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....