Black hands, a bib round your neck, the calçot held high and that moment when the sauce drips exactly where it shouldn’t. A calçotada, the Catalan feast of chargrilled spring onions, is much more than a meal: it’s the perfect excuse to gather friends around the fire and spend the whole day together.
At Cal Xolva, in Llardecans, we have a garden and barbecue, so you can do it yourselves, at your own pace and without having to book a table anywhere.
When calçots are in season
The peak season runs from January to March, although you can find them from late autumn well into spring. It’s the perfect plan for a winter weekend with midday sunshine.
How many calçots per person
It depends on appetite and the rest of the menu, but as a guide:
- Between 15 and 25 calçots per person if grilled meat follows.
- Around 30 or more for true calçot lovers.
- Buy them in bunches from a greengrocer or cooperative you trust and ask for even-sized ones so they cook at the same rate.
The grill, step by step
- Light the fire with vine shoots or thin firewood: you need lively flames.
- Lay the calçots on a grill, neatly lined up, directly over the flames.
- When the outer skin is well blackened, turn them and cook the other side.
- Wrap them in bunches in newspaper and let them rest for a few minutes: they finish cooking in their own steam.
- Serve them hot, on roof tiles or trays, with the sauce on the side.
The sauce
Calçot sauce is made with roasted tomato and garlic, dried ñora peppers, toasted almonds and hazelnuts, toasted bread, vinegar and a generous drizzle of local olive oil. Every household has its own recipe: make it the day before and it will taste even better.
The full calçotada menu
- Calçots with sauce.
- Grilled meat: botifarra sausage, lamb, pork belly.
- White beans and grilled artichokes.
- Country bread, wine and a porró (traditional glass wine jug) for the brave.
- For dessert, oranges or crema catalana.
Frequently asked questions
Do we need to bring anything for the barbecue?
Bring the food, firewood or vine shoots and the bibs. Ask us before you come what’s available at the house and we’ll confirm.
What’s the best time of day?
Midday, in the sun. Lighting the fire around 12 and starting to eat at 1 is the classic.
Come to Cal Xolva. Take a look at our rooms and spaces, check our rates and ask us about availability.
