Barcelona Photoblog: food
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts

January 07, 2020

La Vietnamita Sant Antoni: Best Vietnamese Restaurant in Barcelona






Today I want to recommend something different that I am sure Barcelona visitors and of course, many locals would appreciate, Vietnamese cuisine, and what better than choosing a good restaurant in the city that I have tried myself, of course. The place in particular is La Vietnamita Sant Antoni which is part of a group of four restaurants that have been providing quality service for almost a decade to 'exotic' food lovers like us. But before I talk about my favorite Vietnamese let's explain why I go there in the first place.





Why a Vietnamese? Southeast Asian food, that is, Vietnamese or Thai food are delicious options that we often overlook in Barcelona. We tend to choose between Japanese or Chinese all the time (Korean would be the less common choice within the East Asian food group). I am no expert but in my opinion they all share some common traits, like good cousins, sort to say, but have a character of their own that would take hours to describe here. I like the way Japanese handle raw food. I like fried stuff, pork mainly, soy and ginger from the Chinese. Korean Bibimbap. Sweet and spicy flavors and coconut milk in Thai food. In fact, what I enjoy the most is sweet and spicy and I can have that in Vietnamese food plus that little extra touch of herbs like lemongrass, Vietnamese coriander, Vietnamese balm or mint, rice paddy herb, basil, lime leaves...

It is this taste and scent of herbs that captivates my senses, that harmony of natural ingredients that tells me I am enjoying quality, organic, healthy food. This really makes a difference for me and constitutes the main reason I choose Vietnamese cuisine in La Vietnamita Sant Antoni.

Last time I visited, I went with the family, wife and daughter. It is the perfect spot for family groups as there is plenty of room (there is even a playground area for kids). Space, comfort and street-style decoration is the first thing that calls your attention in fact. All four restaurants in the chain have that casual street deli food stall air that goes so well with the idea of homemade healthy cooking, respectful with nature and affordable.

And here is what I recall we ordered this time and will surely make us repeat:

Starters:

The Nem rán fried rolls that take veal, carrot, onion and noodles.





Main course:

1.  Bun Bao Burger with salmon and fried yucca





2.  Noodle crunch with shrimps, vegetables, Vietnamese herbs, coconut powder, nuts and Nuoc Cham fish sauce.


3.  Red curry with coconut milk, mesclun salad, jasmine rice, chicken and peanuts (curries are fantastic!)




Desserts:

Che chuoi of tapioca pearls, coconut milk and banana. Yummy, yummy!






And last but not least, the refreshing Vietnamese lemonades or the exotic cocktails in the Mixology section. 

I wouldn't want to finish without stressing that general state of well-being that accompanies you and your stomach when you include such fresh and environment respectful foods in your sustainable diet. It is time to start the year with new commitments and why not including good old wise Vietnamese cuisine to clean the path.







October 07, 2019

Palo Alto Market Barcelona Fest

^Palo Alto Market Fest Meat and Chimichurri Sandwich by Dos Boludos

The Palo Alto Market Fest is all you can expect from a festival, it is indeed a fiesta in which locals and foreigners alike have indulged year after year, on the first weekend of every month to be more precise. Based on the idea of Javier and Pedrin Mariscal and their foundation, the Palo Alto Market Fest is part of a bigger project, a creative hub, an island within the city, that implied the rescue of the old and abandoned Gal i Puigsech factory not without discrepancies with the town hall.





The Palo Alto festival, encompasses a little bit of everything you can expect from a street market plus an extra and much more relevant additive: culture. In the particular cozy atmosphere of its inner space in which art galleries blend with food trucks, you can enjoy concerts, workshops, exhibitions, find vintage articles, handmade crafts, recycled products, the latest trends in design, beautiful jewelry, street style fashion, organic food, you name it.

Palo Alto Market Fest inner courtyard

This privileged 3,700 m2 space is a great opportunity for local artists and creators to display their work and the ideal place for visitors to get in contact with what's cooking in street or urban culture in Barcelona while pampering one's stomach.

Admission to Palo Alto Market Barcelona 2019: 4.50 eur on site, 3.50 online.

August 05, 2019

Can Marc Restaurant: An Excellent Choice at Montseny National Park

Can Marc restaurant should be in the top five list of best places to eat while enjoying the company of nature at Montseny natural park near Barcelona. I say this out of respect for the rest of good options in the area.

