Catalan Cuisine: Europe's Last Great Culinary Secret

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Summary: Buy this book and eat your way through Catalonia
Review: Catalan cuisine is ancient. It earliest roots go all the way back to the Romans who occupied northeastern Spain.

It uses many of the same ingredients as other Mediterranean cuisines -- tomatoes, eggplant, garlic, beans, pasta and all kinds of meat -- but it combines them in unexpected ways.

Who would expect salt cod with honey, for example? Catalan cuisine has it, and Colman Andrews presents its recipe here. And who would expect a restaurant which specializes in salt cod? Andrews tells us that Barcelona has one.

He says that one very unusual -- indeed unique -- feature of Catalan cuisine is its habit of mixing olive oil and lard together, in the same dish, as a cooking oil. Catalans also use butter as a cooking fat, making for rich, nourishing, tasty dishes.

Catalonia has both mountains and seashore. So one may find spiny lobster stew (Civet de Llogosta) on the one hand and Andorran-style trout (Truita de Riu Andorrana) on the other.

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Summary: AUTHENTIC CATALAN FOOD mmmmm
Review: I am a Catalan person living abroad, and sometimes it is difficult to explain friends that Catalan food is something different to what everybody knows as Mediterranean food, since being totally Mediterranean, it is not Italian nor French. This books discovers the authentic taste of Catalan food, that, as the author says, HAS TO BE DISCOVERED. Try it and enjoy your meals. I can say that CATALAN FOOD IS ONE MILLION BETTER THAN ITALIAN AND FRENCH. It keeps simple and accentuated flavors with simple raw materials, but obtaining an PERFECT COMBINATION.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE AUTHOR, and please continue plublishing thousands of more recipes of Catalan food.

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Summary: Turn any meal into a celebration of taste and delight!
Review: In Catalan Cuisine, Colman Andrews draws upon the great cooking traditions of Spain's Catalonia region. This superb collection of regional dishes showcases the simple and vibrant flavors in hundreds of Catalonia's best and beloved recipes ranging from Valencian Paella with Shellfish; Eggplant Flan; and Sweet Red Peppers Stuffed with Duck, to Salt Cod with Garlic and Paprika; Pork-Stuffed Apples, and Cinnamon Ice Cream with Warm Strawberry Coulis. The recipes are "kitchen cook friendly" and will turn any family meal into a celebration of taste and delight.

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Summary: For fans of Spanish cuisine.
Review: This study of Catalan cuisine provides an in-depth and excellent approach to the foods and customs of the Spanish province. No color photos, but the book is packed with not only recipes, but observations of the culinary traditions which make Catalan cuisine unique. An outstanding reference.