Picada (Catalan Nut and Garlic Paste)
Prep 20 min Total 20 min
Picada (Catalan Nut and Garlic Paste) - kvalifood.com
A Catalan finishing paste added to stews and soups in the last 5-10 minutes of cooking. Almonds, garlic, fried bread, and parsley are pounded together, then thinned with cooking liquid from the dish. It thickens the sauce, binds the flavors, and adds a nutty depth.
Makes enough for 1 pot of stew (4 servings)
Ingredients
- 30 g blanched almonds, toasted
- 30 g hazelnuts, toasted and skinned
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled
- 1 slice day-old white bread, crust removed, fried or toasted until golden
- 15 g fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
- 1 pinch saffron threads (optional)
- salt, to taste
- 2-3 tbsp cooking liquid from your stew (or broth)
Directions
Toast almonds and hazelnuts in a dry skillet over medium heat, stirring often, until golden and fragrant (3-4 minutes). If hazelnuts have skins, rub them off in a towel.
If using saffron, toast the threads briefly in the dry skillet (10-15 seconds).
Fry or toast the bread slice until golden on both sides. Break into pieces.
In a mortar, pound the garlic with a pinch of salt until it forms a paste. Add the toasted nuts and pound until broken down into a coarse, gritty paste. Add the bread pieces and saffron (if using). Continue pounding until incorporated. Add the parsley leaves and pound until the mixture is a rough, thick paste.
Thin with 2-3 tbsp of hot cooking liquid. Stir the picada into your stew 5-10 minutes before it finishes cooking.
Notes
All-almond works fine. Pine nuts can replace part of the hazelnuts.
If making in advance, replace cooking liquid with 2 tbsp olive oil to bind the paste.
Include saffron when the dish benefits from its flavor (seafood stews, rice dishes). Skip it for hearty meat stews.
See Also
Salsa Vizcaina (Basque Choricero Pepper Sauce)
Ajada (Galician Garlic and Paprika Sauce)
Salsa Brava (Madrid-Style Spicy Tomato Sauce)
Salsa Verde (Basque Parsley Sauce for Fish)
