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Calçot sauce or salvitxada

Valls, Alt Camp, Tarragona

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Calçot sauce or salvitxada

Food and drink · Valls, Alt Camp, Tarragona

Image of Valls, not of the place itself.

Calçot sauce, also called salvitxada or salbitxada, is a sauce typical of Valls (Alt Camp, Tarragona) that traditionally accompanies calçots at calçotadas. Thick, made from toasted almonds and hazelnuts, roasted tomato and garlic, ñora pepper, oil, vinegar and bread, it is pounded in a mortar until it reaches a medium consistency. Its origin, like that of the calçot itself, is attributed to the Valls peasant Xat Benaiges at the end of the 19th century, and it became popular in the 20th century thanks to Josep Gatell Busquets, known as el Bou. It is considered a variety of romesco sauce, with more roasted tomato and less nuts and ñora pepper, which gives it a milder taste; it differs from xató, which contains vinegar and is used to dress the curly endive salad with cod and anchovies.

Photo: Laureà from Igualada, Valls i Barcelona (CAT) (CC BY 2.0)

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