There was a big paella cookoff in the village last Sunday and Pilar invited me to join her posse. They call themselves El Colla del Fart. Now, don't get upset! I'm going to translate this for you. "Colla" is the Catalan word for group. "Fart" is the Catalan word for sick. Basically, the connotation means the Group of Gluttons. Apparently, some of these folks were famous for getting together and eating too much. In case you were wondering, "pet" is the Catalan word for fart. What a crazy language!
Anyway, you can see them spelling out Colla del Fart with razor clams on the paella. As mentioned previously, everybody has their own way of making paella. Our chief cook, Cano, uses a little Parmesan cheese in his. His is also quite a bit less salty than many paellas and that was a welcome relief on a hot afternoon.
This was a competition. Cano won second place out of ten participants. It was really quite delicious with all the razor clams. They have a sweet, delicate flavor.
I was able to meet all three of Pilar's daughters. I'd heard many wonderful things about them from Philip over the years. They all live in Tarragona and don't spend much time in El Masroig. Pili, Emma and Laura all speak good English and it was fun getting to know them.
Please check out the photos AND VIDEO below. Thanks again Cano and Pilar for inviting me!
Pilar preparing onion for the salad. This one was grown by Cano and weighed over 1.5 kilos!
¡Que dulce!
