Author Archives: Jordi Guiu

La Salsamenta Cookbook

Spanish omelette recipe, featuring a traditional family recipe from La Salsamenta Barcelona Cooking Class

Here we will keep a listing of the spanish recipes and more that we will be publishing on our website. Some of them are served as tapas in our Paella Cooking Class, and some of them are just some from La Salsamenta Secret Family Cookbook.

We will also cover some cooking basics like the stock, the broth and the ingredients we use at our Cooking Classes in Barcelona. Our goal is to provide you with a thorough understanding of these fundamentals. Also enhancing your cooking skills and helping you recreate the rich flavors of Spain in your own kitchen.

It will be a live Post, so just keep an eye on it and you will get news often about our special spanish recipes. With frequent updates, you can look forward to discovering new and exciting dishes to try. Hope you enjoy them as you do with our Paella Cooking Experience. Let us know what you think about this special recipes! We would love to hear your feedback and any delicious results you achieve!

Spanish Recipes List:

  • La Salsamenta Spanish Omelette : Discover our simple yet delicious recipe for the iconic “tortilla de patatas”! A classic Spanish dish with a special family twist! This cherished recipe, passed down through generations, combines tender potatoes and eggs to create a flavorful and satisfying omelette. 

Ingredients:

  • Saffron: This essential spice, renowned for its vibrant color and unique flavor, plays a crucial role in our Paella cooking class. Learn more about how we incorporate saffron to elevate our dishes.

La Salsamenta Spanish Omelette

Spanish omelette recipe, featuring a traditional family recipe from La Salsamenta Barcelona Cooking Class
La Salsamenta Spanish Omelette

Introduction & Origin:

The Spanish omelette, or “tortilla de patatas,” is a beloved dish that has transcended borders, captivating palates worldwide. This culinary gem, a staple in Spanish cuisine, boasts a rich history dating back to the 19th century and continues being served as a classic in almost every bar in Spain and in our Paella Experience in Barcelona.

Legend has it that the dish originated in the rural regions of Spain, where humble ingredients like potatoes, eggs, and onions were abundant. Originally a simple and economical meal for laborers, it has evolved into a cherished dish enjoyed in all over Spain and of course Barcelona. Whether enjoyed hot or cold, as a main course or a snack, the Spanish omelette captivates food enthusiasts with its simplicity and irresistible taste.

To Onion or Not to Onion:

One of the most intriguing debates surrounding the Spanish omelette revolves around the inclusion of onions. Traditionalists argue that the authentic “tortilla de patatas” should contain only potatoes, eggs, salt, and olive oil. They believe that adding onions detracts from the purity of the dish’s flavor. On the other hand, proponents of the onion camp argue that onions add depth and sweetness to the omelette, elevating its taste profile. Ultimately, whether to include onions is a matter of personal preference, and both versions have their fervent supporters.

La Salsamenta Family Recipe:

Disclaimer! There are as many versions as homes in Spain, this is La Salsamenta family recipe. We try to keep this spanish omelette recipe simple so you can get it easily done at home.

Ingredients:

  • 4 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced
  • 1 onion, thinly sliced (optional)
  • 6 large eggs
  • Salt, to taste
  • Olive oil

Instructions:

  1. Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium heat.
  2. Add the potatoes and onions (if using) to the pan. Cook until the potatoes are tender but not browned, stirring occasionally.
  3. In a large bowl, beat the eggs and season with salt.
  4. Once the potatoes are cooked, let them cool down and transfer them to the bowl with the eggs. Mix well to ensure the potatoes are evenly coated.
  5. Heat a little more olive oil in the pan over medium heat.
  6. Pour the egg and potato mixture into the pan, spreading it evenly.
  7. Cook until the bottom is set and golden brown to your taste, then carefully flip the omelette using a plate or lid. Always larger
  8. Cook the other side is done, and the eggs are fully set.
  9. Remove from the pan and let it cool slightly before slicing and serving.

About Variations: While the classic “tortilla de patatas” remains a timeless favorite, creative variations have emerged over the years. Some chefs add ingredients like chorizo, bell peppers, or spinach to impart new flavors and textures. Additionally, regional variations within Spain offer unique twists on the traditional spanish omelette recipe, showcasing the country’s diverse culinary landscape.

Hope you enjoyed La Salsamenta family recipe and let us know if you try this at home! Keep checking our blog for more news of La Salsamenta Barcelona Cooking Class. Stay tuned! 

