The 1st of November is celebrated in Catalonia as the day of 'TOTS SANTS" (All Saints Day), a festivity where families gather to honour the memory of those who have passed away but also a tradition that comes with its own seasonal food, a perfect excuse to eat the traditional dishes of the season.
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A few days before the feast, bakeries and cake shops work full-time to fill their shop windows with enormous amounts of PANELLETS, a small but highly demanded dessert, which nowadays is is presented in a wide range of shapes and colours. However, as simple as it may look, since its birth the panellet has gone through a process of refinement that reflects Catalonia's own cultural heritage.
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The typical drink is MOSCATEL, a dessert sweet wine made using Muscadelle grapes, which have not been fully fermented through the addition of alcohol.
Around the time of this celebration, it is common for street vendors to sell hot toasted chestnuts wrapped in newspaper. In many places,confectioners often organise raffles of chestnuts and preserved fruit.
It seems that the tradition of eating these foods comes from the fact that during All Saints' night, the night before All Souls' Day in theChristian tradition, bell ringers would ring bells in commemoration of the dead into the early morning. Friends and relatives would help with this task, and everyone would eat these foods for sustenance.
Other versions of the story state that the Castanyada originates at the end of the 18th century and comes from the old funeral meals, where other foods, such as vegetables and dried fruit were not served. The meal had the symbolic significance of a communion with the souls of the departed: while the chestnuts were roasting, prayers would be said for the person who had just died
Do you know the figure of the CASTANYERA - the chestnut seller ? She is an old lady, dressed in peasant's clothing and wearing a headscarf, sat behind a table, roasting chestnuts for street sale.
In recent years, the CASTANYADA has become a revetlla of All Saints and is celebrated in the home and community. It is the first of the four main school festivals, alongside CHRISTMAS, CARNESTOLTES (carnival) and Sant Jordi (St George's Day), but without reference to ritual or commemoration of the dead.
In this link you will find a wonderful and authentic recipe of panellets: El Perfume de mi Cocina
*BON APPÉTIT*
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