This little gem is hidden in a very modest road in Sant Esteve de Palautordera, a town at the Valles Oriental county (the Eastern side of Montseny park). Sant Esteve is 55 kms away from Barcelona city but still in the Barcelona province limits. There are plenty of rural activities at your disposal in this town first documented in history back in IX. As a matter of fact Can Marc is not only a restaurant but a rural farm or "Mas" in Catalan with attractive and comfortable rooms devoted to fans of nature, hiking and horse riding.

But let's go to the main course, the exquisite cuisine of Oriol Sabé with his team led by Sergi Planas

I will give you some examples with pictures. All dishes were part of the 28 Eur menu of the day although you can go A la Carte of course.

A delicious mellow rice with all the subtleties of fresh seafood, especially the famous Blanes shrimps adorned with this delicate foam.



Rice with Blanes shrimps - Can Marc restaurant - Palautordera



A fresh marinated cod and clams with crisp flavors although not too strong accompanied with apple slices.


Cod seviche - Can Marc restaurant - Palautordera


A succulent portion of roasted suckling pig with mushrooms and asparagus.


Roasted suckling pig - Can Marc restaurant - Palautordera


An attractively presented mushroom sautee on egg and bacon.


Sauteed mushrooms with eggs and bacon - Can Marc restaurant - Palautordera


And for dessert a great tatin sided with what tasted like mint or rosemary, I couldn't tell but the combination was surprisingly good.


Tatin with icecream - Can Marc restaurant - Palautordera


The staff is polite and very efficient. We had the Agaliu 2017 white wine (Costers del Segre D.O), ecologic and 100% Macabeu grapes which I strongly recommend you.

July 19, 2014

Catalan Cuisine Suggestions: Restaurant La Violeta, Castelltersol, Barcelona

Violet Marmalade and Fried Cheese Gaspacho
Tuna Fish and rice Icecream with Strawberries on top


One the good things in life, if not the best, is to go out and find a nice meal, at a nice restaurant in a nice place. When it comes to enjoying excellent Mediterranean dishes, Catalan cuisine, is one of the best choices. It's been a long time, I haven't recommended an interesting restaurant in or out of Barcelona and in fact I always forget to use cellphone pictures I take while traveling around Catalonia to share them here with you. That's what a blog is for after all.

Today I want to suggest Restaurant La Violeta in Castelltersol (there should be a letter cedilla after the R but Google spiders don't like foreign letters too much), a Catalan municipality that is part of Barcelona province which historically devoted to the textile industry and took its name after a castle that dates back to the ninth century. Restaurant La Violeta and the hotel with the same name, are located in a house from 1860, restored in the 90s. Apparently is just another normal local restaurant, but I have to say that if you happen to be nearby you shouldn't miss it because its cuisine is certainly worth tasting. When I say nearby, I mean, you could be watching eagles fly in renown Cim d'Aligues natural park or admiring the views at Sant Miquel del Fai

But let's talk about the menu at La Violeta:

For starters, I recommend you don't miss their special tapas, like Formatges arrebossats amb melmelada de violetes (breaded cheese dice in violet marmalade) in the picture above, or the Patatas Bravas a la Violeta. In fact, my wife and I fell in love with that violet flavor and that's why we always try to return when we have the chance. They have a nice selection of salads like the season salad with nuts, cheese, quince and apple.

For the main course, you can either have pasta dishes like the Rossejat de fideus mariners (a sort of Paella but with noodles and sauce) or a good shrimp risotto. I would go for the Arros amb llamantol (rice with lobster) but as you can see in the image, pan fried tuna can suit you well for less money. We were fortunate it was summer and they had the Gazpacho, one of the best I have tried, out of Andalusia of course.

For dessert, there was this homemade ice cream with strawberries that was just the cherry on top of the day. As to the price, it is slightly pricey, not much, but you get quality food and they are not minimalist at all, if you know what I mean. More details on their website following the first image.

October 20, 2013

Porras with Hot Chocolate

Famous porras with chocolate
Porras with chocolate in Barcelona

If you fancy secret places out of the touristic routes, places not so charming but equally exquisite because of the quality of the product you get and if you cannot leave Barcelona without tasting those porras or churros with chocolate somebody was bragging about just before you came visit us, then you should know that there is this small cafe, frequented by locals, very near Metro stop Fabra i Puig (Red Line) called Churreria Laia (carrer Malgrat 82)(Passeig de Fabra i Puig, 146) where you can satisfy your most guilty pleasures.

