If you have a child you may recall how hard it was to make them swallow their first baby food. This is our friends' baby daughter. I took the liberty of taking some macros of the feeding act. I have never seen such stubborn child before. No wonder her mother had to use the pacifier to push the food into her mouth and stop her from spitting it. I guess patience is a must in cases like this. You can try singing, chasing her mouth from left to right, calling your spoon names of well known cartoon characters like Tweety, Mickey, imitating sounds of every mean of transportation you know of, trains, motorbikes, etc. You can act like a clown or simply make use of this extreme method, using the pacifier as a stopper. Here are some real tips to feed your child.
From the region of Castilla y Leon we have today this excellent Spanish blue cheese called Valdeon after the name of the valley where is it is elaborated in Picos de Europa national park. Made out of cow or goat milk or a combination of both, Valdeon is a creamy, intense flavored cheese not as biting as Cabrales. Did I tell you that I love Cabrales? The wheel of Valdeon is wrapped in sycamore leaves, as the ones you see in the image, that add a peculiar taste to it (learn here about other cheese wrappings). Valdeon was named best blue cheese back in 2003 in a national contest. Here is a tasty recipe Smoked Paprika-Rubbed Steaks With Valdeon Butter. This particular cheese I found at a food market in Monistrol de Monserrat.
You know the devil disguises or manifests in oh, so many ways. One day he may be McCain himself, some other day the hideous child of our neighbors, maybe a cat, a pumpkin or simply an evil mask with firecrackers inside, as is the case of this one at Monistrol de Montserrat. It was on one of the stalls of the market organized during the Fira de la Coca i el Mató 2008 (a local food fair). Remember this fair at Monistrol has been featured here in the past, as for example in: Say Cheese. Follow label Monistrol below for more.
One of the most representative Spanish products is jamón serrano (cured ham). Like any other traditional product, serrano ham's quality may vary according to many factors, the breeding farm conditions, the swine diet or the curing process. The same happens with cheese for example (exclude the pig). It is not the same to buy an imported Italian cheese than to go and visit the town where it was made and try it on site. First of all, there it will be cheaper and you would get a higher quality product. So the same story applies to our cured serrano ham, even for us inside the Spanish market. It is not the same to buy a Jabugo serrano leg at La Boqueria market (today's picture is taken there although it doesn't seem to be Jabugo) than to visit Jabugo town in Huelva mountains. I know what I am talking about, because I've done it myself. Of course you can buy one here for Christmas at a higher price, but you know in your heart that the leg you are buying may not be as good although it carried the Jabugo stamp on it. The same happens with olive oil. When on holidays I buy olive oil in Candon, Huelva or Priego, Córdoba. I can find similar stuff sometimes in El Corte Inglés shopping center, but my tongue tells me it is not the same. I don't know, maybe it is due to storage problems, transportation, hot weather, intermediaries, lower quality lots destined to major dealers, who knows. The point is, jamon serrano tastes better at the source (not the pig farm of course). Besides there's the external factor, the good beer, the nice weather, the tapas and the friendly people who cuts it for you. Even in Jabugo or any other town famous for selling good products, you can fall in the typical tourist trap and buy to the wrong stuff. Where am I getting at? Well, what I mean is that quality can be lost along the way and that you'd better visit those local markets to find cheap gourmet delicacies, Spain is still full of them. Visit them before they disappear forever.
As I promised the other day in my Churros post, this is a detail of La Granja Pallaresa at Carrer Petritxol in Barri Gotic. One of the best places in the city to have a wonderful hot suisso, that is, chocolate with whipped cream on top. You may try churros, porras or melindros with a swisso. Leave your diet at home if you have in mind to visit La Pallaresa. Please check these recipes of menjar blanc (almond cream)and crema catalana (Catalan custard) which I noticed on the shelves after examining the picture closely. By the way, Granja Dulcinea on the same street is also great. In case you wonder what a granja is you should know that it means "farm" from "dairy farm" (originally granjas were shops selling dairy products).
