Wow, Catalan elections on Valentine's Day!

But what a happy coincidence.

In addition, it is a great occasion to remember the love that we have in Madrid for a long time for

Catalan cuisine

and the admiration for its originality.

There have been several successful Catalan restaurants in the capital over the years, but perhaps none with the longevity and

regularity

of Casa Jorge, which first appeared on this page 25 years ago, so their return cannot seem hasty. .

It was then in its original headquarters, next to the

Las Ventas bullring

, before moving to Prosperidad and its three other current premises.

At Casa Jorge, this chronicler not only ate his

first calçots

in Madrid: he also did it knowing what he was doing because long before, in Valls (Tarragona), he had already passed the flush of doing it

awkwardly

, when, when he tried it for the first time That Catalan delicacy that he had heard so much about, and with the necessary bib tied around his neck, he began to chew the scorched outer leaves, and the waiter quickly intervened to inform him that no, those are removed to eat only the very

tender

inner part

chives.

What a rush, the hazing ...

When growing buried,

calçada

, this variety of onion takes on that narrow and elongated shape.

And this second part of winter is its

great season

.

The romescu sauce that accompanies it is irreproachable.

At least a good Catalan time this week, then.

With its atmosphere of a rural inn in Alto Campo, Casa Jorge symbolizes for several generations of Madrid fans the popular Catalan tradition, and the merit of its owners, the

Molina brothers

-who are from here-, is to have remained very faithful to the products and the qualities.

From Las Ventas to La Prospe

, a quarter of a century of loyalty to southern Catalonia.

The ceremony begins with some

sweet starters

: torreznos, potato omelette, well seasoned olives,

pa amb tomàquet

with excellent anchovies and that wonderful salad that can be, made with the right ingredients, a roast: onion, aubergines, peppers, potatoes.

At that moment the

calçotada

arrives

, served here in generous portions, with the bunches of onions scorched as required by the canons, over the live fire of vine shoots.

Casa Jorge's secret is that

farm in Consuegra

(Toledo) where they grow their own

calçots

, after having sent a team to Valls many years ago to learn all the techniques of their buried plantation.

Very tender, sweet,

a delight

.

All this beginning is light and leaves strength for a colossal sausage with

wild

beans

, or for a rabbit with aioli, or for those cannelloni so classic of the bourgeois cuisine of Barcelona in the 19th century.

The variety is great: for another day there will be a rice or some snails

a la llauna

.

And the Catalan cream is, of course, canonical.

This is

the Catalonia of nostalgia

.

A weak point: the very scarce presence of Catalan wines (a couple from Priorat) in a winery that, with so much Rioja and so much Ribera del Duero, turns out ... to be the most Madrid.

They assure us that they will improve that aspect.

More information about Casa Jorge

  • Cartagena, 104

    • 91 416 92 44

  • Opening hours: Does not close

    • Official Website: http://www.casajorge.com/

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