For those of you that don't know what a churro is, let me tell you that it is just dough made right in front of you by mixing flour, hot water and salt inside a blending machine made for such purpose. Once the dough is ready, some portions are placed inside another machine called churrera that pipes everything through a star-shaped nozzle that gives it that characteristic prism-like shape. The dough comes out of it as if it were tooth paste slowly making a spiral that is then fried and served hot. You usually sprinkle sugar on top.

Update 07/2023:

'Porras differ from churros because they contain an extra ingredient: baking soda or, in some cases, yeast. The dough for the porras contains flour, salt, water and baking soda and we must leave it to rest for a period of several minutes before putting it in the fryer in order to release carbon dioxide and result in a much softer dough. . There is also a difference in the proportion of flour in relation to the amount of water: the amount of water is higher in the mass of the porras. Churros are loop-shaped, thin in thickness, and have a dense dough. Instead, the porras are fried in the form of large spirals and then cut into pieces; they are thicker and spongier because they have air inside.' - according to Churreria Desi 

So Porras, which are very popular in Madrid (and other regions of Spain, check this post from Valencia about the difference between churros and porras), are not just thicker as you can see in this image but carry that extra ingredient. In Madrid, porras are a staple of the local cuisine and are often consumed for breakfast or as a mid-morning snack. The result is a heavenly treat that pairs perfectly with a cup of thick, rich hot chocolate. Madrid boasts numerous traditional cafés and pastry shops where locals and visitors alike can indulge in the pleasure of porras. One of the most renowned establishments is San Ginés, a charming café located near Puerta del Sol. San Ginés has been serving porras since 1894 and is often crowded with clients eager to experience the iconic combination of porras and their famous hot chocolate. The porras in Madrid tend to be thick, dense, and slightly chewy, providing a satisfyingly substantial bite.
 
Moving to Barcelona, although you can find porras as such, more than often you will end up having our churros or xurros with different form and texture. The dough used for churros is typically made with a higher proportion of water, resulting in a lighter and crispier end product.  In other words, although you can find porras or what looks like porras but carrying a filling (which is not a porra), churro or a xurro in Catalan, is the usual thing to have. Anyway, porras you can find.
 
Xurrerias, specialty shops that specialize in churros and sometimes offer porras, can be found throughout Barcelona. These establishments attract locals and tourists with the enticing aroma of freshly fried dough. One popular xurreria is the iconic Xurreria Trebol, located in carrer Corsega 341. 

Do you have porras in your city? Spanish porra also refers to the sticks or batons carried by the police so I am sure you have some porras and they don't serve it with chocolate!

October 09, 2012

Goat Cheese Salad, Terra Mia Italian Restaurant, Barcelona



Sometimes the best places to eat are not necessarily along those well trodden touristic routes nor are tips suggested by travel guides comprehensive enough as to include them. When we think of Italian restaurants pizza and pasta come to mind instantly leaving short room for other kind of dishes. But even though you go beyond that point and you are a true enthusiast of Italian cuisine and you accept the fact that it is richer than that sold in Italian fast food restaurants, you may be surprised at some troves you can find out there. Terra Mia is a very small restaurant very near Parc Güell, but difficult to see if you get to the park by bus. It happens that tourists go straight from the parking lot to Parc Güell and back to the bus again without noticing that some blocks down the street, exactly at carrer Ramiro de Maetzu, 31 there is this hidden gem. I am just a very happy client and they are responsible for that because the service is impeccable and food is exquisite.This goat cheese salad in the picture above is just a sample but you ought to try their every dish as not only the ingredients are genuinely Italian but also the way they are cooked and served. In spite of being a small place they have a very nice terrace. Don't forget to try a bottle Il carpino wine. Find here Terra Mia Facebook page.

