Snailsssssssss

Bové snails 'a la llauna´

Viñala snails with black pepper and ham

Snails are not everybody's cup of tea though in Europe, land snails are consumed regularly. The slime element is a deterrent for sure but when cooked, they are not slimy at all but almost firm, like a chicken thigh! Funny how we find slime so revolting almost globally and yet no one finds milk, which contains cow pus, as gross- oh well, that is for another post or maybe another blog!

Edible snails are either land, freshwater or saltwater snails. There are two main species of edible snails: the ones that have "helix" in the scientific name (for their spiral, circular shells) and "achatine." Helix snails are a European species.

Tis true that there is some prep needed to eat snails but a lot of food needs prep. I always prefer to eat these critters in a restaurant well known for making them. There is one such place about an hour away from the city, where I had a divine feast of 4 different snail dishes with 2 varieties of snails - the 'Viñala' and the smaller 'Bové'. On the top left, I particularly liked this latter variety of snail - small, firm and almost crunchy. Oven baked in a special oven dish or 'llauna', the garlicky oil with the parsley chiffonade made this delicious!

Next you see snails with black pepper and ham, using the bigger and mushier Viñala snails. Mmmmm

Did you know that the French word for snail, 'Escargot' is the common name for snails when they are to be eaten in a dish? Millions of pounds of snails are consumed around the world annually. In fact, there is even a day to celebrate it! May 24th is the National Escargot Day. 

There are many different types of edible snails in the world. The most common are:
Helix aspersa - also called the "small grey snail."
Helix pomatia - also called "the Roman snail."

Viñala snails with chocolate sauce

In California and Japan some edible snails are called Abalone.
In Greece they are called Tsalingaria.

In other parts of Europe and South Africa there is the Periwinkle Snail.

In the West Indies they eat a snail called the Queen Conch.

One of the 4 snail dishes we had was almost Mexican in its sauce; snails accompanied by pigs' trotters in a chocolate sauce - was an interesting combo as one tries hard to get rid of the sweet taste that chocolate is associated with in your brain to the actuality, a thick sauce with a small note of sweet and entirely devoid of the bitter which is characteristic of dark chocolate. It makes me wonder why chocolate isn't more often used in savoury cooking

Viñala snails cooked with chorizo

The last was a particularly tasty snail dish with chorizo sausage cooked into the sauce - doesn't it look delicious? The richness of this paprika sausage gave these little beasties a particularly spicy sort of taste....just thinking about it makes my mouth water. Is your watering too?

Still life of Ham and Bread

Ham heaven, Bar Mudanza, Barcelona (Spain)

I find this photo so magnificent, somehow, that I just HAD to do a little post on this. Just look at that ham, curling deliciously, with a transparent patina of rich fat, alongside that crunchy toasted bread which has been generously rubbed with those viney tomatoes especially bought for this job, and topped with a generous sprinking of green gold ie virgin olive oil. Add some wine and you are all set for an evening of chatter and delight.

Dr Seuss says it so well.....

Say! I like green eggs and ham! 

I do! I like them, Sam-I-am! 

And I would eat them in a boat! 

And I would eat them with a goat...

And I will eat them in the rain.

And in the dark. And on a train.

And in a car. And in a tree.

They are so goodm so goodm you see! 

So I will eat them in a box.

And I will eat them with a fox.

And I will eat them in a house.

And I will eat them with a mouse.

And I will eat them here and there.

Say! I will eat them ANHYWHERE! 

I do so like 

green eggs and ham! 

Thank you! 

Thank you,

Sam-I-am

Pizza with a twist - Chicken tandoori pizza!

Mezze, Kathmandu, Nepal

Who would think that our Asian brethren would give such a twist to the classic Italian pizza? Why not add tandoori chicken ( chicken marinated in spicy yoghurt and cooked in a special oven called a 'tandoor') and sprinkle on some fresh cut coriander?
Any bready base with any tasty topping should be good, right? This pizza with a twist goes on to prove it. Absolutely delicious and still making my mouth water, even as I type. 
For you purists out there, I'd even add chillis to this particular one so SHOOT ME!

Pi Pi Pizza!

Pizza Roman style

Though most pizzas are not really weally healthy meals in themselves, they COULD be. Think about it - a thin crust (fast carbs), tomatoe sauce and veggies (slow carbs) and chicken/ham/meat (protein) topping plus some cheese ( fat, calcium and protein) - voilá, a complete and healthy meal. Add a salad and a glass of wine and no nutritionist can complain, surely?

