March 27, 2020

Cod in Smooth Pisto Sauce —a confined kitchen at Lent

Natacha Sanz Caballero Vegetables, Fish, Events & Travel bacalao, confinement, Covid 19, Cuaresma, Lent, Memphis, pisto

It’s a weird sensation these days, isn’t it? We wake up every morning wondering what the new limitation will be for the day ahead —whether we’ll be able to go out freely for a walk in the neighborhood, whether we’ll be able to fly next week to see a loved one. COVID-19 has turned us upside down as in the most dystopian of stories.

Routine tasks we used to do without giving them a second thought now become a highlight of the day – leave the house for a moment to pick up the mail; take the garbage to the curb. A trip to the grocery store (more…)

Zucchini and pinenut salad, Mama ía blog

October 28, 2019

Crunchy zucchini salad with pine nuts -and a few days in Rome

Natacha Sanz Caballero Salads, Vegetables, Events & Travel calabacines, ensalada, Roma, Vaticano

For the most part, food ingredients taste different depending on whether they are cooked or not cooked. Mushrooms, peppers, broccoli or cauliflower, as well as carrots or brussels sprouts, can be prepared in many ways: sautéed, fried, baked, battered, in tempura, and even raw, in salads or smoothies. But few ingredients have such different flavor when you use a different method of dicing or cutting.

Santa María la Mayor, Roma, Mama ía blog

To me, zucchini is one of those. While I don’t usually eat raw zucchini, raw zucchini cut in ribbons is the exception, and I can eat as many of those as crispy battered zucchini (get the recipe here). (more…)

Pimiemtos de piquillo de carne, meat stuffed piquillo peppers, Mama ía blog

September 5, 2019

Meat Stuffed Piquillo Peppers, and my book, “Yo Fui el Primero”

Natacha Sanz Caballero Vegetables, Meat and Poultry, Events & Travel first circumnavigation, First voyage around the world, mi libro, my book, pimientos de piquillo, primera vuelta al mundo, publication, Spanish cuisine, yo fui el primero

I have been away from these pages for too long. You know it, I know it. So to make up for it, I bring you a star recipe: pimientos de piquillo de carne, meat stuffed piquillo peppers. I still have to find one person I’ve served these peppers to that doesn’t like them. They are a crowd pleaser, and I make them on special occasions, precisely because they are so special. I make piquillo peppers stuffed with meat as well as stuffed with cod, and both varieties are just as delicious, and a success among family and guests alike.

Yo Fui el Primero, the paperback

Yo fui el primero, Natacha Sanz Caballero

Piquillo peppers, bright red and triangular in shape, grow in Navarra, in the north of Spain, and you purchase them either (more…)

May 13, 2019

Mojo Picon with Wrinkly Potatoes, for Culinary Diplomacy Spain at Joseph Decuis

Natacha Sanz Caballero Vegetables, Sauces, Tapas, Events & Travel cocina Canaria, Joseph Decuis, patatas, salsa, Spanish cuisine, Spanish tapas, vegetarian

Culinary Diplomacy Spain took place at the Joseph Decuis farm on March 22, 2019. A lot has happened since then (I published a book!), but now it’s time to talk about that great evening, and share with you one of the recipes the guests enjoyed, mojo picon with wrinkly potatoes, mojo picón con patatas arrugadas.

Joseph Decuis restaurant, located in Roanoke, Indiana, is a farm to fork restaurant that has been voted for years in a row as the best restaurant in Indiana. The restaurant itself (more…)

January 15, 2019

Octopus with Potatoes, the Unexpected Guest at our Christmas Table

Natacha Sanz Caballero Vegetables, Fish, Tapas cocina española, mediterranean diet, Navidad, pulpo, seafood, Spanish cuisine

The anticipation of Christmas break is always special, no matter what one’s age. As a child, it was a magical time in every sense —the miracle of the birth, the visit of the Three Magi, loaded with toys, and the school vacation! As an adult, the excitement doesn’t wane, but new layers are added: this year was the first one we had two of our children away at college, and therefore back home for Christmas. What better opportunity than to celebrate with special dishes they don’t usually eat?

