On this Holy Week, a very appropriate dish, coca de pimiento, atún y tomate, bell pepper, tuna and tomato torta, a dish that is so idiosyncratic of my hometown that I am surprised I haven’t posted the recipe before.
Coca de pimiento, atún y tomate, bell pepper, tuna and tomato torta, is not only made at basically every family house in my home region, Valencia, and my hometown, Onteniente, but can also be (more…)
The recipe I am sharing today, mussels with white beans and tomatoes, combine products from the primary sector, fishing and farming, many of whose purveyors are demonstrating on Europe’s streets and highways as we speak. And I have to say, with good reason.
Tractors demonstrating at Puerta de Alcalá, Madrid (photo credit Info Bierzo)
Manuel Pimentel, agricultural engineer, farmer, editor, author and former Minister of Labor of Spain, has recently published a book entitled “La venganza del campo”, the revenge of the land, where he explains some (more…)
It is safe to say that we can start counting down to spring. It’s just over two weeks away! And while the winter hasn’t been one of the coldest ones we remember in this part of the world, I am very much looking forward to the warmer temperatures, to walks outdoors and to the first flowers blooming in our garden.
At the same time, I am still enjoying orange season —and winter is orange season. The recipe I’m sharing today, mandarina stuffed salmon with thyme, takes (more…)
Potaje de Cuaresma, sopa de vigilia, caldo de Cuaresma, are all names that refer to the same dish. The name would translate literally to “vigil stew” or “Lent stew” in English, but we’ll call it chickpeas and Swiss chard stew for the purposes of this blog.
Valencia’s Fallas 2022, celebrated as it was before the pandemic
The original or most typical version of it in Spain also includes cod. However, I omitted it today and made it a more simple dish, not only appropriate for Lent but also for a vegetarian diet.
The origin of this dish, like many other Spanish dishes, can be found (more…)
With the end of the season of Lent and the beginning of that of Easter, I bring you a Spanish treat typical of this season, pestiños. Don’t ask me to translate it, because I would have a hard time doing it. You’ll have to call it by its original name, and I will help you pronounce it: pehs-teen-yohs.
Holy Week processions in Sevilla. Holy Wednesday, Hermandad del Baratillo – Brotherhood of Baratillo
The season calls for Lent and Easter meals, with meatless, savory ones enjoyed on Fridays and sweet ones (many of them) enjoyed on Easter, when traditionally lenten promises and (more…)
I don’t know if it’s happening to you, but for me, time is flying. Can you believe Lent starts this week? I had another recipe planned for this post, but I’ll postpone it, because I know you will be looking for fish recipes that are tasty and easy to make. These salmon steaks with majado are it: tasty, healthy, delicious looking and easy to make.
I like to look for steaks rather than fillets, and basically any accompaniment will work: depending on the season, you can use green beans, asparagus, or (more…)
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…)
When I asked my husband if I should translate this recipe, calamares rellenos, as stuffed squid or stuffed calamari, he immediately responded stuffed calamari, “Americans are grossed out by the thought of eating squid”. I had to laugh, but I think he’s probably right, since his American/Canadian perspective is always more accurate than mine. So here it goes, stuffed calamari.
If I were in Spain, this dish would be made with hake. But you know the chances of me finding hake in the Midwest are zero, zip. And yet, as always, I can’t go without enjoying the dish. Filetes de merluza al horno con patatas becomes oven baked tilapia over potatoes. It is a very tasty dish, and yet, easy and relatively quick to make, which makes it (more…)
This week will culminate in Easter Sunday, which in gastronomic terms means chocolate and special sweets, and an occasion for family celebration. Eggs of every color and material, real and not, and also made of chocolate, inundate our tables, our decor, our stores. So understandably, my first instinct was to make an Easter treat for this week’s post. But this week is also (more…)