Pizza Florentine style

In this spirit of health, I venture out, once in while, to a place nearby where they serve pizza with different toppings and you can choose as many combos as you fancy rather than having one type of pizza - the thought of eating one type of pizza has never ever appealed to me - what if I order a whole pizza and I don't like it? Argh! 

And so nice to have a few bitefuls when you are in between meals.. or travelling...

Slurrrrp

Little bites of heaven

White anchovy on toasted bread with tomatoe

Sometimes, you just want to eat something small, simple and fresh. Just a few bites, washed down with a good red or a light white. Think fresh, crunchy toasted bread, lightly rubbed with a juicy tomatoe and sprinkled with a slightly bitter virgin olive oil.....lay a firm fleshed white anchovy or 'boqueron' as they are called in Spain, sip a cool glass of white and mmmmmm....

Sirloin and padrón pepper on bread

Or how about a quickly grilled piece of sirloin with a possibly hot little pepper, dripping juices and blood...grrrrrowl- brings out the animal in me. Definitely with a red!

Foie gras with caramelised onions

And if you have had a particularly tough day, why not treat yourself to a few bites of pan fried foie gras with caramelised onions, coarse salt and chives, accompanied by a glass of bubbly?

The Squid Sandwich

Bocadillo de calamares, Casa Baranda, Madrid

A lot of people are squeamish about squid - it's those damn tentacles again! And again, like with octopus, all I can say is TRY IT! When fresh, squid too is firm and tastes divine and not fishy at all, just squidy- ahem. Madrid is a great place to start training your palate, especially if you wander around Plaza Mayor and manage to find one of those bars/restaurants selling this absolutely delish dish called 'Boccadillo de Calamares' or squid sandwich. Sounds odd, huh? 

There are a few versions but the basic way to make it is to get fresh squid or squid rings, dip in egg and flour and fry in olive oil, bung on good bread and chomp away. That is all there is to it! The version I love and would give my right arm for right now is the basic with some good ol ali-oli ( garlic mayonaise) - OMG! (am slobbering here...). I had an amazing version in Madrid recently (main photo), where the bread had been dyed black with squid ink- a delicious and MOST attractive sandwich!

In Zaragossa, they add spicy tomato sauce and mayonaise and garlic and call this sandwich the 'Bocadillo de Calamares bravos' or Brave Squid sandwich -lol! I can just picture a brave squid fighting with an octopus....

Eight legs

Modern take on a traditional dish, Ignicio, Barcelona Spain)

It is funny how people fear anything with more than 2 legs - spiders, krakens, centipedes, millipedes....octopus...rightly so, I guess; the more the legs, the more the ability to hurt you, right? But does that fear have to extend by becoming a fear or distaste for eating these? I have been told that tarantula is quite good, Kraken? who knows but I know for a fact that Octopus is SUB-LIME. When fresh and well cooked, it is firm and meaty. Agreed that those suckers can be slightly off putting but trust me, have a bite and you will see it doesn't bite back....har har.

Gato Negro, Santiago de Compostella (Spain)

The Galicians, those ancient fishermen with modern fame for their sea food, make one of the most famous octopus delicacies that I know of: Polbo á Feira/ Pulpo a la Gallega or Galician Octopus. Tis a traditional dish made with octopus boiled in a copper pot, then chopped and drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with coarse salt and paprika, set in a wooden platter over boiled potatoes. The cooking is a bit laborious as the beast has to be dipped a few times in the boiling water ( to curl the tentacles), then boiled and then left in the hot water..I'd rather eat this dish in a restaurant, to be honest!

Meson David, Barcelona (Spain)

You are supposed to accompany this with a fresh young red but I have had it with a bowl of white wine and found it refreshingly light and wonderful. This dish is ideal for cold and blustery climes and once you get over your initial squeamishness about eating anything with suckers on it, you will be as in love with this dish as I am! Yum!

Obviously, there are many, many more eight legged recipes but I thought I would share one of my favourite ones with you :-) 

Here is a traditional recipe in a tea towel, that is ancient now:

Can you decipher the Spanish?

Unusual dumpling delight

Funny how most restaurants, be they Chinese, Japanese, Mexican or whichever, try to outdo each other in how similar their menus can be. I prefer to leave these restaurants to their faithful flock and try new places or dishes and follow Star Trek's vision, "to explore strange new (foods), to seek out new (dishes) and new (restaurants), to boldly go where no (cowardly) one has gone before. Oops, sorry Ye Trekkies but shhhhhh, I am a trekkie too so am allowed!

