Traditional Calçotadas

As for the grill, we work with oak charcoal.
During the weekends the calçots are served on the garden terrace, maintaining the spirit of a traditional calçotada and enjoying watching the calçots being cooked. The rest of the gastronomic feast continues sitting at the table inside the restaurant.

The calçots that we serve in our house are of the IGP "Calçots de Valls", a quality mark recognized by the European Union, which is granted to certain products by the Department of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries of the Generalitat of Catalonia.

These products are distinguished by their production method and the elaboration of the raw materials that come from a specific geographical area. This allows the consumer to enjoy products grown in the field with climate and soil conditions that, together with the effort of the farmers throughout the year, give them organoleptic characteristics of exceptional quality suitable for the delight of the most demanding palates.

Quality and trust in the local products of our land are the necessary ingredients for the ideal recipe that guarantees a calçotada as it should be.

We call each of the sweet white onion crickets cultivated from the end of August onwards a calçot so that we can taste them mostly cooked over a live fire during the winter months.

Its cultivation begins with the sowing of the sweet white onion seed in the last months of the year, when it has grown sufficiently and is beginning to sprout. It is pulled out of the ground and saved to be planted again at the end of August, cutting off the top part so that the onion crickets sprout more easily.

As the onion crickets grow, they must be planted, that is, surrounded by soil. This action will be repeated a few times and is what gives the calçot chive its name.
The choice and preparation of the land where the onion is planted, the weather and the care of the farmer in the work of planting, weeding, removing weeds and watering when necessary will be what will determine the final quality of the calçot.

From here it is the cook's turn.

He was a farmer from the Alt Camp, with the reputation of Xat de Benaiges, who at the end of the 19th century, it is not known whether by luck, cunning or hunger, realized that the tender shoots of an old onion cooked over a fire and accompanied by a sauce that he also concocted himself, were an easy, simple, familiar and yet good meal. What he did not know is that his idea would become one of the most representative meals of traditional Catalan cuisine and his knowledge and interest would cross borders thanks to the ritual of a gastronomic festival that brings friends and families together around a table with porrons, bibets and, of course, calçots.

Made in a traditional and simple way, respecting a careful selection of local products (home-grown almonds and hazelnuts, toasted at home, vinegar made in our cellar, tomatoes and garlic roasted over wood, oil, nyoras and salt).

Thanks to the pride of doing a job well done, we have achieved a 100% natural sauce without additives or artificial preservatives, an ideal texture and flavor to accompany grilled calçots and, in addition, it opens the door to a lot of possibilities that it offers us as an accompaniment to salads, fish, snails, grilled vegetables. You just have to let your imagination run wild.

Enjoy 'l'Original del Grau' in our restaurant with good company. And now it is also at your disposal to purchase it to save you time and ensure success at home or anywhere.