March 11, 2012

Boquerones en Vinagre (Anchovies in Vinegar), Mediterranean Delight

Anchovies in Vinegar [enlarge]

Having a tapa of raw fish macerated in vinegar is surely not quite luring for some stomachs. Mediterranean anchovies are not just gutted fish salted in brine, matured and canned or bottled in oil or salt as those you find in the market. They are also served fresh and marinated in vinegar as the ones in the picture. This exquisite tapa is called Boquerones en vinagre. By now you probably have guessed that not all anchovies prepared this way taste the same and that both the freshness of the fish and the quality of the vinegar really make the difference. Yesterday, we enjoyed these superb boquerones en vinagre dressed with garlic, parsley and some olives at Rincon de la Ciudadela, exactly at the corner of carrer Princesa and carrer Comerç in El Born, Barcelona. The restaurant is not modern, chic and trendy like many others in the area, but you know, good food, is not always in the coolest place.

February 10, 2011

Italian Food in Barcelona: Calzone Pizza

Calzone Pizza at La Tagliatella, Barcelona, Spain [enlarge]

Nothing like well presented food to welcome guests into a restaurant. Besides growing your appetite, it creates a mood. Who is not thrilled by Italian food and the pleasures of Mediterranean recipes? The sight of this calzone pizza at the entrance of La Tagliatella (Mallorca, 266) couldn't be more appealing. The fact this is a franchise does not mean you can't have a good meal sometimes. I have used a strong vignette to give it a sort of old silent movie effect. Here is an interesting Calzone recipe: Meat Feast Calzone via BBC

September 18, 2010

Black Olive Bread: Yet Another Catalan Delight

Black Olive Bread [enlarge]

It is very common in Catalonia to dress up dishes with the magic touch of some small slices of black olives. They appear on top of salads, fish, pizzas, cocas and so on. These buns look yummy with that tasty garnish so I thought they might be a good teaser for your stomach this weekend. Check this black olive bread recipe and maybe you can try it at home.

September 15, 2010

Fresh Goat Cheese Rolls

Goat Cheese Rolls [enlarge]

Fresh goat cheese carefully wrapped in straws in a small local market near Barcelona. There is nothing more appealing to my avid cholesterol-ridden organism than cheese in any of its forms. Personally I prefer them cured but wouldn't say no to these little whims. I am sure you agree with me that what's bad for your health tastes great more than often. Why didn't Mother Nature give us lettuces rich in saturated fat, with plenty of LDL (Bad) Cholesterol so we massively fed on zero calorie goat cheese? Here is a good comparative of bad vs good food. They obviously just don't get it! Do they?

Disclaimer: The purpose of this post is merely philosophical. The author does not instigate others in any way to keep soaking their nachos in guacamole. He is just wondering, what if?

December 21, 2009

Bolets or Mushrooms You Can Buy at La Boqueria, Barcelona

Bolets or Mushrooms at La Boqueria, Barcelona, Spain  [enlarge]

I don't have the slightest idea about mushrooms so I am going to dare give names to these three species. According to pictures, the first ones on the left could be some variant of Tricholoma, in the middle and most attractive to the eye, Cantharellus tubaeformis or Cantharellus infundibuliformis aka Rossinyol in Catalonia and finally what seems to be Agaricus bisporus. But then again don't follow my word on this so as to go and collect some in the wild holding my image cause your life might be at risk. The photograph was taken last September at La Boqueria market. If there are boletaires (bolet is Catalan for mushroom and boletaire those who know about bolets) in the audience please help me with this one.

This is just a recommendation of course for you to have fun with media. And while you are at it, how about more than 7000 mushroom recipes to browse for fresh ideas and maybe add that final touch to your Christmas table?.


December 01, 2009

Peeling Fava Beans - Some Like it Raw

Peeling Fava Beans at La Boqueria market, Barcelona

One of the secret pleasures and most amusing of activities in life, at least for some Mediterranean peoples is to shell and then peel fava beans, broad beans or habas as we know them in Spanish and eat the fresh content, the seed or kernel raw, accompanied with some bread and sometimes other ingredients like cod, cheese, ham, etc. My wife loves them and refers to them as an authentic delicatessen. Bear in mind though that you may catch a disease called favism which causes anemia but only if you are genetically predisposed. Try to tell that to locals in Murcia, Andalusia and other regions of Spain! In my opinion, you need some skill to peel habas or at least I see experts pile up a good amount of shells in the time I need to utterly destroy one pod. In the image, notice the beans inside the cardboard box and a bunch of pods right in front in the plastic container. This was taken early in the morning at one of those open air veggie stalls set outside La Boqueria market. The picture is almost ruined cause there was too much light and I didn't have much time to set the camera properly and still get away with my candid. I brought it here so you could see what peeling favas looks like and learn about the tradition behind it, a tradition as old as humanity itself and only second to good old lentils but that is part of another story. To illustrate the culinary aspect of fava beans here is a list of videos either about the plant or recipes that might give you new ideas for today's meal.