The above is a meatball dumpling which has been covered in glutinous rice and steamed. Absolutely delicious and definitely to be tried out at home. 

Quackkkkk

Pan fried duck, France

There comes a point when you get sick of eating chicken, beef and pork...your tastebuds, if they were an emoticon, would go like this 😖 This is when my heart desires duck or venison and then settles on duck as more easily available. That meaty, gamey taste is just so amazing and I would have it more often but organic duck seems impossible to find. 

Crispy duck, Bratislava, Slovakia

The Chinese make amazing crispy duck - the Chinese make pretty amazing everything, let's be honest - their cuisine is their all time most popular export, isn't it? and to reason. 

Duck Teriyaki, Nanayo, Barcelona

The Japanese are not far behind with the above version of duck teriyaki.

Roasted duck, Casa G Krauss, Sighisoara, Romania

But this wee beastie is made flavourfully by many nations. Roasted in its skin and bathed in a wine and cream sauce, tis heavenly too

Duck with mushrooms, La Palmera, Barcelona, Spain

And how about this delightful pan fried duck with seasonal mushrooms, in a port sauce? 

Somewhere in the catalan countryside, Spain

Add red wine reduction and oh my...

And lastly, with a berry sauce...

I WANT ME SOME DUCK NOW!

Some random beauties

The other day, I revisited a place I hadn't been to for ages, to order a tapa I hadn't eaten in ages but which had stayed in my head as THE tapa to eat. Tis called 'Pop a la brava' which translates as octopus on a 'brava', the 'brava' being the Spanish version of the English chip. You must like/love octopus to like this dish but even for those who don't like octopus, trust me, you will have an orgasm eating this. Imagine a firm and tender slice of octopus on a crunchy but tender piece of potatoe, with a spicy binding sauce in between. Yummmmmmm. Definitely worth the nearly 12€ you fork out for 6 bites of heaven.

Recently too, I had this yummy and wondrously stodgy 'tapa' of what the Spanish call 'Russian salad' but is unheard of in Russia. Boiled taters, boiled veg like carrot and peas plus lashings of mayo and there you have it, a dish to see you through any Siberian winter. Add a delicious cava and voilá!

I am not in general a fritter fan but once in a while, who can refuse hot and crispy fresh squid with an unctuous sour cream dip next to it, accompanied by my favourite summer rosé cava? 

The king of (non dairy) milks- Hail Horchata!

Tiger nuts

Spain has a wonderful tradition of drinking 'horchata' of 'chufa' or Tiger nut milk. 
Sounds cool, huh, TIGER NUTS- but, never fear, no tiger has been unmanned ( untigered?) for this delight so PETA adherents, calm down. Funnily enough, these nuts are not even nuts but the tubers of a sedge family! The plant was first introduced by the Arabs in the region of Valencia and over time, the resulting milk/drink, which is very popular in summer, can be found everywhere in Spain. Though grown in many countries, especially for animal feed, tis just in Spain that the tubers are harvested for their milk. Once the sun has started sliding towards the horizon, people start coming out of their homes and mill around 'horchaterías' which sell this cooling drink, along with ice cream. 

As you can guess, I LOVE this milk but generally find that most places make it so sweet that just one sip gives me diabetes. Argh. And then a few years ago, a friend told me that the 'Horchateria' near my home also does the sugar free version so imagine my delight when I asked for it! Over time, my order has come to be half of the sugary one, mixed with half a glass of the sugar-free one and I am in heaven! 

Recently, I wondered if I could make my own. At 1.90€ for a 100 ml glass, it ain't cheap and frankly, anyone who has made soya milk can easily make this so I decided to go for it. Weirdly enough, finding organic 'chufa' was not easy but I found a place. The nuts themselves definitely look like dried dwarf tiger nuts ( ergo the name?), or even monkey nuts. LOL And yes, you can eat them raw and I wonder why most people don't since they are so tasty, like a more intense and sweeter almond. Yum! Here goes the making of:

Makes 1 litre
Ingredients:
125 gms tiger nuts
1 litre water
6 drops stevia + 1 teaspoon muscovado sugar (optional) or demerara or refined sugar. Please, no saccharine or chemical crap - UGH UGH
Method:
Soak the nuts in water for 24 hrs and make sure to change the water 2-3 times.
Do a final rinse the next day and put them in your blender with a cup of your litre of water.
Blend away till you get a thick and mostly smooth sludge.
Add the rest of the water and mix well. And now for the fun! Sieving! Woot woot! 
Once you have sieved the milk, add the sugary stuff to your taste or don't. DON'T chuck the leftover dried sludge - integrate it into your pancake or bread mix or why not, to your chicken à la coco (tiger) nut - it's delicious!
I also add poppy seed, chiia and or finely chopped almonds to my horchata as a post workout drink full of all the goodness and protein that the expensive, chemical laden protein shakes claim to have. And why not blend it with a banana? Sluuuuuuurp

