Re-visiting 'Pinxos'

I am a pig - there are no two ways to look at it :-(

Jamón pinxo

I revisited my 'pinxo' place, a week is not cold. But to my defence, I only ate 10 instead of 16 'pinxos'. That's something, right? Whereas last time I scarfed everything with barely any pics, I was more sedate this time AND took photos of the stunning examples of amazing food here.

Foie with cream of balsamic 

A good 'pinxo', like a good Sangría, must be made with good ingredients; the bread involved MUST be thinly cut and of the type of baguette that is crunchy and fresh. Many places fill you up on the thickly cut bread they serve as part of their 'pinxo' and now you know why.

Quail's egg with mayo, prawn and olive with onion and parsley garnish

Ideally, 'pinxo' should be an appetiser, have 3-4 and a drink while waiting for your restaurant reservation hour or your friend/family meal time.

Cod with pepper

But what the heck, no rules...

How to make soya milk

Lately, I am on a mission to reduce my household wastes and at the moment, tetra-bricks are a huge pain so wondered if I could make my own soya milk. As one does nowadays, you consult the internet before you even breathe, right? So, of course I did. And came across a lot of info and it took me a few takes and, ta taaaaan: 

Blended mix

Ingredients:
125 gms soya beans
1.5 ltrs water
Vanilla essence or pod
Stevia or sugar
Salt
Method:
Leave the soya beans to soak in a bowl of hot water overnight.
Next morning, rinse the beans out. 
Put them in the microwave for 2 mins on max intensity to get rid of the beany flavour.
Now put them in a blender with about half the 1.5 litres of water and spritz till you get a thick, smooth soup.
Retire blender.
Now add the rest of the water and stir.
Prepare a large saucepan. Sieve the soup till you get the pulp or okara ( as dry as possible) in the sieve and the milk in the saucepan.

'Okara' and milk

Reserve the 'Okara'- you shall throw it away on pain of death! (More nagging below)
Meanwhile back in the sweatshop, heat your milk for about 10 mins. This is when I'd add the opened vanilla pod or vanilla essence. 
Let it boil away, whisking once in a while and making sure the pot don't boil (over), so watch it! 
Remove froth if you wish- I do; it gets weirdly lumpy and I am not a fan of lumpy froth, so shoot me!
Add a pinch of salt and some stevia to taste.
Once cool, bottle and pop in the fridge, ensuring you drink this within 3 days.
It's not as tasty as commercial drinks but I'd rather this fresh, additive and tetra-brick free drink which comes out much cheaper too.

Okara

A note on Okara: Do NOT, and I mean that, throw away! Tis a low fat, protein and mineral rich paste you can use to make spongy pancakes/cakes/pizza base/biscuit...you name it! It is mild tasting and delicious and can even be stir fried and used as a lower carb filler. Yum! Bear in mind it has a 3-day expiry date so get creative!

(P.S: Steak tartare)

Steak tartare at the Mandarin Oriental, Bcn

Steak tartare is, culturally, a hard thing for an Indian to eat. Raw + beef are not exactly plentiful in traditional menus there so without meaning to, I have never chosen this dish for myself until....I started to live with a Frenchman. And opened my eyes to this. 

This is a hilarious article on why you shouldn't make this dish at home and just when your hopes got dashed, here is how you can. 

How can one describe this? The garnishes make it taste spicy without being hot or overpowering the taste of raw meat and yet, without overpowering you with the taste of raw meat. Though the texture is creamy, it sure ain't like butter even though it melts in your mouth...( head scratching)..how would YOU describe it?

Pigging-out on Pinxos

Cod and pepper pinxo

Last night was a revelation as I touched heaven. Forget all the stuff you might have read or heard about how to get there, just come with me and eat some of these heavenly pinxos. Simple. No need for meditation or religion or penance! I ate 16, yes, SIXTEEN 'pinxos'. I will set up an altar to my tum soon. 

(Read my post 'A tiny note on Basque pinxos' to know what 'pinxos' are).

