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?