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Posts from the ‘Spain’ Category

Oct 5

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Empanada Gallega

I could never take food for granted.  There’s always something to learn, and I’m constantly surprised.  I knew that empanadas were a specialty of Galicia, but I didn’t realize they’d partly originated there.  I also didn’t know the “empanadas” I’d grown up with were actually empanidillas, smaller versions of the larger pies that Galician bakers first sold to pilgrims on the road to Santiago de Compostela (a detail that make my history-major-geek heart beat faster).   Fortunately, they never stopped moving, spreading across Latin America, baked or fried, in a million different variations. Read more

Jun 18

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Grilled Tuna Steak with Roasted Tomatoes

 

I wish I had the ability to just stroll over to the farmer’s market, grab a couple of beets, some Swiss chard, and an apricot and turn it into a feast by finding inspiration in the season laid out under tents and weighing down tables.  But that would mean giving up the planning, the list, and the check off which I also love, especially the list. Read more

Mar 22

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Albóndigas de Pesach

I’ve always been superstitious about throwing away keys.  It could be a tiny gold key to a tweenage diary, an extra hotel key I forgot to return, or a loose spare to a forgotten door in a past dorm, house or apartment.  I’ll be ready to toss it then have a last minute misgiving that makes me put it back in the drawer, giving in to the anxiety that I’ll be faced with a lock I can’t open.  That’s probably why I was so fascinated when I heard about Jewish families in Spain who kept the keys to their homes after the expulsion of the Jews in 1492.  A poignant detail in a larger history that’s always stood out in my mind. Convinced it was a misguided policy of Queen Isabella’s that would soon be corrected, they kept their keys with them.  Another story I heard soon after that’s very popular, is about a man who stopped by a local bar in Toledo to ask directions to the house where his family had lived five hundred years before.  Sent to a nearby address and carrying the key they had saved, he came back a few minutes later, shaken, only able to get out the words, it worked. Read more

Feb 28

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Olive Oil Pancakes

I was flipping through José Andrés’ Made in Spain when I came across a recipe for olive oil pancakes.  I’ve been on a pancake tear lately and was intrigued by his emphasis on Spanish products to make all-American pancakes – olive oil, chocolate, and honey.  I’d always preferred Spanish olive oil, but I had never thought about Spanish chocolate.  That morning, I found a 2 kilo bar of dark artisanal chocolate from Aragon at the Co-Op.  I don’t know how I could have missed it , it was enormous.  I heaved it into my bag and headed home.
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Jan 24

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Merengues con Chirimoya

I’d been looking for a way to use chirimoyas since I came across them a few months ago in a nearby market.  Originally found in the Andean region between Peru and Ecuador, they’re also cultivated in small pockets throughout Chile, California, Spain, New Zealand, Australia, and Israel.  Heart-shaped and scaly, they could be a dragon’s paw and are almost as rare in my Brooklyn neighborhood, so I was excited when I found them.  Also known as custard apples, they’re like everything and like nothing else.  The fruit can be likened to strawberry, banana, pineapple, papaya, avocados, mango, ripe pears, and commercial bubble gum while Mark Twain described it more simply as “deliciousness itself.” Read more

Jan 18

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Catching Up in January

I took advantage of a rainy Sunday to catch up on some reading though, instead of newspaper stacks, I had  bookmarked pages and Google alerts filling up my inbox.  For the New York Times, Jonathan Miles visited Roneria Caracas, a new Brooklyn bar specializing in rum drinks, in The Choices? Rum or Rum and doesn’t miss the whisky while Paola Singer went to western Spain to sample the Dom Pérignon of Iberian ham for In Spain, A Delicacy Rooted in Earth and Tradition. Meanwhile, Read more

Dec 29

Lucky Lentils

I was surprised when I read Martha Rose Shulman’s New Year’s Dishes for Prosperity and Longevity, in the New York Times.  Though she writes that Italians consider lentils good luck at the beginning of the New Year, she doesn’t mention that they’re also popular in Latin America and Spain.  I know because I’ve been forcing them down New Year’s lentils for years.  Not my favorite bean, I’m purely in it for the prosperity.  So if you’re Italian, Hispanic, or need a little luck, here’s a recipe to start the New Year.

Dec 6

3 Comments

Figure Eights

There’s always a point when I finish a post and choose a country category that feels a little dishonest.  Well not so much dishonest but not the whole elephant either.  When I decided to write about Latin food, I knew that it would be a fuzzy focus and difficult to define.  Buñuelos, fritters popular throughout Spain and Latin America, are a good example.  Originally from the Iberian penninsula, they’re either Arabic or Sephardic, or maybe both.  Typically made from a wheat-based dough that’s flavored with anise, they’re rolled into balls or discs and deep fried then topped with a syrup or honey. Read more

Nov 18

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Practical Packages

With the holidays coming fast and furious, I had the uncharacteristically practical thought that it was time to make empanadas, an easy way to use leftovers.  So sensible, but after a poor initial batch involving sirloin tips and too-buttery dough, I had to start from scratch.  I was looking for something in a chicken, baked not fried, and maybe a little sweet.  That’s when I found Anya Von Bremzen’s recipe for pastela moruna, Moorish chicken with dried fruits and Read more

Nov 10

Fairest of Them All

I really miss apples when they’re gone.  I try to follow the seasons, stay local, only buy what’s available at the farmer’s markets but have to admit that I cheat all the time when it comes to apples.  Not that I have to these days – the markets are bursting with every variety.  My great grandmother, who grew up on a farm in Asturias where they made their own cider, lived to be a very healthy and graceful 103.  It could have been the apples or the Estée Lauder but its definitely worth a try.  Having found a simple recipe for baked apples, I looked for variations with added butter, custard, almonds, or preserves.  They all looked great, and I’ll Read more

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