Baked mussel pinxo

There is a restaurant I have been passing by every time I go to buy groceries - ie about once a week during the past 10 years or so and can you believe it when I say that EVERY TIME, I say, "I must go here" and as soon as I reach home, amnesia strikes until the following week. And somehow yesterday, IT finally happened. I went in with a friend and oh my oh my oh my! I don't think I have ever eaten more than 7-8 pinxos in a single setting, let alone 16! I had; 4 with 'jamón'; hake; 2 of cod; sobrasada with quail's egg; spicy tuna; anchovy; grilled chicken; baked mussel; foie gras; an amazing battered prawn one; my favourite xistorra one...Sweet Jesus! I wanna go back. HELP!

Grilled chicken pinxo

Now it's not easy to grill chicken to perfection and especially bite sized mouthfuls - most places tend to overcook it - many a time have I sent back a plate of what can only be called compact sawdust - so you can imagine my bliss when I bit into this morsel and found it juicy and tasty and oh so right! I think a moan came out....but luckily the din disguised my cave-woman sounds...

Battered hake pinxo

Pity I scarfed the 'jamón' ones before even thinking of taking photos. 'Jamón' made me forget myself and attack. When I woke up, 4 had disappeared and all that was left were the toothpicks - the waiter counts how many 'pinxos' you have eaten by counting these. But anyway, hope this amazing battered hake pic will make up for this. As with the chicken, fish is a bummer to cook too as cook to overcook is just 4 letters away. 

A close-up so you can see how moist the interior was, how perfect each flake...(moan)

Baby scallop pinxo

This little baby to your left just slipped into my mouth in one easy and lip-lickingly good motion. I love scallops and baby scallops even more despite costing an arm, a leg, a kidney and a liver. Goddamn their goodness! 

Battered prawn pinxo

The battered prawn was so perfect that I nearly devoured the toothpick too - you should have seen me fishing the toothpick out of my mouth in a ladylike manner. Hah!

The bar where you just pick your own pinxo, Basque style

And last, but not the least, 'count my toothpick' time....

Dumpling Delights

Momos, Lake front Hotel, Pokhara, Nepal

Steamed dumpling, Restaurante Vietnamita, Bcn

Ada, Agnolotti, Asida, Akashiyaki, Aushak, Banku, Buuz, Bhajia, Ba-wan, Bánh bao, Bánh chưng, Bánh lá, Bánh tẻ, Bánh tét, Baozi, Bolinhas de carne, Blodpalt, Borș de burechiușe, Bryndzové halušky, Ball, Baill, Belyashi, Boraki, Chuchvara, Coxinhas, Cha siu bao, Crystal dumplings, Cepelinai, Chiburekki, Caozai guo, Capuns, Chapalele, Ci fan tuan, Corunda, Crab rangoon, Dim sum, Ducana, Dushbara, Dango, Dhokla, Didžkukuliai, Empanada, Fritter, Fun guo, Fufu, Fara, Gujhia, Guoti, Galuska or nokedli, Gombóc, Gnocchi, Gyoza, Gulha, Halušky, Hallaca, Har gow, Hujiao bing, Idli, Idrijski žlikrofi, Johnny Cake, Jau Gok, Jiaozi, Klotremat, Krumme, Kromme, 

Char siu Bao in Fatty Bao, Mumbai, India

Kroppkaka, Kams, Klabbe, Klimp, Kibbeh, Khinkali, Kreplach, Kubbeh, Knish, Kachori, Karanji, Kajjikayi, Klyocki, Kozhakkattai Modak or Modhaka or Modagam or Sugiyan, Kudumu, Klubb, Kløbb, Komle, Kumle, Kompe, Kumpe, Kodla, Kudle, Klot, Kams, Komperdøse, Kumperdøse, Kompadøs, Knedlík, Knedliček, Kloß, Knödel, Nockerl or Knöpfle, Klopse or Klöpse, Knöpfle, Kenki, Kluski, Kalduny, Kenkey, Khuushuur, Koldūnai, knedle, Knoephia, Kopytka, Kozhukkattai, Kreplach, Kueh tutu, Kuih kochi, Kundumy, Lo mai gai, Lukhmi, Melkkos, Manti, Mjölpalt, Mandu, Manduguk, Mandugwa, Maultaschen, Mataz, Matzah ball, Momo, Modak,

