Foods From Afar - Spain - Majorca

After seeing the amazing La Sagrata Familia, we headed to the airport for our flight to Majorca. The trip was short, descending as soon as we got to altitude. Landing in Palma, we got our rental car and drove Southeast to our hotel. The island is pocked with ‘C’ shaped inlets called calas. Each of which could be a boat dock, tourist locale, private beach, or party place. Cala Figuera, where our hotel was located, was quite, mostly populated with Germans. Majorca is sometimes referred to as “South Germany,” as there are so many of them that vacation there. So much so that even the grocery stores have wursts and German bread.

Our following day was spend cruising the coastline, relaxing at beaches, and taking in the sun and sangria. After touring the Drach caves, we took dinner at a seaside restaurant, specializing in Majorcan cuisine. We ordered a starter or shrimp, covered in sobrassada, with sautéed onions. Sobrassada is a cured meat, like a spreadable chorizo. Like the Jamons of Spain, there exists a variety of grades, depending on the kind of pig that was used, level of spice, age of the cure, etc. I ordered the cuttlefish, simply charred. Not unlike squid, the cephalopod was fresh and clean, with just a touch of lemon, the charred flavors really came through. The flesh was soft and yielding, not rubbery at all. Charlie ordered a salt encrusted swordfish. As his meal arrived, the waiter made a show of cracking the encasing, and butchering the fish tableside as he plated. The salt served as an insulator, rather than a flavorant, steaming the fish inside, leaving is moist, falling apart on the fork.

The next day, I spent the morning in and out of the ocean, jumping from cliffs up to 12 meters (about 40 feet) high. I met back up with Charlie and we drove to his family’s home for dinner. Originally, they are from Peru, so Charlie requested his favorite Peruvian dish, Causa. The dish is steamed and mashed yellow potato, layered with tuna, and this version was topped with finely chopped purple onion, tomato, black olive, and hard boiled egg. It’s a hearty dish and was artfully created, but hungrily devoured. Paired with some sangria, local wine, cheese, and Majorcan bread, it was a great evening (though I was only able to pick up about 5-10% of the conversation).

Our last day was spent in Palma. We started our day in the traditional manner, with ensaimadas. The Majorcan pastry consists of flour, water, sugar, eggs, and lard. The dough is folded and rolled, resulting in layers of fluffy and light pastry, topped with powdered sugar, cream, or fruit. We ordered them from S’an Joan D’Saigo, a café established in 1700. I also ordered an almond ice cream (because pastry and ice cream is truly the breakfast of champions). The ice cream tasted as though almond milk, almonds, and ice were pureed together. Each spoonful had a crunch reminiscent of the almonds, simple, fresh, delicious.

After walking the popular port town, we finally settled down to a paella of paella. We had been waiting the entire trip to have the meal on Majorca, and the restaurant we selected, Sa Cranca, delivered. Walking in, we could immediately smell the aromas or fresh seafood cooking. We sat down and ordered the mixed seafood paella and of course, a bottle of crisp pinot grigio. Our meal arrived tableside, as our waiter used two spoons to scrape the pan and mix the seafood with the slightly charred rice on the bottom. The rice was just al dente and we tasted the saffron through the bright shellfish, each bite was savored as our gastronomic craving was finally fulfilled. It was our last day on the trip together, though I had one more stop, and I couldn’t have asked for a better final meal.

Foods From Afar - Spain – Barcelona

After checking into the hostel, Charlie and I hit the metro to explore the city. We headed to Fira and the magic fountain, along with the National Museum and the Olympic city. The entire area of the city was bustling, as there was a car show going on, and teenage girls flocked toward the nearby stadium for a “The Vamps” concert . After all that walking, we worked our way East and found an organic grocery store that sold red and white wine, sangria, and vermouth from huge wooden barrels at the back of the store. You could buy a bottle or bring your own, but the wine and spirits went for about $2 per liter, and they were all of decent quality.

We found dinner by wandering the streets, window shopping at menus posted outside restaurants. There were three requirements for us to go in, first is that the establishment was busy, second was that it was populated with locals, and third, the menu had to be in Spanish (or rather, Catalan) Bodega 1900 was such a place. Because we didn’t have a reservation, we had to sit outside. Our meal started with the house made vermouth and “olives.” I put them in quotes because there were two olives, each served on a spoon. Slurping them, they burst in my mouth like a balloon filled with briny goodness. Our meal continued with other tapas, including a traditional bocadillo (Spanish sandwich), stuffed with fried squid and a tart aioli, a seared tuna flatbread, and a duck bacon slider, unctuous fat oozing through on the crisp, flat, almost English muffin bread.

