Spanish Sea Urchins “Garotes”
We all sat there thinking about what we could do that was “different”, then Jordi, the Catalan neighbour from next door said, “how about Garotes?” – Garotes we all chimed with frowning faces. “Yes, Garotes, Sea Urchins”, said Jordi´s wife Ana – “they´re one of the Spanish specialities at this time of the year – winter is the time to indulge”. And so off we all went to Caella de Palafrugell on the northern Catalan coast – one of the rather special and unspoiled seaside resorts which we who live here try to hide from everyone else!
We selected one of the restaurants on the sea-front and were led to a massive round table in the window. After pouring over the menu which included many dishes with Sea Urchins, we all decided we would start with a simple plate of these delicacies. And so the Spanish Sea Urchins arrived, no doubt originally looking like tiny porcupines rolled up into a tight little ping pong ball shape, by now expertly prepared by the chef – the Garotes were cut to display their orange mouth-watering interiors. “One, two three” said Jordi – lifting the Spanish speciality to his mouth and sticking out his tongue to make a pointy spoon to relieve the Sea Urchin of its magnificent roe – and so we followed suit – with a little trepidation of course, but this soon turned to smiles as we poste haste devoured the exquisite Spanish Sea Urchins. There was scarcely time to lift our glasses of the superb sparkling local Emporda Cava we had selected to pair with our meal – but as our plates emptied we lifted our glasses and proposed a toast to Jordi, who had introduced us to this wonderful Spanish food.
By now of course we were “aficionados” of Spanish Sea Urchins and needless to say our meal continued with Sea Urchins – some with pasta, others with rice, but all positively rich and delicious with the now well loved Spanish specialty.
Here’s to the next time!
If you would like to enjoy a visit to Calella de Palafrufell where you can experience some delicious Spanish delicacies such as Garotes, our private Mediterranean Cuisine Tour includes visits to a number of charming seaside villages as well as dining experiences in Michelin Restaurants and accommodation at a charming Mediterranean seaside hotels.