November 05, 2009

Egg Stall, La Boqueria Market, Barcelona

Egg Stall, La Boqueria Market, Barcelona

Illuminated by both the warm incandescent light of the bulbs and the pristine rays of the early morning Sun these eggs, so carefully laid out as they are, seem to draw the most attention in La Boqueria market. In my opinion, the egg stall is only second best to the fruit stand at the entrance. By the way, today it is starting to be slightly cold in Barcelona although for tourists coming from up North this must be a joke. Sooner or later we will be like little chicks looking for a warm shelter under Mommy Hen's feathers. I hate winter.

November 03, 2009

Opuntia ficus indica: Cactus Figs - Higos Chumbos

Opuntia ficus indica: Cactus Figs - Higos Chumbos [enlarge]


Here are some Cactus Figs, Indian Figs, Tunas or as we know them in Spanish, Higos Chumbos. A lot of names to designate a delicious fruit that oddly enough comes out of Opuntia ficus-indica, a cactus. This is one good example of specialization, of survival in extreme conditions, one of those wonders of mother nature.

Would you expect to get food out a cactus!? I mean, imagine you are a primitive man, you are starving and you get lost in the Sonoran desert. You know that you should not try any odd beautiful fruit or plant cause previous experience tells you that it could be dangerous. You probably get to smell it, lick it but finally the spines make you change your mind. I have always wondered who was the first to try so and so, say, eating an octopus or a snail or a swallow's nest or a shark's fin!? They say cattle have a knack for this plant once farmers burn it to get rid of the sharp points.

I suppose no one got rid of the spines for us in the past, or was it a lightning perhaps, maybe a suicidal cow who dared to chew on it or why not, the blasting jet of a mysterious alien mothership? I have read that in Mexico you do not only eat the fruit but also the young pads called nopales before they grow the spines of course and have them with eggs and jalapeños for example.

In southern Spain higos chumbos grow in the wild as they have this incredible ability to multiply out of any small fragment but there are also extensive crops. Take for example the case of Murcia where almost 200 tons of tunas are harvested every year. The plant has some medicinal properties too as it contains a mucilaginous substance good to treat nausea, headaches, fever, arthritis, constipation, asthma, burns, stomach-ache and a long etc, it even served as a remedy to fight scurvy during long sea journeys. Besides, there are lots of recipes for both sweet and savory dishes.

I just wanted to show you how they looked at La Boqueria market and to let you know that it is quite common to find them when you travel around Spain. Care for a bite?



October 27, 2009

Tapa or Pintxo? What's in a Name?

tapa,pincho,pintxo [enlarge]

Allow me to use two words to refer to this small serving. As I mentioned in a previous post according to the region you are visiting in this multicultural concoction known by many as Spain, you would call this slice of bread holding a given combination of ingredients, either tapa or pincho. If it carries a toothpick it is certainly a pincho but either way it is a kind of tapa. According to the Real Academia de la Lengua dictionary a Pincho is a small portion of food taken as an appetizer sometimes pierced with a toothpick while Tapa is a small portion of food served as an accompaniment to a drink. Considering such "subtle" difference, a tapa refers to anything small you have while you drink and a pincho does not imply a drink (hard to believe!) and may carry a stick on it (sometimes!). You see, our dictionary does not help much. Well, a pincho or pintxo has to do more with Northern Spain (the Basque country, Navarre, Cantabria, etc) although you may find they call it so in other regions as well. The way I see it, tapa is a more general term that may include larger portions, whether pierced by a toothpick or not but you know what? some pintxos are served on a roll or with no bread at all and even without the toothpick! So there we go again! As you know language is alive and a dictionary just tries to make rules out of common usage. In real life concepts are not that strict. Don't be surprised when you find it hard to decide upon one word or the other and you hear "give me a tapa of jamón" and "a pincho de tortilla".

