January 17, 2023

Whole baked branzino, and coastal Alicante: Altea and Calpe

Natacha Sanz Caballero Fish, Events & Travel Alicante, Altea, Calpe, fish, mediterranean diet, Muralla Roja, pescado, Ricardo Bofill, seafood, Spanish cuisine

It has been a few weeks now, but we are still enjoying (and trying to finish) some of the sweets from the holidays. Is that your case? I’ve tried to balance this sugar loaded end of meals with very healthy mains and sides, following the Mediterranean way of cooking I most enjoy, and whole baked branzino is one of those healthy, make-in-a-snap, delicious meals.

Ethan at La Muralla Roja (Calpe)

There’s quite a paradox in this part of the world where I live. On the one hand, lake living is a way of life. Many midwesterners and Hoosiers (the people of Indiana) own lake houses as second homes. Water sports and (more…)

May 2, 2022

Cod with asparagus and preserved lemons—and Valencia’s Maritime Holy Week

Natacha Sanz Caballero Fish, Events & Travel Lent and Holy Week, mediterranean diet, seafood, Semana Santa, Semana Santa Marinera, Spanish traditions, Valencia

The recipe I’m sharing today, cod with asparagus and preserved lemons, is very appropriate for this time of year. Cod is a kind of fish long associated with Lent in Spain. Lent is now over, and you may not know that even though Easter Sunday has passed as well, we are still in the Easter season, which will last until the feast of the Pentecost, the Sunday about fifty days later.

Iglesia de Santa María del Mar, St Mary of the Sea Church, Valencia

What you may know is that we are also in the season of asparagus, one of the first spring time vegetables, so cod with asparagus should be on the menu.

By now you also know that cod is (more…)

Soupy rice with langoustines, Mama Ía blog

August 26, 2021

Creamy Rice with Langoustines —and beach days in Spain, two years later

Natacha Sanz Caballero Soups and Stews, Fish Alcocebre, arroces, arroces valencianos, arroz caldoso, comunidad valenciana, langostinos, main dish, seafood, shellfish, sopas, verano en España

I am missing fish, and I am missing shellfish. My brother-in-law Jaime makes the richest, most flavorful arroz con bogavante, soupy rice with lobster, and while I’m not able to replicate it here in Indiana, this creamy rice with langoustines is the best close second. So whenever I find whole shrimp at the store —that is, shrimp with the heads on, or even langoustines if I’m really lucky— I’ll make it.

This is what happened recently —I found langoustines!—, and I couldn’t wait to share with you my recipe for creamy rice with langoustines, a dish that (more…)

February 17, 2021

Salmon steaks with majado – and building a vegetable garden (Part 4)

Natacha Sanz Caballero Fish Lent, Mediterranean cuisine, pescado, seafood, vegetable garden

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…)

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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March 25, 2018

Stuffed Calamari, Another Meatless Option for Lent

Natacha Sanz Caballero Fish, Tapas calamares, calamares rellenos, Cuaresma, Lent, meatless, seafood, squid

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.

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March 22, 2017

Soupy Seafood Rice, and thinking of Las Fallas

Natacha Sanz Caballero Soups and Stews, Rice, Grains and Pasta, Fish Fallas, fish soup, Las Fallas, mussels, rice, seafood, seafood rice, seafood stock, soup, soupy rice, Valencia

If you subscribe to Mama Ía blog, or if you’ve been following it, by now you’re probably familiar with Spain’s dry rice dishes, like paella in all it’s varieties, or arroz al horno (click here and here and here). But there’s a different category of rice dish in Spain, which is not as familiar outside of the country as paella is. In Spanish we call it (more…)

January 12, 2016

Seafood Paella, Made Famous by… You

Natacha Sanz Caballero Rice, Grains and Pasta, Fish calamari, paella, seafood, seafood paella, shrimp

After having shared the recipe for allioli in my previous post, it was only fitting that I would share the recipe for seafood paella, which is what I mentioned I would be accompanying the allioli with. Matthew, the most paella-loving of my children, left yesterday for his second semester in college, which means I might not make paella for (more…)