A now for something completely different: Churros. I have been browsing in search for good recipes or the history of churros. Well, you've got Wikipedia's definition of churros for that and even some elegant recipes like these Californian churros desserts which I found exotic and appealing. No, I just wanted to show you this picture to evoke those good memories every citizen in Spain has involving churros or porras which is a bigger, thicker variety made in Madrid. The experience of waking up early to go and buy churros for a good weekend breakfast is unforgettable. There used to be street stalls or caravans in the neighborhood where they cooked homemade churros which you could smell some blocks away. In fact they still exist but they are fewer than in the good old times. And what about those who on their way to bed after a long crazy night grab a bag full of churros to soak them in hot chocolate. Needless to say that there are small traditional places called granjas selling good churros in Barcelona. The best according to many is on carrer Petritxol, near Plaza del Pi in Barri Gotic and is called La Pallaresa. Tomorrow I will show you a detail of the entrance.
Most important cities in the world have markets which they are more or less proud of, not because we as inhabitants are going to earn profit from selling products but due to the fact that major markets are a representation of traditions and cultural legacy handed down from past generations. What I mean is that we as a community are proud of El Mercat de la Boqueria or Mercat de Sant Antoni or Mercat del Ninot, because part of our history is present in those premises, in the architecture, in the products sold, in the way they are displayed, in the way things are cooked or the advice they give us to prepare a nice dinner the way our grandparents did, in the daily thriving of so many families that have been in this trade for ages. This is what we are and how we are and is good to see that visitors like it and get to know Barcelona by one of the most ancestral means, by the food. Check this youtube video of La Boqueria Market by denniscallan.
Resuming my previous post a couple of days ago about La Boqueria market at Las Ramblas, I wanted to share some green with you. Salads are not my favorite. I am more of a carnivore, meat lover, red fan. Nevertheless I reckon the other half of the world goes crazy about chewing up leaves, gnawing on stems and grazing in one way or another which is totally respectable. Here is a detail of a curly endive or chicory that we call escarola. This might lead to confusion cause escarole in English is a plant with broader leaves. Escarola is a rather common green salad in Catalonia, some people love it. I don't. It tastes bitter and is beyond my crunching noise limit. Anyway, the serrated leaves are beautiful and carry lots of healthy minerals, or so they say. I have accentuated the colors using lab color effect. I digress. I hope vegans and vegetarians don't take me too seriously today. I recommend this site (Notes from Debbie's Kitchen) with lots of veggie recipes classified by key ingredients and clearly illustrated with pictures. And I forgot to say that La Boqueria market is just the right place to quench your green thirst.
There are several markets in Barcelona but La Boqueria or Mercat de Sant Josep in Las Ramblas is one of the most renown for historical reasons and why not, due to its location. The place gathers locals and tourists alike and making your way through the narrow corridors is an adventure. Not that you can find whatever you want here but there's the usual belief that if they don't have it you won't find it elsewhere. Besides the fruit stalls which are a must-see, the seafood section is also worth visiting. Today I show you a detail of some herrings which caught my attention. I think they are smoked, but I can't tell a smoked herring from a salted one. In fact I can't tell a sardine from a herring and definitely herring is not part of our daily diet. I suppose many of you do eat herring frequently so why not checking this suggestive site with plenty of herring recipes.
Obviously I forgot to mention this other stuff I found on top of my cake besides last post's strawberry. This garnish with leaves and fruit seems edible and I swear I've seen it lots of times but never gave it a try. Suggestions would be appreciated.
Catalan embutidos or sausages may look gross indeed but taste good, believe me. My wife has just advised me not to publish this picture. I laughed. I know it is disgusting but that's what makes it more interesting! By the way, those of you with linguistic habits should know that "embutir" means "to stuff", that's why they call it sausages in English. We use "salchicha" for hot-dog-like sausages and "embutidos" for all the products prepared in the same way, i.e. stuffing meat and fat, generally pork derived, into the clean bowels or guts of the animal.
