Calçot
| Calçot | |
|---|---|
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Monocots |
| Order: | Asparagales |
| Family: | Alliaceae |
| Genus: | Allium |
| Species: | A. cepa |
| Binomial name | |
| Allium cepa L. |
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Calçot (Catalan pronunciation: [kəɫˈsɔts]) is a variety of green onion known as Blanca gran tardana in the Catalan language from Lleida, Catalonia. The Calçot from Valls (Tarragona, Catalonia) is a registered EU Protected Geographical Indication.[1]
Calçots are milder and less bulbous than onions and have a length of between 15 and 25 cm (white part) and a diameter of 1.7 to 2.5 cm at the root. Planted in trenches, like an onion, as a single bulb, and successively increasing the depth of the soil around the stems throughout autumn and winter, they sprout into 4-10 shoots, roughly the shape of small leeks.
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[edit] Origin
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This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2011) |
The origin of the variety is disputed but one of the most commonly accepted versions [unsubstantiated] of its history is that they were developed by Xat de Benaiges, a peasant farmer from Valls by at the turn of the 20th century. He is said to have been the first to have planted the sprouts of garden onions, covering them with earth so that a longer portion of the stems remained white and edible. That action is known in Catalan as calçar, (a catalan agricultural term which means to cover the trunk of a plant or vegetable with dirt. As the plant grows, dirt is continuously added, i.e., "calçar."), hence the name calçot.
[edit] Calçotada
The most traditional way of eating calçots is in a calçotada (plural: calçotades), a popular gastronomical event held between the end of winter and March or April, where calçots are consumed massively.
Calçots are then barbecued and dipped in salvitxada or romesco sauce, and accompanied by red wine or cava. Pieces of meat and bread slices are roasted in the charcoal after cooking the calçots.
[edit] Gallery
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Pulling off the calçots
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Calçots roasting during a calçotada
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Roasted calçots with romesco sauce for dipping
[edit] See also
- Traditions of Catalonia
- Ramps, another species of Allium around which festivals are held
[edit] References
[edit] Further reading
- Jofre, Joan; Garcia, Agustí (in Spanish). La cuina del calçot. Cossetània edicions. ISBN 84-9791-075-3.
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Calçot |
