We just got back from a wonderful week visiting family and friends in the Eastern Pyrenees region of France (Pyrénées-Orientales in French), also known as Northern Catalonia, since, prior to the 1659 treaty of the Pyrenees, this region was formerly part of the principality of Catalonia.
To this day, the region remains largely tied to its Catalan roots by culture, language and food such as the roasted pepper pictured above (it even looks like the Catalan flag ! - Recipe below)
The weather was lovely - clear skies, the sun was shining and we had temperatures above 30°C every day. As well as this, there's a lot of food easily available in this sunny part of France that is difficult to find in Dublin and Ireland in general.
In this blog post we'll show some pictures of our trip, talk about some of the delicacies we've tried, and provide three recipes for some classic Mediterranean & French amuse-bouches below. Prepare to scroll !
The Catalan region is a beautiful part of France. The Pyrenees Mountains and the Mediterranean Sea surround this area, which allows for both wonderful mountain views and some beautiful beaches.
On one particular day we visited a small, quaint mountain town called Eus, classified as one of the "Les Plus Beaux Villages de France". It is built on the slope of the Pyrenees and located about 40 kilometers west of Perpignan. It is an extremely picturesque town with small, windy, cobbled streets and the old Church of St Vincent with it's foundations built into the rocks. We decided to take a little hike behind the town and up the mountain to have a picnic.
The views were spectacular. Afterwards, we took a stroll around the town, visited some of the artisan shops, and finally relaxed with a couple of beers in the Place de la Réplublique.
We highly recommend to visit this town if you are ever in the region!
We know of the town of Eus because it was the village my grandfather lived in after he retired. After he passed away, my mother found a box containing old family recipes while cleaning out his house. It is a gold mine filled with hundreds of handwritten recipes from France and abroad, and being two foodies, she happily allowed us to take it home. We are very excited to try some of them!
One recipe we found in the box, and tried making while there, was for gougéres. They are a cheesy choux pastry, perfect for aperos, as a side dish, or a light snack. The recipe is below.
The hot and dry climate of the Catalan region is perfect for growing a large variety of cactus. We had the chance to try some freshly picked prickly pears (Figues de Barbarie, en francais), from the Opuntia cactus, pictured above. These colourful fruits had a refreshing, subtle, and sweet taste. But take care when handling, as they may still have some cactus barbs attached!
On the Sunday afternoon, we had some friends invite us over for lunch and to swim in their pool. To start, they served us some saucisson, olives and a slightly spicy cured pork spread - Sobrasada, a specialty of the Balearic Islands. For the main course they cooked an authentic Paella, containing mussels, calamari, prawns, squid, chicken, and beef, all cooked in a rich tomato sauce. It was delicious!
We were also looking forward to having some tomato salad - Recipe below. It might sound simple, but with seasonal, carefully selected, different tomato varieties, you can take this simple starter to the next level. It's rare, and difficult to find anything else than the classic "water-filled" red tomato in Dublin.
The ones we tried there were fleshy, tasteful and colorful. Among the large choices offered by local producers, we picked ripe black Krim Tomatoes, known for their rich, sweet flavour, and a pineapple Tomato, a mildly sweet with low acidity, somewhat fruity, with a hint of citrus.
We hope you've enjoyed reading about our culinary adventure, and we've selected 3 delicious dishes for you to try during the "Apéro" - the traditional dinner opening to share a drink with friends & family while eating light food to get you in the mood for the rest of the supper !