Easy peasy Brown seeded bread

Makes 1 large yummilicious loaf
Ingredients:
400 gms wholewheat flour
100 gms white flour
7 gms of dried yeast
11/2 tsp salt
300 ml warm water
1 tbsp olive oil or butter
2 tbsp poppy seed
2 tbsp sunflower seed ( you can add a combo of whichever seeds you like)

Method:
Mix everything except the water in a large bowl. 
Now add the water and form a dough which should be soft.
Kneed for 8-10 minutes until elasticky. 
Now cover your bowl with a wet tea towel, pop the bowl in a warm place ( mine is the oven) and wait for an hour for the first rise. Watch a film/serie, knit or whatever to take your mind off the time.
Now grease a large bread tin and plop your mix in. Yes, 'plop' can be used as a verb too.
Sprinkle some more seeds onto the surface of your dough and press them lightly in.
Cover with the wet tea towel once more, pop back in your warm place ( ahem) and wait for the proofing which should take another hour.
55 minutes into your proofing, heat up your oven. Don't forget to add a baking tin with water in it. This is a baker's trick to get a lovely crusty bread and the only way a home baker can make their oven compete with a professional steam oven. 
Bake at 200ºc for 30-35 minutes. 
When your alarm rings, carefully take out your tin and tap the bottom for a hollow noise which means the bread is done.
ENJOY!

Below is a version I made with just white flour and flax seeds, poppy seeds, sunflower seeds...mmmmmm

The bare truth about croissants

Croissants in Port Leucate Sunday Market

Did you know that croissants are made not just with butter but also with margarine and wait....lard? Yes, pig's lard. Oh horror! The person who invented this wondrous light and flaky creation has been turning in her ( of course, it is a woman!) grave ever since the Spanish, to name just one, got their hands on the recipe and mistreated it. Grrrrrr. In this post, I will show you the 3 main aberrations that go under the name of 'croissant' and how you, as a self respecting Croissant Cognoscenti (CC), can discern the true croissant from the non faithful.

Being a gourmand ( a fancy French word which just means that I am obsessed with food), how can one resist croissants for breakfast? Every day would be abuse but tis a guilty pleasure on weekends when these go, oh, so well with freshly ground Colombian coffee ( ooh la la indeed) and general waking up. Therefore, in my quest for the perfect croissant, I have travelled the length and breadth not just of Barcelona but of many, many places. Alas and alack, imitations abound but the discerning CC will always find her/his perfect bakery and the nearer to home, the better.

So, have a hasty bite or two of something sustaining and do sit down in a quiet and comfortable place for, the following info on the 3 worst sinners is not for the fainthearted! 

Number 3: The bun pretending to be a croissant or the Bunsant: 

This baked item is often found in airports. It is normally made with margarine but for what it costs you, it could have been made of liquid gold. The texture is dry and it leaves a funny, plasticky coating in your mouth which you try to desperately ignore, along with the desire to direct very foul language at the establishment that is playing with your evident jet-lag. To add to the insult, it can come accompanied by some very foul coffee but at this point, you are so tired that you bow your head and accept this fodder. Community service recommended for those found selling this.

Number 2: The almost butter or the Half Half: 

This item is generally found in industrial bakeries and bars. It looks kinda right - tis flaky, it doesn't run away when you prod it but when you, the discerning CC, bite into it, warning bells ring and a rather impolite word or two comes to mind. For what do we have here but sneakiness basking itself as a croissant when in reality, tis made with half margarine and butter but named and costing the same as a real croissant! Oh my, the evil of some bakers! I firmly recommend a 5 year prison sentence for those found practising such aberrant baking practises!

And now, for the worst. The one that beats all in evil, of intention, of taste, of look...I recommend the death sentence for anyone found not just making but touting this...this thing! Are you ready?