The next day, we took the train North to Parc Guell, a large open area designed in part by Gaudi, the architect responsible for La Sagrata Familia. After wandering the tiled terraces, we headed to La Ramblas, a long and straight street, packed with shops, vendors, restaurants, and people.  Along the way, I stopped at La Boqueria, a large city market. In truth, it’s actually a repetition of the same handful of shops, but that doesn’t make it less appealing to stroll and sample. Jamon (cured ham), cheese, dried fruits and nuts, fresh fruits, fresh fish and crustaceans, pastries, and seafood bars went on for aisle after aisle. I was able to sample some local cheeses from the Catalan region, most of which are similar to Manchego, white, not too potent, yet complex in their flavors.

Later, we met Charlie’s father, who happened to be in Barcelona on business. We tasted many traditional tapas like coca (tomato rubbed on bread), gazpacho (a tomato based, pureed vegetable soup served cold) and heirloom tomato salad topped with brulleed goat cheese. However, my favorite was the octopus, charred and topped with Spanish paprika, not rubbery at all. After lunch, we went to the Picasso museum and I rambled the Gothic quarter, and old part of the town with winding streets, tall walls, and more vendors, shops, restaurants, and bars.

I met up again with Charlie and his father for dinner, we found another tapas restaurant that took a more modern and global take on the concept. Gourmet Tapas by Sensi was a small restaurant, with a kitchen that barely fit the chefs working in it. The menu was split into traditional and modern dishes. We ordered a variety, including a seared duck breast topped with a mango chutney that sat aside a puree of parsnip. The duck was rare in the center, yet charred on the outside, the meat rich and not gamy. Charlie ordered a potato curry that came with three varieties of potato, sweet, purple, and what appeared and tasted like Idaho, swimming a bright orange, creamy, yet spicy sauce. The meal was an amazing end to the day. A big thank you to Charlie’s father for showing us the gastronomic delights of the city.

Foods From Afar - Spain - Madrid

Bienvenido espana. A trip that has been nearly a decade in planning and anticipation is finally on. Charlie, a friend of mine since elementary school, met me at the departure gate in JFK for the six hour, non stop flight. We arrived in the morning, dropped our bags at our hostel and hit the city.

Madrid has a vibe all its own, separate from other European cities. The aromas, the warmth, the feeling of energy and intent, followed by relaxation and repose, much like a flamenco dance. The Spanish love their pig. Everywhere there is cured hams, sausages, charcuterie. I'm not sure if the translation is right, but there are stores called The Museum of Ham. Walking into a market, I was stunned at the selection of meats and cheeses. Charlie speaks enough Spanish to help me navigate a tasting. Most of the Spanish cheeses are firm or semi firm(curado).  In the spectrum of cheeses, they fall mostly on the milder end, but no less complex for it. The cheeses with age (viejo) had nutty and buttery flavors while the younger versions were lighter, creamier, and sometimes had floral notes. After trying a few, we made a selection and asked for a four euro slice. What we received would easily have cost $15 at Whole Foods.

Next to the cheese counter was the jamon. There are many variations and intricacies to these cured meats, mostly differentiated by what the pigs ate, length of preservation, fat content, and place of origin. Almost all the cuts are sliced to order, and those that aren't are in vacuum sealed bags. Again, after tasting a few versions, we purchased some Serrano ham and again, four euros worth produced easily triple the amount we would have received in the US. The meats themselves are salty and soft. Shaved paper thin, they melt in your mouth with porky goodness.

Our first night, we went to a local restaurant at the suggestion of Charlie's father, who has been to Spain many times. This small establishment is known for their steak, namely ox steak. My half kilo cut had a bulb of fat at one end and sizzled on the plate. The meat was medium rare, and the red center had a purple tint. The flavors were darker than beef with complex earthy notes. Paired with dinner was a pitcher of sangria. This recipe was sweeter with hints of plum.

Night two was a tapas night with a flamenco dance show. The tapas featured croquettes, fried crispy on the outside and whipped, creamy potatoes on the inside. There was smoked and grilled sausage, much like chorizo, with chunks of fat throughout. Small green peppers also made an appearance, tossed in olive oil and corse salt before being fire roasted, the mild heat and vegetable flavor brought to life from the fire.