Extensive info:
- Wikipedia article
- La Cocina y los Alimentos: Harold McGee
- Catalan Cuisine : Andrews, Colman

Safforn: Ingredients of our Paella

Saffron used in La Salsamenta Paella Experienc

Let’s dive deeper into Saffron Paella Ingredient, a key component used in our Paella workshop. It’s part of the Crocus sativus flower, which people most probably domesticated in Greece around the Bronze Age.

Saffron is one of the most expensive, if not the most, species in the world. That’s not only by its power to add a unique flavor as well as an intense yellowed color to our dishes, it is also due to the great amount of work required to produce the strands. To obtain 450 grams of dried saffron, collectors must gather over 70,000 flowers.

Actually, the 2 main regions of production are Spain and Iran. You could differentiate them (though it’s not easy) because the Iranian Saffron is darker, with softer smell and quite more bitterness. This is mainly due to climatic differences between both areas. Additionally, automated systems handle most of the collection process, which results in shorter strands compared to the Spanish ones where collectors use manual methods.

Production:

The one we are using is Hebra Roja, from La Mancha in Spain. Starting with the recollection when flower is opening (normally end of Autumn) until the drying by different technics, mainly over hot air flows.

Getting back to the kitchen:

One of its main characteristics is that its pigments are soluble in water making them easy to extract and due to that it has been quite used over the ages in clothing and painting. But let’s focus on the Kitchen!

Here’s a brief summary of the most common ways to process saffron for use in our dishes:

For rices and of course for our Paella at La Salsamenta use method 2 with an amount of 7 to 10 strands per person, depending on the intensity of color and flavor you want on your dish.

Method 1 is most commonly used, stews, omelettes, legumes and sauces. You can add about 10 strands for every 4 people. Add it at the beginning of the cooking (more flavor and color) or wait until the last 3 minutes (more aromatic). You can also use it for sweets like ice creams, cookies, cupcakes, etc…

Method 3 is most commonly used in professional kitchens, as you can store the results in the freezer and get back to it when you need it. Feel free to try it!

If you want to keep reading more in deep about saffron, one of the best paella ingredient, you can go here:

We will keep posting soon about our ingredients and about things related to our Paella Cooking Class!

Local Ingredients: The Key to Our Paella

Our local ingredients for the best paella cooking experience
Our local ingredients for the best paella cooking experience

Welcome to our Blog!

Here we are with some news about the local ingredients we use for our paella cooking experience at La Salsamenta. After years of experience and working with major partners for all the products we use at home, we have decided to make a move forward to support locals. We are switching the supermarkets partners for the local when possible.

We have made a few trips to meet people that works on the field for products we use for our paella cooking class and other culinary experiences, like rice, pimenton, saffron, etc. and that match with our philosophy. Believe it or not, it’s not much more expensive than other ingredients for making the best paella in Barcelona!

So after our finding, we are moving everything we can to those new suppliers. You can check some of them at our About Us section! Currently working on Saffron, Rice, Pimenton and Paellas.

We believe this change will be highly beneficial for our paella cooking classes and other cooking classes. By using local ingredients for our paella, we can provide a more authentic and enriching experience for our participants. Our paella cooking experience in Barcelona will showcase some of the finest paellas the city has to offer, giving our guests a taste of the city’s culinary excellence.

We will continue working to add more of them in the near future! Stay tuned and join us at La Salsamenta for an unforgettable cooking experience!

BONUS: Most of them do not send overseas (nor even for retail). So after the requests from some of our recent guests we have reserved a little space for them in our secret garden in Barcelona so you can buy their product and bring it home for you or as a present for your friends and family.

Best Sagrada Famila Restaurants

Best Sagrada Familia Restaurants

Hello everybody!

Thanks for reaching us at la Salsamenta Barcelona Cooking Class Blog. This is the first post of a series where we will cover one of the main topics you ask to us. Restaurants to eat in Barcelona! In this case, let’s start with the best Sagrada Familia restaurants.

Classic style:

– El Celler del Vermut: It’s a very classic old-fashioned Galician Taberna. Classic tapas and Galician specialities. Not super fancy but really homemade and tasty. Small Place, better to reserve. So, It cannot be missing from our list of the best restaurants in La Sagrada Familia

– Bardeni: One of the better meat places in Barcelona but with a twist. Do not think about a steakhouse with big T-bones and so. It is designed to provide smaller dishes to share among the party. Maximum 4 people per table and only with previous reservation. This is one of the restaurants of this best Sagrada Familia restaurants that we go more often.

– El Pocavergonyes: That’s a true experience. It is located inside the farmer’s market of Sagrada Familia, which has nothing to do with other touristic markets like La Boqueria o Santa Caterina. Here you will find a nice Bar-Restaurant for getting some tapas in a nice inside terrace. Also, you will have the opportunity to see an authentic local market and buy supplies if you need them.

