Calcotada - The Way of The Onion

Last weekend, I went to a calcotada, a festival that is typical in small towns in Catalunya in February and March. The festival involves calcots, which are a kind of sweet onion (bigger than a green onion, smaller than a leek) that is grown here. The onions are cooked on an open fire and then served up with a special dipping sauce.

We had been trying to get to a small town to experience the calcotada, but we couldn't seem to get co-ordinated. And then Jesus (looking tough with me in the picture below) mentioned that there was one happening a square about 2 blocks from my house. My neighbourhood is awesome. It was an amazingly sunny day, so a few of us wandered down to enjoy the event. The square was packed, and we waited for quite a while to get our food, but the sun and beer made the time pass pleasantly...

Eating a calcot is a messy affair. First you have to peel the charred skin back to expose the cooked onion, then you dip it into the sauce and drop it into your mouth. The onions are sweet and soft, and very tasty. We also had plates loaded with butifarra (blood sausage), pan tomate (a traditional Catalan bread rubbed with tomato) and some other stuff. Between the five of us, we shared two plates of food and left contented and full -- with black fingernails and messy mouths.

The event was actually organized as a political event that had something to do with the okupas (squatters). There was music and speeches, but since my understanding of Catalan is pretty poor, I wasn't exactly clear on the message. But I did understand the song they sang about a certain idiot in Washington...

It was a fantastic day with sun, beer, food, and excellent company.

In sadder news...

Due to a visa problem, I am actually going to have to leave Barcelona at the end of the month. It came up unexpectedly, and I am now scrambling to decide my next move.

I'm sad to leave, but I'm taking a longview of the situation. I have really had an amazing experience these last few months and have done more than I expected to do, so there are no regrets. And Barcelona is not over for me -- I will be back.

For the moment, I will be on a train to Zurich next weekend, where I'll spend a week clearing my head and regrouping. So you can look forward to future entries about chocolate and political neutrality...