Catalan Food: Culture and Flavors from the Mediterranean: A Cookbook

There are books you immediately take to and this is one. I recently returned from Barcelona and was looking to prolong my vacation by making some of the dishes I tried there. Catalan Food is a great book and a great read. I was pleased to find many classic tapas and recipes in its pages along with commentary about Catalan food culture. The classics are all there --tomato bread, various paella's, patatas bravas, egg and potato omelet-- but I found recipes for Christmas dishes, vermouth, and others that make me want to head straight to the kitchen. Some of the dishes have a Southwestern riff drawing from Olivera's living in Austin, Texas. The directions in the recipes are clear and I appreciate the practical suggestions that appear throughout. There are lots of color photographs both to inspire and to let you know if you prepared the recipe correctly. Pair it with Jose Andres Tapas and you cover a lot of Spanish cooking.

Beautiful book; great information

Deducting a star. The bread recipe is trash. Very pleased with this book so far.. While so far I have only made the Vermut ... I was very excited to see a recipe for it at all! ..and it does remind me of the vermut in Barcelona.. as a matter of fact.. the book definitely brings back memories of the food I have had from my beloved Barcelona.. I will update my review as I cook more from it.. Maybe my only quibble is a few recipes have some Texas influence, as that is where the author lives. .. maybe that should be called out? The recipes, though, do seem authentic.. maybe just not Paula Wolfert authentic :) All in all,, if you are looking for a book to take you back to memories of Catalonia.. this is very much the ticket!

The only recipe I've made so far is the Romesco. It is so good that I would recommend buying this book just for that recipe. My husband and I went to Barcelona on vacation and I bought this book after we got back. It's exactly the type of food we ate, and I can't wait to work my way through it. The recipes are simple and flavorful. No "fancy play syndrome" that a lot of chef cookbooks have. Just pure, delicious, Catalan recipes. If you're thinking of going to Spain/Barcelona, you might like to buy this just to see what kind of food you will see. I wish I could get those special tomatoes in the US, because Tomato Bread was everywhere, and I miss its perfect deliciousness.

As described- perfect gift-

My husband is a culinary student and we both are fascinated with the fresh simply prepared powerful flavors of Catalan cuisine. I was delighted to secure a first edition as a 5 year anniversary gift for my spouse and we were salivating and scratching our heads at the same time. Catalan culture revolves around their food so it's no surprise this reads like a history book explaining the roots of the flavors that combine to make this scrumptious array of dishes! Such interesting and diverse combinations of pure ingredients we both love dearly left us shopping for ingredients to try out the recipes! To our pleasant surprise the author lives nearby and we are planning a date night to sample the best Catalan food in town (besides our house) I have always felt fueled by garlic and tomatoes and personally to find a whole culture of people who love them as much as I do is mind blowing and I plan to watch my last sunset in Barcelona with "Pa amb Tomaquet i oli"

Got this as a Christmas gift for someone who loves Spain! She loved the book and said it was absolutely gorgeous filled with beautiful bright colors and great recipes. Just wish I was in the same state to try some delicious food!

I live in Madrid and I wanted an authentic Catalonian cookbook that I could reference when I was in the mood for Catalan. This book did not disappoint. It has plenty of traditional recipes with a few fusion type/updated recipes. Definitely recommend!

It is a beautiful, well-made, good-quality book, the only bad thing is that the price is printed on the back cover (it is not a label), so if it is bought as a gift, it is not nice.

I'm catalan and this is a good book with the most typical traditional catalan recepies. Perfect gift for a non catalan chef or someone who loves Catalunya and its gastronomy.

great product

As a native Catalan, I can say this is a good book, but it doesn't truly represent Catalan cuisine. While many recipes are classic Spanish dishes, they aren't actually from Catalonia. The rice section is excellent, but overall, it falls short as a comprehensive cookbook. I imagine it could be a great gift for someone unfamiliar with Spain, but what I was looking for was an English book focused specifically on traditional Catalan recipes, and this isn't it.

Très beau livre mais arrivé endommagé aux coins. Retour fait en espérant que le deuxième exemplaire soit mieux protéger et de meilleur qualité.