Mohnnudel, Nagasari, Nocken, Ñoquis, 

Aubergine and cheese Empanada, La Neura, Barcelona

Orama, Ovocné knedlíky, Pierogi, Pidi, Pitha, Pastéis, Pantruca, Papas rellenas, Pasteles, Pirohy, Palt, Pamonha, Pelmeni, Pozi, Potetball, Pickert, Quenelle, Qatayef, Raspeball, Ruter, Ruta, Raskekako, Risk, Ravioli, Rissole, Rivels, Samosa, Schupfnudel, Scovardă, Shegjian mantou, Shlishkes or "Krumplinudli", Shishbarak, Siew mai or Shumai, Silesian dumplings, Siopao, Serviettenknödel, Szilvásgombóc, Šaltanosiai, Samsa, Souskluitjies,

Sui kao, Tamale, Tamalito, Tang bao, Tihlo, Tortellini, Tortelloni, Tangyuan, Uszka , Ushki, Urechiuşe, Varenyky, Vushka, Vushki, Virtiniai, Wonton, Xiaolongbao, Yomari, Zhaliang and finally, Zongzi. 

Recognize any? Did I miss any? Let me know!

Restoran Key Way Dim Sum, KL, Malaysia

Cheese+bacon pierogi, Slovak Pub, Slovakia

 
Have I gone utter nuts? Or am I just being the Dumpling Librarian in writing down the various names that this bite/ hand sized morsel of deliciousness has around the world? From my count, that's about 190 different versions! For it seems that almost every country has a cooked ball of dough ( from different flours or potatoe) with or without and in any combination: meats; vegetables; fish or sweet stuff and which is either fried, baked, simmered, boiled or steamed. Who would have thought? Mmmmmmmmm. Thank you, Dumpling God!

Kachori, Surajkund Mela, Surajkund, India

These titbits always seem like a precursor to a meal or something to keep you going between meals or just a reason to give in to plain and simple GREED. Scarf! 

Homemade steamed 'dhokla'

Some of my abiding childhood memories have to be of snacking on something or other on hot and long drawn out summer holiday late afternoons. With a wonderful aunt, we'd spend an hour preparing a snack and then polish it off within minutes. The Gujarati 'dhokla' is one such snack - light, fluffy and easy to make. Here is a recipe - I make mine in 'idli' steamers so they come out round rather than diamond shaped but hey ho - my mouth finds no difference :-)

Fried gyozas, Simpu, Barcelona

 

I LOVE gyozas - one of the many fab Japanese inventions, especially the pan seared ones but once in a while, I am happy to have some nice and crunchy fried ones too. Always a delight to bite through piping hot fried crunch and into a delicate mix of meat, spring onions, herbs....ohhhh yummmmmmmmm, gimme some...

Pan fried gyozas, Ramen-ya Hiro, Barcelona

And to the left, my all time favourite, pan seared gyoza.. Funny how hard it is to find a place that sells delicious gyoza - the quality of the meat is important as I find that a lot of places use the worst and most fatty cuts of meat. Result? an oily concoction in your mouth that drowns out the herbs and ends with you drinking a whole bottle of beer in a gulp to wash your mouth out. Ugh.

And last, but not the least, a very small homage to Eastern European dumplings, where these are in the main course and a delicious way to fill the stomach with a hearty and yet cheap meal:

Goulash with paprika and bacon dumplings, Hrad, Bratislava, Slovakia

A tiny note on Basque Pinxos

There is a Basque bar in Barcelona where I love to eat 'pinxos', which are Basque tapas - mostly bits of something on bread ( as in the liplickingly good photo above). The Basque take their pinxos very seriously and at dinner time, conglomerate in numbers to eat these while chatting and laughing with their friends. They take their food very seriously too which is probably why most of the 3 star Michelin restaurants in Spain are in the Basque country.

