The Mar i Muntanya Cook

Núria Ferrer

Núria grew up in a stone farmhouse in the Empordà, where the Costa Brava meets the Pyrenean foothills and a single meal might pair rabbit with prawns or meatballs with cuttlefish. Her grandmother taught her the Catalan backbone — a slow sofregit, a mortar-pounded picada of almonds and garlic, romesco made from scratch — and that the genius of the cuisine is marrying the mountain and the sea on one plate. She is gently insistent that paella belongs to Valencia; what she cooks is escalivada, fricandó, and mar i muntanya, the food of her own corner of the coast.

CatalanSpanishMediterranean

Voice · warm, rooted, proud, sensory, generous

Signature Dishes

The essential curation of Núria's favorites.

50 MIN

Seared Scallop on Roasted Pepper Purée with Hazelnut Picada

Luxurious seared scallops rest on a velvety roasted pepper purée, finished with a rustic hazelnut picada that brings Catalan warmth to this elegant plate. The nutty crunch of the hazelnut against the sweet, smoky peppers and buttery scallops is exactly the kind of land-and-sea balance that makes this dish sing.

45 MIN

Butternut Squash and Pinto Bean Skewers with Smoked Paprika Romesco

Hearty vegetable skewers marinated in olive oil and herbs, roasted until caramelized at the edges, and served alongside a smoky Catalan romesco bursting with almonds, roasted peppers, and smoked paprika. Warm, rooted, and generous.

70 MIN

Almond-Flour Cod Fritters with Romesco and Parsley

Golden cod fritters bound with almond flour and fresh parsley, served alongside a smoky Catalan romesco made from charred roasted peppers and tomatoes, finished with a nutty almond picada.

50 MIN

Charred Brussels Sprout Skewers with Almond Romesco

Tender Brussels sprout halves charred until caramelized at the edges, served over smoky almond romesco — a Catalan-inspired skewer that brings mountain and sea (or at least land) together on one plate, finished with a nuttily rich mortar-pounded sauce.

45 MIN

Warm Pinto Bean Dip with Smoked Paprika and Roasted Peppers

A warm, smoky Catalan-inspired bean dip where tender pinto beans meet charred roasted peppers and a generous hit of smoked paprika. Perfect for scooping with crusty bread or tortilla chips.

75 MIN

Buckwheat Hazelnut Biscotti with Dark Chocolate and Orange

Crunchy twice-baked Italian-style cookies made heartier with nutty buckwheat flour, studded with toasted hazelnuts and finished with a bittersweet cocoa drizzle and bright orange zest.

60 MIN

Olive Oil Almond Cake with Roasted Pears and Honey

A moist, fragrant Catalan-inspired cake made with good olive oil and almond flour, topped with caramelized roasted pears and a generous drizzle of honey.

45 MIN

Cantaloupe Yogurt Panna Cotta with Almond Flour Crumble and Mint

A silky Catalan-inspired layered dessert pairing creamy yogurt-panna cotta with sweet roasted cantaloupe, a buttery almond crumble, and bright fresh mint.

60 MIN

Cod and Chickpea Braise with Roasted Peppers

A hearty Catalan-style braise where tender flakes of salt cod meet creamy chickpeas in a deep, slow-cooked sofregit, finished with smoky charred peppers and a bright squeeze of lemon.

80 MIN

Eggplant and Tomato Gratin with Hazelnut Picada

A hearty Catalan-style gratin of layers of silky roasted eggplant and rich tomato sauce, finished with a golden crust of toasted hazelnuts and breadcrumbs. Warm, rooted, and proud — just as Núria would make it for a family table.

65 MIN

White Bean and Fennel Soup with Saffron

A warming Catalan-inspired white bean soup where silky beans meet sweet roasted fennel, finished with a generous pinch of saffron that turns the broth a beautiful golden hue.

45 MIN

Mussels in Saffron Tomato Broth over Rice

Tender mussels bathed in a deep saffron-tinted tomato broth served over silky rice. A taste of the Empordà coast — the sea and land united in one fragrant, golden bowl.

60 MIN

Shrimp and Sausage Mar i Muntanya

A proud Catalan surf-and-turf where plump shrimp meet crumbled sausage in a deep sofregit, finished with a nutty almond picada — the marriage of mountain and sea on one generous plate.

22 MIN

Seared Scallops with Garlic Parsley Oil

Golden-seared scallops drizzled with a fragrant garlic and parsley oil — the kind of quick Catalan-inspired dish that lets the sweetness of the sea speak for itself.

75 MIN

Chicken Thighs with Sofrito and White Beans

A deeply satisfying Catalan braise of chicken thighs nestled in a slow-cooked sofrito, finished with a nutty almond picada and creamy white beans. The kind of dish that fills the farmhouse with warmth and the smell of home.

50 MIN

Romesco Roasted Cauliflower with Hazelnut Crumble

Charred roasted cauliflower crowns slathered in a smoky Catalan romesco of roasted peppers, tomato and hazelnuts, finished with a crunchy hazelnut-breadcrumb crumble. Pure Empordà on a plate.

75 MIN

Sausage and White Bean Stew with Smoked Paprika

A hearty Catalan-inspired white bean stew with smoky paprika and rustic sausages, built on a slow-cooked soffritto of onions, garlic, and peppers.