Walking down Rambla Catalunya street there are several terraces that are perfect to have some beers while you contemplate the wonderful architecture of art nouveau buildings and why not of some sculptural bodies especially in this time of year. But let's leave the female topic aside cause I digress. Well, you sit there and ask the waiter for a drink and perhaps a Spanish tapa. Man, I don't know if your budget can afford that but we absolutely try to avoid such places. I reckon they are comfortable and with a view but I can assure you that there are a handful of excellent places some blocks away for half the money and much better food. But go ahead, when you are a tourist you have to play the part; they tell you, and in spite of that, you go and squander your money. What the heck!, you say, these are my holidays. I understand I've done the same in Paris or in London. My advice, you try it but just once. Then mix up with locals they know better. Check that board again: tapas (which ones? there are hundreds!) and then Spanish omelette as the bait (isn't that a tapa). Tinto de Verano (literally, summer red wine), a mixture of cheap wine with Casera, a brand similar to Sprite. The drink is lighter than Sangria and more refreshing. Here is a Tinto de Verano recipe. Gambas are shrimps, hmm that's good but certainly you have them cheaper and tastier some other place. And beer, well, that you know. You have several words to ask for a beer according to the kind of glass or cup. You can order a caña (the smallest), a copa (a cup), a tubo (high and cylindrical glass) or a jarra (a jar). Then you have the bottle measure: the small bottle called quinto and the normal size "medianas" (tercios in other regions of Spain). I hope this odd mixture of Spanish food, tourism and bad reviews is at least helpful.
Mauri pastry shop on the corner of Rambla Catalunya and Provença is one of the best pastelerias (pastry shops) in Barcelona. Founded by Francesc Mauri in 1929 who owned Núria Restaurant one of the most emblematic at the beginnings of last century, Mauri was in the core of the most elegant and exclusive area of L'Eixample quarter. In 1955 it had to be restored after the damage caused by a fire. Although the founders had died some years before, the family kept the business going adding other services apart from traditional pastry and confectionery. A chocolate shop with tea room was inaugurated in 1978. In 1985 they opened up a delicatessen with catering and a restaurant. Although the price matches the uniqueness of the place Barcelona Photoblog highly recommends it not only for the offer but also for the epoch's modernist architecture which is well preserved.
This is what is known as coca de Sant Joan, a traditional light sweetbread covered with candied fruit. As the name suggests, it is a kind of pastry to be consumed during Saint John celebrations when it is sold in huge amounts and as you can guess there are the cheap and the expensive ones. They can be tasty and spongy or an authentic hard rock. The cheapest you buy at the supermarket but if you want the best stuff then you'd better go to your favorite pastry shop. Besides the candied fruit "coca", there are other kinds, like coca de crema (cream filled pastry - this is the one I like the most), coca de llardons (suet pastry)...to have a better idea learn about cocas de San Juan via Wikipedia. Maybe you prefer the recipe: Candied Fruit and Pinenuts Cocas.
To continue in my quest for a surprising topic that kills monotony a little bit I'd like to add another picture about Spanish food. I know many of you prefer to get in touch with local stuff be it culture, architecture, traditions or food rather than contemplating my last abstraction or the picture I took of my reflection in the mirror, you know. I hope you don't get too disappointed because I don't show Barcelona streets lately. It's just that I prefer being eclectic. Besides, the ugliest of things like bacon in this case may be interesting if you try to work out the best way to make it look attractive. In other words, you can have fun with you camera with the most obvious things. There was a previous post I recommend you visit too: Bacon: A Still Life Portrait and perhaps you'd like to check a curious site called I Heart Bacon.
