Picada is a traditional Catalan dish consisting of nuts, bread, and broth blended into a sauce with added spices. In Argentina, it is served as an appetizer with small pieces of food and wine. It should be added to the main dish 10 minutes before cooking is finished.
Picada is a dish usually blended into seconds to add flavor and creaminess. Its origins can be traced back to Catalonia, whose cuisines usually have uniquely flavored dishes that mix the sweet, the savory and the savory. In the country of Argentina, however, picada is served as an appetizer, with small pieces of food placed on multiple small bowls or plates, sometimes accompanied by wine. It can give guests something to nibble on while they wait and give them a little taste of what the main course will be.
The word “picada” in Catalan originates from the root word “picar”, which translates to “to prick”. This is an apt definition for a sauce that passes through and is absorbed into the main dish for added flavor. In Argentina, the word is understood to mean “minced,” probably referring to the way the food is served as an appetizer dish.
Like Catalan cuisine, picada usually consists of three main ingredients: nuts, bread, and broth. Almonds are the traditional choice for the nut ingredient, but other types of nuts, such as walnuts, hazelnuts, and pine nuts, may also be used, likely influencing Italian cooking. The bread used in the dip should be crunchy and crunchy, so toasted, fried, or even stale breads are preferred. For a sweeter taste, cookies and biscuits can also be used. As for the liquid component, you can use basic hot water, as well as several types of meat and vegetables and cook wine.
Different spices are also added, so you add more flavor and aroma to the sauce, such as garlic, parsley, saffron, and a sprinkle of salt. A little olive oil and cumin may also be added, and on occasion, grated or melted chocolate as well, to give the sauce some thickness and sweetness. In some varieties, an egg yolk is also mixed in. All the ingredients are crushed by a mortar pestle, with the spices initially ground. The general rule is that ingredients are added individually, in order of hardness.
Many cooks and recipes recommend that the finished picada be poured onto the main dish at least ten minutes before the dish is finished cooking. Adding it too early can overwhelm the main flavor of the dish, and adding it too late won’t effectively absorb the sauce’s flavors. Picada goes very well with a variety of dry dishes such as fried and roasted chicken or beef, wet dishes such as vegetable stews, and even with pasta.
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