The pinxo on the right is my all time favourite, Xistorra! I just need to look at it to get a cholesterol high! It is a paprika sausage and fried, sends you to that part of heaven reserved for those flirting with a heart attack but hey! a once a month delight can't kill me, right?

Burger Babblings

Burger with foie, Restaurant Raf, Barcelona

So, did you know that a burger is the generic name for a sliced roll with either a non veg or veg filling while a hamburger is one with a meat patty? Hah! I bet you thought a burger was the shortened version of the word 'hamburger'. Note that it isn't spelt like this : 'burger. In the UK, a burger can be just the meat patty on it's own. And no, the hamburger doesn't usually have ham in it BUT, originated from Hamburg, like 'frankfurter' from Frankfurt (duh) and 'wiener' from Wien or Vienna.

Such a pity that fast-food chains like McDonalds have vilified burgers for they can be nourishing and delicious meals ( sad, sad face), especially when served with salads or vegetables ( and why not, a glass of wine!). Happily, many restaurants have taken up the challenge to prove how healthy and delicious they actually can be, and, SUCCEEDED!

Ok, enough talk, here are some delicious burgers I have scarfed: 

Chilli hamburger in Déja-burg, Barcelona

There is a restaurant near mine which serves a wide variety of burgers, called Déja-burg - the word play doesn't make much sense but maybe the owners thought that the Frenchified name would make it sound chic? Who knows...Anyway, the chilli topped hamburger I had was quite good, messy but good! Warning: Definitely not recommended food on a date as you will be splaying out bits of chilli as you eat. Happily, I was with a close friend and she was splaying food out too! Phew!

Burger with foie and caramelised onions, Alba, Barcelona

In yet another restaurant, I had a hand cut sirloin steak stuffed with foie and topped with caramelised onions. Dee-lish-us! The accompanying mustards á l'ancienne and 'dijon' went so well with this - for there is an inherent chemistry of mustard with meat. In the background, you can see the delicious dish of roast veggies I had with this. McDonalds, eat your heart out!

Hamburger in Hotel Meliá Banus, Marbella

Sometimes, all my little heart wants is a simple hamburger with a salad, nothing more and nothing less. Am not a huge fan of doughy baps as they can be quite dry BUT, this hamburger was delicious and once I lavishly lathered on the mustard, ate it too fast for the bap to dry. 

Homemade hamburger

Have you ever done a burger party? I do it once in a while and what you do is either make or buy some good quality meat patties and on the side, chop/slice/peel/lay on a table, a variety of all the ingredients and condiments that could go into making Burger Bliss - lettuce, rocket, tomatoes, gherkins, herbs, onions, ketchup, mayo, ali-oli, mustard etc. Get your bbq ready and as your guests arrive, hand them the drink of their choice and cook their patty to their liking. They can then DIY their burger! Neat idea or wot!? This party is successful among adults and children alike so go on, summer is coming, start preparing...

Homemade burger

A very dear friend of mine, who didn't consider herself to be much of a cook, taught me one of the most delicious ways to make a burger that I know of:

A'S CARAMELIZED ONION BURGERS

Serves 2

Ingredients:

300 gm beef

1 large onion, finely chopped

1 tbsp olive oil

Breadcrumbs as needed

1 egg

Salt n pepper

Chives/parsley optional

Method:

In a heavy base frying pan, fry the onions on low heat until caramelised - be careful to not scorch them! Once the onions are satisfactorily cooked and, cooled, add them to the other ingredients in a bowl and mix and then shape into 2 patties. Cook these to your liking in the remaining oil in the frying pan. ENJOY! 

Burger with onion marmalade, Cafe Charlotte, Barcelona