barcelona: day one (part two)

After exploring the market and buying all the ingredients we needed for class, we headed back to make everything.  The classes at Hubbell and Hudson have definitely spoiled us.  They do all the prep work and all the cleaning.  That was not the way things were at this class.  We got to chop everything and plate it.  All the dishes we cooked were in season and typical of Barcelona and Cataluyna.

La Rambla

The cooking school

The set up

We started by getting everything ready for the crema catalana, which is a lot like a creme brûlée, but uses milk and heavy cream.  It needed time to set so we prepared that dish first.

Starting the crema catalana

Next we started working on the grilled onions, romesco sauce, red pepper soup and cod skins.  I got to help do all of that so I didn't get to take any pictures of the prep work.  We took the skin of the salt cod and put it in the oven to crisp.  The onions and peppers were both cooked until the skins were burned and then we removed the burnt flesh.  The onions weren't bad and I hate onions.

The romesco sauce was my favorite.  It is a red sauce that the Spanish usually eat with meat or vegetables and it is good.  I like to say it was the ranch of Catalunya.  It has peppers, almonds, hazelnuts, olive oil, and few other ingredients in it.  It's not spicy at all and was super easy to make.

I learned a lot about paella in the class.  Paella should really be brown, not yellow.  Saffron is what makes paella yellow and it is super expensive so restaurants often add yellow food coloring and not saffron to the dish.  I also learned that you should never mix multiple meats in a paella.  If you want chicken, just add chicken.  It's better not to add chicken, seafood and so on to the same dish.    

Cooking the shrimp for the paella

Next came the vegetables

And rice

Finally the stock.

Red pepper soup with salted cod skins 

Onions with romesco sauce

The finished paella

Ready to serve

Finishing up the crema catalana

And done

Overall, I enjoyed the class.  We learned about new food and tried things we wouldn't have otherwise.  The paella was definitely my favorite and I am looking for a paella pan so I can try it at home.  I will say that Hubbell and Hudson cooking class are still my favorite.

The Gothic quarter the school was in

The cathedral from our hotel roof