Number 1: The ones made of lard or the Crab croissant, also known as the WTF for short:

These, Ladies and Gentlemen, and especially if you are a practitioner of a religion forbidding the consumption of pig, are pure evil for not only do they not have an atom of butter but they also have a sticky, sweet coating/ glaze to which your hair will most definitely stick as you barf this out after the first horrible dry bite. And like a terrible rosé giving you indigestion, this thing will leave an oily coating in your mouth for the rest of the day that no amount of coffee will remove. The worst is that they abound everywhere in Spain though, their very particular crab shape will betray them instantly so watch out! 

To tranquillise you, here is a photo of a particularly good croissant brekky I had: 

Feeling better?

Or this?

How to make oat milk

The second I learnt to make oat milk, I ended my career as a soya milk fabricator. This is it, I found my vocation and God Almighty, how easy is this! WHAT was I doing laboriously making soya milk? The recipe is so simple that you will hit yourself. 

Ingredients:

1 cup oats, grain, NOT rolled

3 cups water

1/2 tsp vanilla essence

1 pinch salt

1 tbsp sweetener of your preference

Method:

Soak the oats for either a few hours or overnight. 

Rinse, rinse and rinse well.

Add a cup of water and blend till you get a smooth cream.

Add the other 2 cups of water and the rest of the ingredients and stir well. 

Strain. Bottle. 

See, I wasn't kidding when I told you this was easy, right? 

This should last you 3-4 days in the fridge. With the leftover sludge, I make pancakes or porridge or add it as a thickener in soups. Ta-taan!

Homage to Veg

Veg, that humble meal component, down the ladder from Protein, down the ladder from Carb and boiled beyond recognition, is given a pitiful place in the modern plate. My heart bleeds and ergo below, my homage to you, you noble thing! 

Artichoke heart with ham, La Palmera, Barcelona, Spain

Get some artichoke hearts, fry some ham and then lay it on top of your artichoke, drizzle with olive oil and add a flower. How can you resist this?

Grilled mushrooms, Restaurante El Pigot, Montsant, Spain

Whoever says that the best restaurants are in the city, is an ass. Where does all the fresh produce come from, may I ask? Those seasonal grilled mushrooms above, which are making you slobber, was in a country restaurant, grilled and drizzled with garlic oil and then sprinkled with parsley. Heaven!

Courgette, Buca Mario, Florence, Italy

I love Florence, apart from the art and history, tis a glutton's delight. Of the week I spent there, I remember ONE mediocre meal. This is where I learnt that courgettes need not necessarily be cooked but just sliced into ribbons (use a mandolin or vegetable peeler at a pinch) and dressed with parmesan, pine nuts and truffle oil, can be a feast for a Queen!

Padrón peppers, Cerveceria Catalana, Barcelona, Spain

Padrón peppers are supposedly grown next to chilli peppers and though mild in themselves, due to proximity to such dangerous neighbours, can produce that one pepper which will send you screaming for water, eyes pouring, ears smoking. Tis like Russian roulette, but with slightly more chances of survival. Plain fried and then liberally sprinkled with salt, a slow and wary delight.

Alba, Barcelona, Spain

Here is another example of grilled veg (the cauliflower was parboiled) but served with a romescu sauce, a very typical sauce of the region where I live. Here is a decent recipe of this sauce. It goes well with pretty much everything so try it!

Parboiled veg, Bratislava, Slovakia

The Chinese make wonderful veg and it took me a while to figure out how they got their veg just the right side of crunchy - parboiling! Duh! 

Wakame, Bratislava, Slovakia

People tend to forget sea veg when we talk about vegetables. Your favourite vinaigrette or soya and rice vinegar/mirin poured over this edible seaweed and voilá! Here is a nice and simple vinaigrette, Japanese style. 

Kimchi, Ramen-ya hiro, Barcelona, Spain

How about pickled? Do you like pickled? Kimchi, Korean pickled cabbage is something I can eat by the bowlful. Not only is it delicious but tis packed with nutrition. For a non Korean, it seems like a bitch to prepare but it really isn't. This explains it rather well.

Raw veg with nut sauce, Bar Ton, Barcelona, Spain

When the weather is hot, there is nothing better than a raw veg dish to fill your tum without warming your cockles. Add some spiced oil with some nuts and mmmmmmmm

Mushrooms, El Champiñon, Madrid, Spain

What about roasted? Add some chorizo, drizzle some olive oil and bung in your oven for about 10 minutes.

Parmesan and aubergine, Lo de Flor, Barcelona, Spain

Here is a meal on its own, plenty of parmesan, grated over a tomatoe base with grilled aubergine in the middle. Delicious. heavy and warming as a winter dish!

Steamed veg, Bratislava, Slovakia

And back to lighter fare, just steam 'em!