On our way to the train station leaving for Barcelona, we stopped at San Gines, a shop famous for its chocolate and churros. Unlike hot chocolate in the US, the cups are small and extremely thick. Think whole milk saturated with powdered dark chocolate (note I am not saying a mix, this is the real deal). The churros were unadorned, much better to dip into the dense drink.

A three hour train ride brought us to Barcelona, but that is for the next post...

Food Truck Festival

This post comes a little late as I was preparing for my trip to Spain.

Last weekend, Hartford played host to a food truck festival behind the Wadsworth anthenium. About twenty trucks lined the street serving everything from hot dogs and burgers to arepas and tajine.

My friends and I perused the selection, debating the best way to sample the most variety. We settled on stopping at the gypsy food truck. After much deliberation over what kind of game meat, I choose the elk burger. The bun was crusty and the condiments fresh, but the star was the juicy, slightly gamy, decadent meat patty. Even better with the roasted pepper sauce, which could be, and was, eaten with a spoon. My friend ordered the tajine, a rich concoction of chicken, tomatoes, chick peas, potatoes, all in a curry like sauce flavored with Moroccan spices. Upon seeing our enjoyment of our food, and lamentation at what we did not select, the chef insisted we try the gypsy stew, on the house (or truck as it were). Chorizo, sweet Italian sausage and roast pork swam in a dark onion garlic sauce. The pork melting in your mouth as a bite was taken with a fork full of rice pilaf.

Fuller than expected, we went over the the chomper truck. These delectable fried balls came in two varieties. The first was like a bacon cheeseburger, molded into a sphere and deep fried to a golden crisp. The other was a chicken, mozzarella, and basil ball, held together by the melted cheese. Both were surprisingly less greasy than expected, but just as filling.

The weather was warm, the music was good, the food delicious and the friends plentiful. Couldn't ask for a better Saturday afternoon.

(picture to come when I am back in the states)

From Spain to Brazil in a Day

My weekend was packed. Saturday morning I ran the Color Me Rad 5k. The popular race has runners wearing white as they are pummeled with brightly colored chalk-ish powder. After a long shower, and one of the few times I followed the “wash, rinse, repeat” instructions on the shampoo bottle, I spent my afternoon learning Balboa, a type of swing dance characterized by close embrace and small movements. This worked up my appetite for the tapas and paella party I attended after.

With almost 20 people attending, there was a variety of dishes. I started with the braised chorizo. The sauce was smoky and dark, the sausage only mildy spicy and softer from the wet cooking method. Of course, there was a cheese plate with manchego, iberico ham, and another softer cheese that had the texture of mozzarella but with the slight sour notes of goat. Continuing my circuit around the table(first of many), I sampled a ceviche the featured avocado, onion, garlic, and conch. The lime, paired perfectly with the slight saltiness and herbaceousness of the cilantro and my cup was soon empty. The last tapa was a simmered shark. The cubes of fish held together with a firmness that like tuna, but softer and yielding. The shark was paired with a cucumber and mango salsa, which brought out the freshness and brightness of the fish.

For the “main course,” there was a selection of four paellas. Two versions of the classic had chicken, shrimp, and chorizo as proteins, complimented with saffron infused rice, onion, and tomato. My favorite was the paella made with duck and rabbit. The minor gamy flavor of the darker meats  lended a welcome complexity to the entire dish.

Sunday, after volunteering at the Walk Against Hunger, my roommate and I ended our weekend at iD Brazil, a Churrascaria in West Haven. I found a Groupon for a tasting dinner for two, including a full buffet, two drinks, and a dessert. Unlike a regular churrascaria, the rounds of meats were not unlimited (because of the Groupon), but we did get to sample everything, along with a repeat meat. One of my favorite meats was actually on the buffet line, a roast pork that easily pulled apart. The skin was crunchy and the meat was tender. Of course the grilled meats were fresh and flavorful, if not a little salty. The buffet line was also complete with fried plantains, yucca, fish, guacamole, chimichurri, and anything else you could imagine complimenting an onslaught of meats.

Despite living together, my roommate and I are both so busy, this was actually the first time we went out to dinner together. It was great to catch up, and get to know each other better over some delicious meats.