We went to this Basque restaurant, called Sagardi, where I had a reasonable amount of pintxos like one of these of shrimp and red pepper. In Barcelona pintxos are never as good as in San Sebastian, Bilbao et al. We are aware of that but we look the other way. Most clients already know how a pintxo should look and taste, cause they have been up North and have had a great time there, hopping from place to place in renown streets full of pintxo bars. But we accept the fact, pay more and dream about our next trip to the land of pintxos. Those of you who never tried them before are surely missing one of the greatest culinary experiences you can think of not just because of the quality of the product and the way it is presented but also because of the ritual behind it, the social aspect of going for and sharing around pintxos. As I said, Barcelona is not the perfect place for what is known strictly as pintxos. We have a whole bunch of extraordinary tapas bars but for us going for pintxos is not a way of life if you know what I mean. In the Basque country there are annual competitions of pintxo bars, everyone wants to serve the best pintxo cause positive word-of-mouth communication really makes the difference. Good pintxo fans travel together in groups and have a route of their own with an expert eye for the best choice so guess how important it is to have a good reputation and deliver quality service.

How it works?: Ask the waiter for an empty dish and order your drink of course (I prefer cider or sometimes a glass of txakoli which is a young white wine) and then start "fighting" with other clients in your quest for the best pintxos properly displayed in comfortable self service lid covered glass shelves or conveniently distributed all over the counter and constantly refurbished with an extraordinary amount of possible combinations of food. Take as many as you wish but never throw the toothpick. You ought to keep those on your dish so you can tell the waiter how many pintxos you had when you ask for the bill. If you want to know more and choose your own route or find the best tapa/pintxo try: Todo Pintxos.

September 05, 2009

Bar Papitu, La Boqueria Market, Barcelona

Bar Papitu, La Boqueria Market, Barcelona [enlarge]

From the strategically located terrace of Bar Papitu on Passatge de la Virreina 1 on a lateral corridor at La Boqueria you can witness the constant flow of visitors to the famous market near La Rambla. According to many they serve good tapas so why not take a rest there after the always difficult walk through the crammed packed market premises. This barrel in the picture really caught my attention, specially the red letters advertising the place. Papitu was the name of a renown humor publication in Catalonia from 1908 to 1937. It had a clear leftist orientation opposite to their conservative rival magazine called Patufet closely connected to the church. Papitu played an important role in the history of satirical publications in Barcelona, specially during an initial moderate period conditioned by the censorship of Primo de Rivera. Right after the dictator's resignation in 1930, Papitu became more irreverent, particularly with regards to the clergy and spicy, naughty, if you know what I mean, in the sense that they use double meaning jokes and symbolic sensual illustrations. But let's not forget my post was basically about the bar. Here is Bar Papitu on Myspace and on a Google map.

June 28, 2009

Hake Detail, La Boqueria Market, Barcelona

Hake detail

As part of my La Boqueria market series I wanted to show you this detail of a hake which is one of the most consumed fish species on the Spanish table. Here are some essential recipes to enjoy hake: Merluza a la Gallega, Merluza a la Vasca and Cocochas al Pil Pil, there are many more of course. Remember to accompany them with a good white wine, like Albariño for example.

June 26, 2009

Dragees or Peladillas, La Boqueria market, Barcelona

Dragees or Peladillas at La Boqueria Market [enlarge]

Dragées come in many different colors as you can see here. In fact I had never seen purple or green ones before. In English I prefer to call them dragées instead of sugar almonds or Jordan almonds since they can carry not only almonds but also raisins, nuts, liqueur or just chocolate but to be honest here they call them all peladillas (sugar almonds) in spite of having also the word gragea which is more general and seldom used. I don't know in your country but in Spain it is customary to give them as a present to guests at a wedding or baptism as they are thought to bring luck. They are usually presented inside a basket or a tulle net along with the newlyweds or the child's name. Peladillas are undoubtedly a coveted and appealing treat for children and adults alike. The origin is not clear, some say it was a Roman delicacy called tragemata created accidentally by Julius Dragatus, some others say it was the name of a slave or that it was reinvented by Pecquet in 1760 a famous French confectioner who gave them the current sleek appearance and used to supply the court aristocrats who carry them in small boxes called drageoirs. The final product is obtained after a five-day process which I won't describe here. According to the dictionary the word comes from Greek tragêmata that means sweet, treat, a sort of food made of nuts and fruit that could be munched or chewed. Gragea means pill or tablet so as you can see history is like a giant puzzle where every piece makes sense. There are even variations of the word like the verb to dredge in English which means to sprinkle or coat with some powdered substance and of course is used in cookery. Interesting don't you think? Peladillas are common in some parts of Valencia and Alicante, in Southeast Spain. The image was taken in La Boqueria market, Barcelona.

