Food

Let´s talk about food. To be honest, my plans each day are centered on where and when I will be eating. I have compiled this entry to inform y´all of food in Spain and recipes I have discovered. I wrote this entry on the train in a word document, and for some glitch it can only copy and paste as bullet points. 

Tapas

                                                               i.      One thing that has been consistent in my trip to Spain is tapas. In short, tapas are awesome. In less short, tapas are the food that is given to you whenever you buy a beer (caña). Don´t say ¨coño¨ because, although it looks similar, it means something completely different. They can be anything ranging from Spanish tortillas, little sandwiches, paella, croquetas, or the simple plate of green olives. The price ranges depending on where you are. Salamanca was about €2.20, Granada €2.00, and Madrid €4.00. By the way, if you want to sound really Spanish when you order say this ¨Me pone dos cañas, por favor.¨

                                                             ii.      The beauty of tapas is the cost (excluding Madrid). €2 euros for a beer and some decent food to nibble on. In Salamanca it would take 3-4 tapas to constitute a meal for one person. In Granada, they had this concept of the tapón (tapa plus aumentive suffix ¨ón¨, aka big tapa). An example of this is the big bagel like sandwiches below accompanied with French fries and potatoe chips. It only took two tapones for me to feel full. Aside from 3 hours at the Alhambra, all we did in Granada was eat for this reason.  

                                                              iii.      I wish that there were tapas in the United States, but sadly I know that this will never happen while still maintaining the Spanish price.
Paella Tapa

Granada Tapón:

Salamanca Tapa:

Bocadillos

                                                               i.      Bocadillos have also been a consistent part of this trip. As I mentioned in the Bull Fighting blog they are a compulsory snack after the third bull. What they are is a bagette with chorizo, lomo, or jamón in the middle. That´s it. Sandra´s father and uncle gifted us 4 two and a half foot sasuages that are about 3 inches thick. We could only take two (chorizo and lomo) and we have put them to good use. We did get some pretty funny look at airport security, though. Pretty much every day of our trip we have relied on bocadillo sandwiches, usually augmented with cucumber and tomatoe, as our go to lunch/snack. They were particularly helpful for biking. 

 

c.       Recipes

                                                               i.      Paella: rice, onions, red peppers, peas, chicken or seafood, azafran, and salt to taste.

                                                             ii.      Garbanzo beans: dry garbanzo beans soaked overnight, onions, chorizo, and salt to taste. Excellent side. Consider using Soyrizo from TJ´s.

                                                            iii.      Salpicón: Tomato, green pepper, onion, shrimp, crab, vinegar, oil, and salt to taste.

                                                           iv.      Spanish Tortilla: Cook diced potatoes until potatoes somewhat cooked with a good amount of oil in a frying pan. Helps to cut potatoes small (marble sized… obviously you can´t cut spheres but you get the idea). Add onions for last 5 minutes of this. Switch ¨batter¨ to new frying pan/bowl. Mix eggs in a bowl until homogenous with fork and add to potatoes and onions and stir. Clean previous frying pan and then add oil. Bring oil to heat and add batter back in and cover with lid. Once somewhat cooked, flip the tortilla using a secondary plate to help if needed. Once you put into frying pan again don´t mix the contents anymore because you want to eggs to bind the onions and potatoes into the shape of the frying pan. Obviously you added salt to taste at some point before this. A light amount of burning adds good flavor in my opinion.

                                                             v.      Pan Tumaca: Easy. Cut a bagette in half like it’s a hotdog bun. Cut a tomato in half and squeeze the contents evenly onto the bread. Then add olive oil and salt to taste. Ham can also be added.  

                                                           vi.      Chicken Rice: Sautéed onions, add water and chicken and bring to boil, add rice, once rice ready add cream or milk, pitted green olives with juice, and salt to taste.

                                                          vii.      Cilantro Mashed Potatoes: Sautee cilantro and onions, add boiled potatoes, butter, and salt to taste. Stir until mashed.

                                                        viii.      Brigadeiro: Two tablespoons butter, one can condensed milk, three healthy spoonfuls of chocholoate powder. Low heat and stir constantly until thickens. Approx. 15 minutes.

                                                           ix.      Calimocho: Half Coca-Cola. Half wine. Half ice. Pretty simple.

                                                             x.      Gazpacho: Glaring didn´t make the list because most Spaniards buy it in cartons. So don´t feel ashamed to do the same. 

Happy eating.