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Roasted carrots and fennel, Mama ía blog

November 19, 2018

Roasted Carrots and Fennel with Dijon Dressing, More for Thanksgiving

Natacha Sanz Caballero Vegetables hinojo, Thanksgiving, vegetarian, verduras al horno, zanahorias

This post could be a continuation of my last one, as I am still trying out recipes for side dishes for Thanksgiving. So I will not expand too much, as you can refer to my last post to find out a bit more about how our family spends Thanksgiving.

With this recipe, I think I got another winner! This one, in fact, (more…)

Garlicky sautéed cauliflower, Mama ía blog

November 11, 2018

Garlicky Sautéed Cauliflower, Considering Thanksgiving

Natacha Sanz Caballero Vegetables coliflor, glycemic index, heatlhy carbs, Thanksgiving, vegetarian

I call the recipe I’m sharing today coliflor fritita con ajos, by its Spanish name, and would translate it as garlicky sautéed cauliflower. It feels like such a Spanish dish that it almost feels wrong to translate it.

Thanksgiving, also known as turkey day, is fast approaching. This year it is even more special than before, because my two college sons will be home. We haven’t been together as a family since August! They will be home for only a few days, I know, but at this stage of our family life, it will be great, and we’ll take what we can get.

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Grilled corn with ñora allioli, Mama ía blog

October 5, 2017

Grilled Corn with Ñora Allioli, on a Warm Fall Day

Natacha Sanz Caballero Vegetables aioli, ajoaceite, corn, corn fields, corn on the husk, farmland, grilling, nora, ñora peppers, snack

This might be the tail end of the corn season, but to go with the slow baked baby back ribs I made, I knew I had to make corn. Don’t ask me why, but I associate ribs with corn. And grilled corn with ñora allioli was the answer.

We are a divided house when it comes to corn, some of us like it grilled and some like it boiled. For this recipe I decided to grill it in its husk, and there were no complaints. The sun was shining, it was unusually warm for this time of year, and I was itching to go outside. I wonder, too, if the allioli I made to spread on the charred kernels had something to do with its success at the table. It wasn’t my regular traditional allioli (find that recipe here). The Spanish Tin had sent me a small batch of ground ñora peppers. Ñora peppers! I had never been able to find them in the US, and now I know where to go for them. Ñora is a small, round pepper that grows in the region of Murcia, just south of the Comunidad Valenciana, where I come from. It has a characteristic flavor and medium heat. To know that I can now source them through The Spanish Tin makes me very happy.

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September 6, 2017

Crispy Battered Zucchini, from a home vegetable garden

Natacha Sanz Caballero Vegetables calabacines, figs, huerto, side dish, summer, vegetable garden, vegetarian

So many zucchinis! When I planted my vegetable garden back in the spring, I didn’t realize I would get such a generous bounty. My friends Cort and Kathleen share the produce from their amazing garden as well, so I’ve ended up with quite a few of them! All the better, since crispy battered zucchini are a hit with my family.

I didn’t realize either, when I dug the holes for the seedlings, how large the zucchini plants would get. Lesson learned for next year: I need more room for the zucchini plants, and more space between them and the next variety of vegetable. But the lesson for this year, which I learned early: wear garden gloves! Those zucchini leaves are very spiky.

Granadas del Taron, pomegranates, Mama ía blog

Pomegranates from El Taroncheral (photo Marlen Caballero)

Figs from El Taroncheral (photo Paula Sanz Caballero)

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April 13, 2017

Oven Baked Eggplant with Pimentón, one of two sibling sides

Natacha Sanz Caballero Vegetables berenjenas, first course, Mediterranean cuisine, pimentón de la Vera, primer plato, side dish

I have a section in the Mama Ía blog called IDIOSYNCRASIES (click here). It is there that I talk about certain aspects of Spanish life and culture that are different from those of the United States, and that somehow have caught my attention. Some of those aspects merit a whole section or post about them, like the way we celebrate Holy Week (more…)