By Christine Salins.
I’ve had some of the finest meals of my life in Catalunya, so The Catalan Kitchen, published by Smith Street Books (rrp $55) is a welcome addition to my bookshelf. It’s an inspiring and delicious guide to Catalan cuisine by Melbourne woman, Emma Warren, who has spent a large chunk of her adult life going backwards and forwards between Australia and Catalunya.
Warren moved to Spain in 2001 and immersed herself in the world of Catalan cuisine, splitting her time between Mallorca and Barcelona. She learnt to cook professionally there and learnt to speak both Spanish and Catalan.
Back in Australia, she helped set up the kitchen at the Spanish Club in Melbourne’s Fitzroy, and has worked as sous chef for some of Australia’s biggest names, including Karen Martini, a friend and mentor who has given the book a glowing endorsement.
Martini has set up a restaurant, Cala Bonita, on an Ibizan beach, and Warren recently returned to Spain to help her in the venture.
Beautifully packaged with a colourful cover and graphics in the vein of the great Catalan artists, The Catalan Kitchen features stunning location and food photography that makes you want to pack up and follow in her footsteps.
The recipes and Warren’s introductory texts are a celebration of Catalan cooking, a unique cuisine that is intrinsically bound to history, creativity and identity.
The province has more Michelin stars than any other region in Spain and is known for pushing the boundaries when it comes to food. At the same time, there is a great respect for tradition, and as Warren points out, “even the most abstract of dishes tie back to something already understood”.
Then there is the question of identity, the province once again in the spotlight in its quest for independence from Spain. All of these factors, not to mention the abundance of wonderful fresh, seasonal produce, have made it one of the world’s richest and most exciting cuisines.
Drawing on its Mediterranean coastline, fresh seafood is integral to the Catalan diet, while the countryside is all about warmth and comfort with stews, braises, grills and roasts, as in the recipe here.
Famous dishes include calcots (special onions cooked over a fire and dipped into Romesco sauce), paella (made with the addition of vermicelli noodles, and without saffron), myriad types of Catalan sausage served with white beans, sauces such as aioli and picada, and a great array of pastries and desserts including Crema Catalana (a version of crème brûlée).
If you love Spanish and Mediterranean food, let Warren take you by the hand and lead you into The Catalan Kitchen.
Oven-Roasted Lamb Shoulder
Serves 4
500g rock salt
2 sprigs rosemary
2 fresh bay leaves
1 cinnamon stick, halved
8 juniper berries
2–2.5 kg lamb shoulder, bone in
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
125 ml sherry vinegar
125 ml dry white wine
2 garlic bulbs, cut in half crossways
2 lemons, halved
500 g chat (baby) potatoes
1 teaspoon salt flakes
mixed fresh herbs, such as mint, dill, parsley, basil and tarragon leaves, to serve
In a blender, blitz the salt, one rosemary sprig, one bay leaf, half the cinnamon and the juniper berries until evenly chopped.
Place the lamb in a large baking dish and rub with the salt mix to coat. Set aside in the fridge for 2 hours.
Preheat the oven to 230°C fan-forced.
Rub the salt off the lamb and rinse well. Pat dry with paper towel and allow to air-dry on a wire rack at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Smear the lamb with the olive oil and sprinkle with the pepper. Place the lamb and the wire rack on top of a baking dish and pour the vinegar, wine and 1 litre water into the base of the dish. Throw in the garlic, two lemon halves and the remaining rosemary, bay leaf and cinnamon. Roast for 30 minutes, then remove from the oven and turn the shoulder over. Reduce the temperature to 150°C and return the lamb to the oven and roast for a further 30 minutes. Remove, turn the lamb over again and place the potatoes in the baking dish. Return to the oven for another 30 minutes. Keep an eye on the liquid and add a little more water if the baking dish is dry and the potatoes are starting to burn. Finally, increase the heat back to 230°C, turn the lamb shoulder one last time and roast for 15 minutes.
Transfer the lamb and potatoes to a large serving dish. Squeeze the remaining lemon halves over the potatoes and sprinkle with the salt.
Scatter the herbs over the lamb and serve.
Note: Catalan families often eat this dish a couple of times during the Christmas period, kicking off on 8 December and carrying on through to 6 January. It’s sometimes served as a late-night dinner on Christmas Eve.
From: The Catalan Kitchen: From Mountains to City and Sea – Recipes from Spain’s Culinary Heart
by Emma Warren. Photography © Rochelle Eagle | Food styling © Lee Blaylock. Published by Smith Street Books, $55.
