“Xató” gastronomic route is a gastronomic event that is celebrated in the regions: Alt Penedès, Baix Penedès and Garraf, situated between Barcelona and Tarragona. Although they are the most wine and sparkling wine productive zones, they are known by their typical dish “Xató” a kind of salad.
“Xató” is a typical dish from Catalan cuisine that belongs to regions situated on the coast where the first reference to this dish was found in XIX century. Although exists different versions of this recipe, we believe that its name came from “aixetonament” a process that first wine makers did in order to taste the first wines of the season.
The main ingredients to prepare “xató” are: escarole, desalt fish that can be tune, codfish, sardine, anchovy and its singular sauce. This last ingredient changes depending on the town but frequently it’s composed by almonds, hazelnuts, garlic, bread, vinegar, “nyora”, olive oil and salt.
There are 85 restaurants in the “Xató” Route. This Gastronomic Festival is celebrated every year in November and it’s all about this dish. In this season of the year, towns and cities in the region plan activities like “xatonadas”, which are “Xató” tastes, competitions and fairs.
Besides knowing gastronomy of the region, there are also some activities to do like route trips along the region, “enoturism” activities which are related with wine, architectonic visits and cultural activities.
Photography: parenthesis marketing