Catalonia – José Pizarro
April 10, 2018 by Jenny
The Catalonia region, in northeastern Spain, is known for the lively beach resorts of Costa Brava, the energy of Barcelona, and the Pyrenees Mountains. The cuisine of this region is often classified as “Catalan mountain” or western Mediterranean and boasts some of the best chefs (Ferran Adrià) and cooks in the world
In Catalonia: Recipes from Barcelona and Beyond, José Pizarro traveled from Barcelona to the ruins in Girona and secluded beaches in Costa Brava in order to gather inspiration and teach us how us how to create the best loved dishes of his beloved Spain.
Originally from Cáceres, José, has lived in London for nearly two decades. Having worked at some of London’s most prestigious Spanish restaurants, he is often described as the Godfather of Spanish cooking. In 2011, José struck out on his own and opened his first solo venture, José Tapas Bar on Bermondsey Street, and has since gone on to open two additional restaurants in the Capital: Pizarro and José Pizarro.
Pizarro has authored three prior cookbooks, Basque, José Pizarro’s Spanish Flavours, and Seasonal Spanish Food all of which are highly acclaimed. Here in his fourth book, Catalonia, he brings together a variety of old and modern recipes in hopes that we will become as inspired as he is by the people, places and cuisine of this stunning region.
The experience of eating in the little bars of Barcelona is one the author hopes to bring to our kitchens with small plates like the Bermondsey bomb we are sharing with you today (which I made a few months ago and we all loved). Recipes such as Meatballs with cuttlefish or Rigatoni with prawns and mussels can set the mood for a Hazelnut and plum cakes or a Brazo de gitano (a fruity cake roll) dessert. All these lovely dishes are nestled in between gorgeous photographs of the landscape and people of Catalonia. The book also includes menus and drinks suggestions to help you plan, shop, cook and, most importantly, enjoy this wonderful way of eating and socializing.
Until we can travel to Spain, we can dream while paging through this beautiful book or we can re-live our vacation travels with this book. Books such as this bring about an incredible urge in me to wander this world. Special thanks to Hardie Grant for supplying a recipe for our members and for providing three copies of Catalonia in our contest below.
Update 4/22: Our 
will give you a look inside this beautiful
book.
Bermondsey bomb
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La bomba de la Barceloneta is one of the most popular tapas in Barcelona. It’s a big fried ball made with mashed potato and normally stuffed with spicy carrots or meat.
I’m not sure if it’s true, but La Cova Fumada is renowned as the birthplace of this dish. It is definitely worth a visit – it’s a lovely old-fashioned bar serving great food. Enjoy a vermut with your bomba – they cook a stunning local version with prawns and octopus, it’s very tasty.
La Barceloneta was badly destroyed during the civil war, as was the area in London where I have two of my restaurants, Bermondsey. We’ve used a little bit of irony here, and called this dish the ‘Bermondsey Bomb’ as it appears on my menu.
Makes 6
- 1 kg (2 lb 3 oz) desiree potatoes
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 onions, finely chopped
- 1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
- 2 good pinches of chilli flakes
- 400 g (14 oz) tin tomatoes
- 160 g (5 1/2 oz) minced (ground) pork
- 75 g (2 1/2 oz /scant 2/3 cup) plain (all-purpose) flour
- 2 free-range eggs, beaten
- 100 g (3 1/2 oz / 1 cup) dry breadcrumbs
- olive oil for deep-frying
- 1 quantity alioli to serve
for the alioli
- 1 free-range egg yolk
- 1/2 teaspoon white wine vinegar
- 75 ml (2 1/2 fl oz) vegetable oil
- 75 ml (2 1/2 fl oz) olive oil
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- lemon juice to taste
To make the alioli, whisk the egg yolks with the vinegar and some seasoning. Gradually whisk in the vegetable then olive oil in a thin, steady stream, whisking all the time until you have a thick, glossy mayonnaise. Whisk in the garlic and lemon juice to taste. If too thick, whisk in 25-30 ml (1 fl oz) of water. Set aside.
Put the potatoes in a large pan with cold salted water and bring to the boil. When cooked through, drain and let cool. Peel and mash the potatoes. Season to taste and set aside. Keep warm.
Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a saucepan and add half of the onions. Cook over a medium heat until they start to caramelise (about 20-30 minutes), then add the garlic and a pinch of chilli flakes. Cook for another minute and then add the meat. Cook for 10 minutes and season to taste. Set aside.
To make the spicy tomato sauce, heat the remaining olive oil in another pan and cook the rest of the onions over a medium heat until soft. Add a pinch of chilli flakes and the tomatoes and cook until reduced, with almost no juices left. Season to taste.
Make a ball of around 100 g (3 1/2 oz) mash. Use your thumb to press a hole into the centre. Fill the cavity with the meat mixture and cover with more mash to enclose the filling. Repeat with the remaining mash and meat mixture.
Put the flour, eggs and breadcrumbs in separate bowls. One by one, roll the balls first in the flour, then in the egg and finally in the breadcrumbs.
In a deep pan heat enough oil to cover 2-3 ‘bombs’ to 180ºC (350ºF) or until a cube of bread browns in 20 seconds. Fry the bombs until golden – use a thermometer to make sure they are hot inside. Spoon some alioli in the centre of a plate and place a bomb on top and spoon over the spicy tomato sauce. Serve hot.
Recipe excerpted with permission from Catalonia by José Pizarro, published by Hardie Grant Books October 2017, RRP $40.00 hardcover.
The publisher is offering three copies of this book to EYB Members in the US, UK, NZ and AU. One of the entry options is to answer the following question in the comments section of this blog post.
Which recipe in the index would you try first?
Please note that you must be logged into the Rafflecopter contest before posting or your entry won’t be counted. For more information on this process, please see our step-by-step help post. Be sure to check your spam filters to receive our email notifications. Prizes can take up to 6 weeks to arrive from the publishers. If you are not already a Member, you can join at no cost. The contest ends at midnight on May 19th, 2018.
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