Weekends in Barcelona are made for the beach. Luckily enough, we don’t have to go far to enjoy it. Castelldefels is located ~20 minutes from Barcelona. It’s easily accessible by public transportation and is a favorite of “Domingueros” (Weekenders). Castelldefels caters to a broad spectrum of people and activities. Beach in the summer and kite surfing in the down months. There’s a wonderful beach walk for cyclists, joggers, and strollers.
The one thing that I enjoy most about going to Castelldefels is belonging to the larger community via a neighborhood association called the Associacio Veinal Lluminetes. This association does an excellent job bringing people together in a public space. Membership in this this organization costs 20 Euros per year, but the benefits definitely outweigh the cost. Throughout the year, the Lluminetes put together various events. Earlier in the year we went to the Calcotada (grilled ramps) where there was a raffle for a whole Jamon Iberico and some Cava. Last year, the Jamon was won by Rosalia’s uncle. This past weekend was the annual street festival where they organized food and activities for the neighborhood. All the meals at the events cost only 2 Euros for members or 5-7 Euros for non-members.
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Friday: Sausage Party – Live Music
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Saturday: Grilled Sardines – Street Dance
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Sunday: Paella
Of the 3 events this past weekend, I only attended two out of the three: the Sardines and the Paella. I’m a big fan of the lowly sardine. I especially enjoy them here. They are grilled, smoky, topped with coarse sea salt, and served on top a slice of crusty bread. Rosalia’s mom brings latex gloves for the group to keep fingers from smelling fishy for a few days. Once the gloves are on, the eating begins. I tear right into those sardines with my hands. They are grilled whole so you can navigate around the tripe when eating or eat the tripe like the sardine faithful do. I do and I have no regrets and don’t care if that grosses anyone out.
For a minute, you could find sardines on the menus of fine NYC restaurants. I always wanted to order them, but dropping $25 on sardines that I know would not be as good as the ones I get in Greece and here in Barcelona was never an option. Buying fresh sardines and grilling them at home requires at least 6 people to enjoy. You can’t grill sardines for one or 2 people and it’s hard to find 6 sardine lovers in America. For example, grilled octopus with an ouzo on a Greek island is delicious. Grilled octopus and ouzo on the patio at my parent’s house in New Berlin, Wisconsin doesn’t taste even remotely the same. The sardine trend has probably passed in NYC, but nothing has changed here. Saturday is Sardine Saturday each and every year at Lluminetes.
The grand finale of the festival is the community paella. With ticket in hand, we cue up in a line that snakes around the sidewalk in the hot sun and we bring trays to transport the paella back to the house. My job this year was to bring a cold beer to my people in line, because the sun was extra hot yesterday.
I need to arrive early one year and document how this is made?!?!?! This paella feeds well over 100 people. Maybe more? It’s hard to tell from the dimensions of the pan. Being Sunday, I’m not going over-analyze it by multiplying L X H X W to get the area of the pan and apply Pi to get the radius. I don’t know the actual number, but tickets are limited and sell out fast every year. Maybe it would be easiest to ask someone how many tickets they sell and figure it out from there? It goes without saying that making a paella of this size requires skill. If you overcook it, the paella becomes inedible, because the shrimp turns all rubbery and the rice will be mushy. Somehow, some way, these guys have this down to a science. I don’t think I’ve ever been responsible for cooking more than 2 cups of rice in my life so I’m always wondering how do these guys get it right? Plus, I own a rice cooker which does all the work for me. I’m almost certain that at least 20KG (44lbs) of rice go into this paella, but i’m not sure. How much salt? How much shrimp and cuttlefish is needed? I imagine they need a boat oar to mix all this stuff together. Underneath the paella of this size is a series of paella burners that are daisy chained together. How do they get both the correct amount of heat and the correct distribution of heat to make sure the paella doesn’t burn on one side?
After the first bite, I put these trivial pursuits to rest and focus on enjoying the company of friends and family. When we got all this paella home, we gathered around for some watermelon margaritas and some patatas bravas, before making a sangria, and sitting down for the paella main event. I’ve been put in charge of the Sunday cocktail and i’m always looking for new “summery” drinks to shake or stir up. Margaritas are a favorite in both Barcelona and my family back in Greece. I may move on to the Paloma and finish off the tour of Mexican drinks with a Michelada. Today, I skipped both coffee and dessert and took a much deserved siesta on a lounger. Thus, skipping the beach; but, who cares? There’s always next weekend. Well?!?! Not next weekend. We’re off to the Algarve in Portugal.