– La Granota: Nice and popular restaurant for locals. They offer a selection of tapas, being the Spanish omelette one of the signature dishes (several different flavors). They also offer an affordable lunch menu during weekdays. Check opening hours, they usually close from Saturday lunch until Monday. So, It is also a must in this best Sagrada Familia restaurants list.

– El Puertecillo: Funny seafood place! At the entrance you will find fresh fish shop where you can choose the fish that you want to eat and how do you want it to be cooked (grill, fry, steam…). Then you can take a seat and have a drink while they prepare the meal. They will call your number afterward, and you can get prepared food at the counter. We haven’t been there for a while, but some guests told us it was nice!

Getting a bit more international:

– La Chula or La Chula Taqueria: Mexican classics, The first is nicer to dine in and the second one is maybe better for a takeaway and eat at AV. Gaudi or Sagrada Familia Park

– El Bund: Homemade Dumplings and some original Chinese food. Quick, cheap and Homemade. Service can be a little bit rude when crowded, but food is very nice

– Michael Collins:  No surprises here. The classical Irish pub to have a beer and some Pub food.

– Can Pizza: Nice Napolitana style pizza 2min from the metro

We hope you enjoyed this best Sagrada Familia restaurants from La Salsamenta Barcelona Cooking Class!

Cheers!

Barcelona’s Restaurant Guide

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Barcelona's Restaurant Guide

Hello!

This post is a Bacelona’s Restaurant Guide and is always “under construction” as we are adding new areas, new tips and new comments from our Experience from La Salsamenta Barcelona Cooking Class and from the experiences we get from our guests. So let’s move on!

Basics:

First, let’s start with one of the Basic rules in Barcelona: The NO-GO food area. Except you need to eat something quick like a sandwich, hot dog or similar we strongly suggest not to eat in following areas: Las Ramblas, Plaça Reial, Paseig de Gracia, Sagrada Familia, Avinguda Diagonal, Raval, and Gotic quarter.

That may sound like a lot of places, but those areas are tiny. As an example, Sagrada Familia. By Sagrada Familia we just mean 2 blocks from the church, a bit further it should be OK. We have to say that even in those areas there are nice places. But unless you know where you are going (we include some recommendations bellow) better not.

Quick shots:

  • Try to eat always as soon as possible. Workers are fresh, you will be able to get a table easily. As time goes by restaurants get crowded, service slow down and in trendy places it can be a little bit stressing. 
  • Ah, of course, make a reservation if possible!
  • Opening times and menus are usually up-to-date on Google and the restaurant website. Check it out so you avoid surprises

Classic Recommendations:

So, let’s move on to our recommendations in this Barcelona’s Restaurant Guide. Those are some of the oldest restaurants in town that offer a great blend of traditional cuisine and amazing environment.

  • Els 4 Gats: The café opened on 12 June 1897 in the famous Casa Martí, and served as a hostel, bar and cabaret until it eventually became a central meeting point for Barcelona’s most prominent modernist figures, such as Pablo Picasso and Ramon Casas i Carbó. Now became a restaurant that keeping that spirit in mind serves delicious traditional food.
  • 7 Portes: It was inaugurated in 1836, it was a restaurant specialized in serving different dishes of Catalan cuisine, specializing in serving fish and rice. The restaurant is located in the Xifré house in Barceloneta (near the Lonja de Barcelona) and is one of the century-old restaurants in the city. A meeting place for artists and Barcelona intellectuals.
  • Los Caracoles: Los Caracoles is one of the emblematic restaurants of Barcelona opened in 1835. It is located in the Gothic Quarter. One of its characteristic dishes has been snails served in a tapa accompanied by wines. Also, don’t forget to try it’s classic “Pollastre a l’ast” (Roasted chicken).
  • Can Culleretes: Placed in an historical building and started running in 1958. It serves good quality set menus from 20-25€ that will give you a good opportunity to taste local cuisine at a reasonable price.
  • Can Pineda: A bit outside the common touristic areas. Can Pineda started in 1902 as a food house for the factory workers in the area, but it has evolved in one of the top quality Catalan food restaurants in Barcelona.
  • Can Solé: Founded in 1903, everything started cooking for the fishermen at the Barceloneta port to become what today is an emblematic restaurant in the city. 4 generations of the family have been serving delicious meals over 100 years

Restaurants by Area:

So, apart from the city classics here we provide you with some extensive recommendations of great value for money restaurants that are not so traditional:

Hope you enjoy our Barcelona’s Restaurant Guide and please leave a comment with your new discoveries just below!

Cheers! Bye Bye!