55 MIN

Roasted Pepper and Eggplant Stack with Almond Romesco

ACatalan-inspired tower of smoky charred eggplant and sweet roasted peppers, crowned with a nutty homemade almond romesco. Warm, rooted, and generous — the kind of dish that says home.

75 MIN

Sausage and White Bean Bake with Romesco

A hearty Catalan-inspired bake where plump white beans and golden-brown sausages nestle under a smoky almond-romesco sauce. The romesco adds that beautiful nutty char that makes this dish sing with the sea-meets-mountain soul of Empordà cooking.

50 MIN

Escalivada with Romesco and Toasted Almonds

Smoky charred vegetables from the ember bed, peeled and fanned across the plate, crowned with a rough-ground almond and roasted-tomato romesco and a scatter of golden toasted almonds. A proud Catalan classic that needs nothing but good olive oil and time.

70 MIN

Cod with Slow Sofregit and Parsley Picada

A classic Catalan preparation where tender cod fillets rest upon a deep, slow-cooked sofregit of onion, tomato and garlic, finished with a fragrant parsley picada of almonds and garlic.

120 MIN

Cod and White Bean Cassola

Flakes of salt cod nestle into a cassola where white beans have been slowly coaxed in a sofregit of garlic and tomato until everything is threaded together and impossible to separate. The olive oil goes in generously — this is not the place for restraint — and parsley scattered at the end keeps it bright. A dish rooted deep in Catalan coastal tradition.

40 MIN

Tuna and White Bean Salad with Sweet Onion

Good tinned tuna, creamy white beans, sweet yellow onion, and ripe tomato — dressed only in olive oil and scattered with parsley, because simplicity here is not laziness but respect. The beans and tuna find each other effortlessly, each adding body to what the other lacks. It is the kind of thing you eat standing at the kitchen counter and feel genuinely nourished.

60 MIN

Saffron Seafood Rice with Mussels and Shrimp

Rice cooked in a tomato-and-saffron broth until it turns golden and fragrant, with mussels opening over the heat and shrimp curling into tenderness alongside. This is not paella — it is something more intimate, a Catalan arròs with the sea right there in every spoonful. Olive oil underpins the whole thing with quiet authority.

45 MIN

Mussels in Saffron Tomato Sofregit

A deep sofregit of tomato, garlic, and olive oil, perfumed at the last moment with saffron that turns the whole thing golden and aromatic — and into this the mussels go, steaming open in the fragrant sauce so each shell catches a pool of it. Parsley finishes the bowl with freshness. You need bread, and you need to be in no hurry.

65 MIN

Eggplant and Chickpea Stew with Roasted Peppers

Eggplant and chickpeas are natural companions — one silky and absorbent, the other starchy and grounding — and here they simmer together in a tomato-and-garlic base with roasted bell peppers folding in their sweetness as the whole thing deepens. Olive oil holds it all together with the generosity this stew deserves. A meatless pot that asks nothing of you and gives everything back.

50 MIN

Chicken and Shrimp Mar i Muntanya

Chicken thighs braised in a sofregit of tomato, garlic, and olive oil until tender, then shrimp added at the last moment so they just cook through in the fragrant sauce — this is mar i muntanya in its most honest form, mountain meeting sea on one plate without apology. An almond picada stirred through at the end ties the two worlds together with a quiet, nutty depth.

60 MIN

Clams with Garlic and Hazelnut Picada

Clams steamed open in a pan slicked with olive oil and very assertive garlic, finished with a picada of toasted hazelnuts pounded with parsley and a squeeze of lemon that coats every shell in something nutty, bright, and impossibly fragrant. The hazelnut is a departure from almond — a nod to the Pyrenean foothills — and it is very much worth making. Eat them fast, straight from the pan.

30 MIN

Sautéed Spinach with Chickpeas and Almonds

Spinach wilted in plenty of olive oil with garlic until it collapses into dark, yielding ribbons, then chickpeas folded through for body and toasted almonds scattered across the top for crunch and a warm nuttiness. It is a tapas-style dish that carries itself with real confidence. Simple ingredients treated with enough care to become something memorable.

45 MIN

Romesco Roasted Cauliflower Traybake

Cauliflower roasted at high heat until the edges caramelise and the florets begin to crisp, then blanketed in a romesco of charred bell pepper, tomato, almond, and garlic that is smoky and bold enough to make even the most stubborn sceptic a believer. Olive oil does its work at every stage. One tray, one sauce, and no shortage of flavour.

From the Pantry

Signature staples

olive-oilgarlictomatoalmondbell-pepperparsleyeggplant

Favorite tools

MortarAndPestleDutchOvenChefKnifeWoodenSpoon

Reaches for

tomatobell-peppereggplantalmondhazelnutgarlicolive-oilwhite-beanssausagecodmusselparsley

Steers clear of

soy-sauceheavy-creamketchupcheddar-cheese

Flavor Profile

The Loves

smoky charred-vegetable escalivadaa nutty almond-and-garlic picadadeep slow sofregitthe surf-and-turf of mar i muntanyasweet roasted peppers

The Defaults

a long slow sofregit of onion, tomato and garlica mortar picada to thicken and finishromesco alongside anything charreda glug of good olive oil

The Avoids

calling Catalan food paellaa rushed thin sofregitdrowning good seafood in creamtimid garlicout-of-season hard tomatoes