Comida Deliciosa
By Maria D'Ambrose
Food in the Different Regions
Map of Spain
These are all the different regions is Spain.
Gazpacho Soup
This is eaten in Andalusia.
Paella
This is a very popular dish in Spain, made out of clams, shrimp, sausage, peas, garlic, chicken, onion, green or red peppers, and more.
Mealtime Customs
El Desayuno
Many people in Spain enjoy eating these churros on specials days, such as weekends and holidays.
El Almuerzo
Lunch is used as a time for a break from work and other activities.
La cena
During the night, instead of having a full meal, many people have tapas, also known as tiny snacks or appetizers of shrimp, eggs, potatoes, sausage, meatballs, and more.
Holidays and Special Occasions
Rosquilas de la Semana Santa
These are doughnuts eaten during Holy Week.
Rosca de Reyes
This is bread eaten to celebrate the Three Kings, January 6th.
Turrón de Jijona
This is a dessert usually eaten on Christmas Eve, usually made with egg, honey, and ground almond.
My Meal
Tortilla Española
This was made out of onion, potato, olive oil, and egg.
Buñuelos de Jamón
These were kind of like pancakes, because of the batter. But then, I mixed in the onion, the spices, and the ham, and it turned out totally different.
Flan
This tasted amazing. It reminded my family of pudding, but it had so many different flavors!
Tortilla Española
Spanish Omelette/Tortilla Española:
¼ c. olive oil
1 large onion, minced
1 large potato, minced
¼ tsp. salt
5 large eggs, beaten
1 tbsp. olive oil
1. Heat olive oil in a frying pan over moderate heat. Add onion and potato and sprinkle with salt. Cook until soft, but not brown, stirring occasionally
2. Add about ⅓ of the beaten egg. Using a spatula, lift up omelette at the edges and center to allow egg to run under potato and onion. Repeat this procedure until egg has been added.
3. When egg is firm but still slightly moist (not runny) and golden on the bottom, run the spatula under omelette to loosen it from the pan. Then place a large plate over the top and flip omelette onto the plate. (You may want to have someone help you with this.)
4. Add another tablespoon olive oil to the pan and slide omelette back in, brown side up. Continue cooking omelette over moderate heat until golden on the other side.
Prep time: 30 minutes
Serves 2 to 4
Buñuelos de Jamón
Ham Fritters/ Buñuelos de Jamón:
Batter:
½ c. flour
½ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
1 large egg
½ c. water
Filling:
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 c/ diced ham
2 tbsp. chopped parsley
2 cloves crushed garlic
pepper to taste
*For a vegetarian fritter, try substituting firm tofu for the ham. You can also experiment with flavored tofu.
Batter:
1. Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl.
2. Lightly beat egg. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in beaten egg. Mix.
3. Add water and stir. Batter should be a thin sauce but not runny.
Filling:
1. Heat tbsp. of olive oil in a small frying pan and sauté (accent mark) onion until it is soft. Remove from pan.
2. Mix onion, ham, parsley, garlic, and pepper into batter.
3. Put enough olive oil in the frying pan to cover the bottom, about ½ inches deep. Heat oil over medium heat.
4. Drop the mixture by teaspoonfuls into the oil. Fry until the bottom of the fritters are browned. Turn them over and brown the other side.
5. Drain on paper towels and serve warm.
Prep time: 45 min.
Makes about 20 fritters
Flan
Caramel Custard/Flan:
Custard Ingredients:
2 c. milk
3 eggs, slightly beaten
¼ c. sugar
½ tsp. vanilla extract
Sauce Ingredients:
3 egg yolks, beaten
¾ c. half-and-half
¾ tsp salt
½ c. brown sugar
3 tbsp/ butter
1 ½ tbsp. lemon juice
1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. To make custard, warm milk in saucepan over low to medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring constantly. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, beat eggs, sugar, and vanilla with an eggbeater. Stir in warm milk.
3. Pour mixture into a 1-quart of 9X13 baking dish. Set the dish in a shallow pan of water and bake for 1 hour.
4. After custard has been baking for about 35 minutes, prepare sauce. Bring water in lower part of a double boiler to a boil. Place the first 4 sauce ingredients in the top of the double boiler. Stir and cook until mixture is thick and creamy.
5. Add butter and lemon juice a little at a time, stirring constantly.
6. Remove custard from the oven (custard is done when a knife inserted comes out clean) and pour sauce over the top. Flan may be served hot or cold.
Prep time 1/ ½ hrs
Serves 4
*For a simpler version of sauce, melt 10 caramels in a saucepan over medium heat. Add ¼. c. milk and stir constantly until completely blended (about 10 min)
Bibliography
Christian, Rebecca. "Introduction." Introduction. Cooking the Spanish Way: Revised and Expanded to Include New Low-fat and Vegetarian Recipes. Minneapolis: Lerner Publications, 2002. 7-21. Print.
Douglas, Alex. "The History of Spanish Tapas." Spanish Hams. N.p., 2010. Web. 03 Apr. 2013.
"Spanish Meals & Customs in Valencia, Spain." What Valencia Online Travel Guide. Valencia Guide, 2011. Web. Mar.-Apr. 2013. <http://www.whatvalencia.com/spanish-meal.html>.