As the legend goes, a 19th-century Catalan farmer was out
experimenting in his fields when he came up with a new kind of
longer, juicier green onion, the calçot. In creating the onion,
the farmer produced much more than a new vegetable; he also
paved the way for the rise of an idiosyncratic, and distinctly
Catalan, cultural event. Calçots are not something that is
quickly cooked and then put in Tupperware to eat later at work.
Rather, they are part of a popular ritual, the calçotada, which
brings families and friends together around the table during the
winter months to eat the onions. Why are people in Barcelona so
crazy about getting together and eating calçots, which are
really nothing more than scorched green onions? Because they are
a good excuse to meet up with friends in the countryside or in a
restaurant to spend time together; because eating calçots
requires a certain skill, and people love showing off to their
friends; because it’s funny how you end up with dirty hands and
reeking of onions; and, la