Probably I don’t need to say this, but one thing the Costa Brava is not short of is seafood and while the coastline of Girona province has two major fishing ports at Roses and Palamós, there are many towns along the coast with fishing fleets.
The one I’m most familiar with is l’Escala, which is famous for its anchovies and while l’Escala’s anchovies are expensive, there is a real difference in flavour.
Indeed, the fish is such a part of local culture that l’Escala has an anchovy museum and, believe it or not, every September they have a salt festival. Rather than being preserved in oil, l’Escala anchovies are traditionally preserved by being packed in salt, a method that was introduced to the area by the ancient Greeks, although oil preserved anchovies are also available. The salt was delivered by sailing ships and during the festival you can see a surviving salt ship moored in the bay.
You’ll see l’Escala anchovies advertised on many restaurant menus – they’re often served on pa amb tomàquet – but if you buy a jar you need to soak them in water or milk before eating. As well as being preserved in salt rather than oil, so typical of tinned anchovies, they are also far larger. You can buy anchovies direct from the factories in which they are gutted and packed and, if it takes you fancy, see how it is all done. Personally, I’d rather just eat them.
While l’Escala’s anchovies are probably the most famous, Cadaqués, Sant Feliu de Guíxols and Palamós also produce excellent anchovies. Snorkelling near Port de la Selva a few years ago I found a shoal of what literally must have been millions of anchovies, swimming as a uniform body at the mouth of a small bay, formation flying on a massive scale.
Although I had no intention of catching any, I dived down into the shoal of fish again and again, watching them dart away from me to allow me to swim through the body of fish and joining again as I swam though. No wonder the Costa Brava is so well known for anchovies! It was a truly amazing experience and while I’ve seen smaller shoals of anchovies off Riells beach in l’Escala, it’s not something I’ve experienced since on such a scale.
Anchovies can also be eaten on their own; or their saltiness perfectly to compliment a tomato salad (which in Spain consists of nothing more than tomatoes, olive oil and seasoning); or with escalivada, the Catalan way of serving red peppers, aubergines and onion that have been cooked in the embers of a fire and served cold, drizzled with olive oil.
Image of anchovy jar in composite image above courtesy Anxoves de l’Escala.
