions, there is a plant known in Catalonia as calçot which has become part of our most popular traditions, the calçotada:

According to some sources calçots were first cultivated in XIX by a lonely peasant called Xat de Benaiges in Valls, Tarragona.

In this close shot, you can appreciate the white bulbs that soon will turn completely black on the grill.

 Although they can be served on a roof tile, or a common plate, many times you simply pile them up in small amounts and wrap them in newspapers to keep them warm till served. They are quite tasteless, or better said, they taste like onions but without the biting feeling in your tongue. In fact, it is a very soft and delicate flavor that calls for a tasty sauce, in this case, romescu made of ground almonds and hazelnuts, vinegar, olive oil, salt, dry red peppers known as choriceros and paprika.

Don't forget to use a bib to avoid the stains caused by the sauce and keep your fingers away from your clothes. Why so? Well, when you learn about the ritual you'll understand.

1. First you spread the newspaper bundles on the table and everybody gathers around, usually standing with a bowl of sauce nearby. 
2. Now it's time to peel one of them. You take the plant by the leaves and pressing upon the tip of the white bulb with the other hand you try to pull away carefully the burnt out external layer. This you learn with practice. It must come out neatly without smashing the content.
3. Then you leave the peel aside (now the hand used for peeling is a mess) and soak the bulb in the sauce, haul it towards your mouth and take a good bite only on the white part of the plant. The rest you throw away.

After this repeat the process at will. Of course, wine is mandatory in this case. Maybe I have been too descriptive today but I have noticed in the past that calçotada details are too often overlooked. Bon appetite!