Named after La Mancha which is the Spanish region of famous Don Quixote, these aged Manchego cheese are made of sheep milk. They say the aroma reminds of lanolin and roast lamb. It has a slightly briny, nutty flavor and at the age of 13 weeks it is considered cured (curado). Over that period it is referred to as aged (viejo). There are other well known kinds of Spanish cheese: Cabrales, Idiazabal, Zamorano, Tetilla, Liebana, Roncal...In Catalonia we have Mató de Montserrat which is a fresh cheese (formatge fresc). From the Balearic Islands, specifically from Menorca, we have Mahon cheese which is one of my favorites. A couple of links today: The Encyclopedia of Cheese and some Spanish recipes with cheese.
When you visit Barcelona or other cities and towns in Catalonia you will surely taste this bread known as pa de payés or pan de pueblo (peasant or people's bread). Don't be scared you don't have to hold it and take a bite, just eat it in slices. At the baker's they'll cut it up for you. Maybe you have seen similar bread before since many Mediterranean products are already familiar to you in your country. What I am sure some of you are not aware of is what we do with the slices of payés bread . But let's talk about this traditional Catalan product first. Pa de payés is a thick crusted bread with abundant crumb, higher carbohydrate content and less fat than a normal loaf. The thick crust is obtained thanks to a long kneading and fermentation time and a slow baking process. Due to its characteristics it is classified as a rustic kind of bread and as you already must have guessed by the name, people working in the fields were and still are the main consumers. As to the possible ways to serve the slices, there are lots of them. You can have them as such, although they are better in toasts, normally the ones popped into a barbecue grill taste better. Once you've got the toasts, you preferably spread tomato on top. How?, you cut the tomato into halves and rub it against the toast. Normally, you are given some garlic, olive oil and tomatoes together with the toasts so you wonder what about the garlic? Garlic is just an option although it is used on many occasions. If you have a knack for garlic then it is important that you cut one clove in two and rub it against the bread toast before spreading tomato, otherwise it is almost impossible to rub. Voila, you are almost there. Now you take the olive oil recipient, pour some on top of the slice of bread and finally add some salt. This part, which is the basis to prepare dozens of different kinds of pa de payés toasts, is called pantumaca or pa amb tomàquet (bread with tomato pulp). The toast or the slice can then be dressed up with cured ham, anchovies, omelet, sausages, red peppers and aubergines in strips, all sorts of cheese...The ideal situation is to have extra virgin olive oil and not the one you get in the supermarket and to use real juicy and ripe tomatoes recently cropped.
These pickled green tomatoes caught my attention at a street market. The bowl I found among other kinds of pickle products like olives or onions. It is not very common here to see green tomatoes prepared that way, at least not for us in Barcelona city. I was standing there preadjusting my camera settings and I had the opportunity to listen to some customers talking to the man in the stall. "Are these olives?" - they asked with surprise. "No, those are green tomatoes from Valencia" - said the stall man. It's a rather ridiculous story but I found the comparison between olives and green tomatoes rather ackward. Here is a green tomato pickle recipe.
Vildsvin, The Old Tavern (L'Antiga Taverna), 38 Ferran, Barcelona. It is funny to use a Swedish word to baptize the stylish but informal middle European tavern conceived by Sagardi Euskal Taberna Group. If you are reading this you know English, so Vildsvin might ring a bell. Let's see in German: Wildschwein. Huh, do you get it now? Wild Swine? Ok, let's quit it. That's a wild boar. Would you believe that a cute, chic place, with tiled floor, noble wood furniture and an oyster bar in the ground floor is called the Wild Boar? Nope. So I can imagine some smart guy, saying hey, it has to be a wild boar cause a tavern is a tavern but we are going to make it sound a little posh so we create an atmosphere here.
When in Catalonia do as the Catalans do. Have yourself a nice plate full of grilled sausages, aka botifarra de pagés white or black. You ought to get off traditional routes of course. Not in Las Ramblas if you know what I mean. Go out, take a trip to the countryside now that it is spring time and see to find a place where you can have them cooked in the open, in front of you. As you wait, be generous with the wine, not sangria for Christ sake, no, a good wine or at least not the lousy concoctions tourists use to get for a higher price. Enjoy good Catalan food while you enjoy the nice weather. You can make it if you try, believe me.
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