March 18, 2009

Bread and Coques, Help Yourself!

Bread and Coques [enlarge]

We are only three days away from the official arrival of spring on the northern hemisphere, March equinox, and I say official because at least in Barcelona we are having a wonderful fair weather since last week. Buds are sprouting from tree branches, people are talking outloud on bar terraces again or getting a tan on the beach. Over the weekend, thousands flee from the city and set to discover towns nearby in many different ways. Some are veteran excursionists and therefore insist on places they consider a favorite or consult with other experienced fellow travelers about secret troves. But the majority of mortals like me are used to dealing with randomness, trial and error methods and surprises whether they are good or bad. Sometimes we organize a trip to a historical site and then try local restaurants completely blindfolded (big mistake here!). Most of the times though, we first decide on what to eat and where and then if possible include the historical place, the celebration or the local market as an extra. In other words, we travel with the stomach. Local food markets are a fantastic wild card. You can kill two birds with a single shot. Say you blew it and couldn't find a comfortable restaurant where they made a good paella or tapas like some tasty chistorras from Navarre and Spanish omelette, for example, no problem. You run to the nearest stall and jump on the kind person behind the counter like Attila the Hun after crossing the Mongolian prairies, taking a good bite at all the sample food they offer for free, drinking from the wine porron on the house and then maybe, just maybe you buy a thing or two at the most. The cherry on top would be that you could bargain but they are not stupid either. Please visit local markets and try local food like these Catalan coques covered with all sorts of ingredients. Notice in the image you also have bread and empanadas (pie).

March 12, 2009

Dressed Spanish Olives

Dressed Spanish Olives [enlarge]

Lets talk about food today, about one of the cornerstones of the traditional Mediterranean diet: olives. In Spanish they are called aceitunas derived from aceite which means oil. In Catalan we call it olives too, with the stress on the i, being oli the word used to designate such oleaginous liquid. The scientific name, Olea europaea, speaks for itself about the final product obtained from the fruit and the origin and habitat of this tree. There are different kinds of olives with some peculiar names many times conditioned by the region where they are grown.

Green olives as the name suggests are picked from the tree before they ripen. Black olives are then the ripe ones, to be more precise, those ripened on the tree. There are about 14 varieties classified in Spain: Blanqueta, Callosina, Arbequina, Gordal sevillana, Cornicabra, Manzanilla cacereña, Villalonga, Serrana de Espadán, Morrut, Changlot Real, Canetera, Alfafara, Hojiblanca, Carrasqueño de Córdoba with a whole lot of local synonyms. No need to say that other countries in the Mediterranean like Italy, Greek, Syria, Turkey have their own.

Before serving the olives, some preparation is required to get rid of their normal bitterness. You may buy them canned or bottled but there's the possibility of dressing them on your own. Green olives like the ones you see in the image, acquire that final salty spicy flavor from the extra ingredients people put into the dressing. Don't bother taking those in the bottle to make your own home-made concoction. You need them clean to start with, without previous treatment although it says they are salt free. Once you manage to buy them free of salt, you put them in water to get rid of the bitter taste, change the liquid every 12 hours till the greenest of them tastes sweet. If you don't cut them into halves or squeeze them first the process will take longer. The more you squeeze the shorter the time. The container where you place the olives must not be made of metal nor should you use any metal object or your hands to remove. Once sweet, they are ready to take that dressing. The dressing is applied by layers and shall cover the content. They will acquire maximum flavor in about a week. The ingredients depend on you although there is a certain limitation of course. You may use garlic, thyme, laurel, oregano, paprika, cumin, fennel, orange shells. Remember the basis is water but you can add lemon and/or vinegar. I am not a cook myself and cannot take responsibilities for the right results here but in essence, you may come up with some tasty aceitunas aliñadas in the end.

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