It’s been a few years since I last went to the calçotada at La Quinta and so today while out making an appointment at the Social Security office (more on that next week) we decided to stop in as it was in the neighbourhood and scored a table out on the patio. Rather than go with the whole calçotada menu (which is way too much food) we opted for a rooftile of calçots and a couple of other dishes. This year they didn’t offer any gloves so our hands were a total black mess in no time.

This is a Catalán tradition where the calçots (similar to a large spring onion) are roasted over charcoal, then wrapped up in newspaper and served with a nutty romesco sauce. Delicious and also messy as hell. The trick is in getting the non-charred delicate centre out. First you peel away a bit of the charred bit at the end until you see the green part of the onion. Hold onto that! Then tightly grip the tip of the calçot with your other hand and pull. After that you dip the calçot into the romesco sauce and pop it into your mouth. One day I hope to attend a real calçotada out in the countryside in Catalunya but for now this is just fine.