Ingredients – Page 10

17th January 202130th January 2021

Pa de Sant Antoni (Saint Anthony’s bread)

While the Fallas festival in Valencia is quite well-known, the Sant Antoni (Saint Anthony)’s celebrations are less flamboyant, more inward looking. A domestic affair, say, for the locals and by the locals.

Happening around the 17th of January, it is a very unassuming celebration: there is a parade where people bring their animals to church to get a blessing, there will be a small market called “porrat” with stalls selling, amongst other yummy things, delicious nuts, figs and confectionery based on those (which are also called “porrat”), and finally one or more bonfires will burn and light up the dark January night, spreading the aroma of pine wood all around the neighbourhood.

All good things!

14th January 202111th October 2021

Foraging, II: rock rose omelette

Update: I thought this was sage. It is actually rock rose (jara in Spanish). The leaves are very similar but when they’re in flower or have fruits they look different! The good news is this isn’t toxic as I’m still writing this myself!

Close up of small plants growing on the ground of the mountain

One of my favourite things to do when I visit my home town is to have a walk in the countryside.

It’s a great chance to observe the extremely rich flora, as there are hundreds of aromatic and medicinal herbs, and that’s not even counting the trees.

10th January 202110th January 2021

How I came to love lentils again

When I was about eight years old, one of my cousins started helping at home, which meant she’d pick us from school and cook lunch etc. One side of her family came from Castile where the winters are very cold and you have to eat substantial food, so she started introducing us to stout meat and potato stews and other new ingredients that I wasn’t familiar with, which was quite a change from the food I was used to eating.

At the beginning, I was fine with this situation—the food was generally OK and the novelty didn’t bother me excessively. Plus, having her around meant I got to stop being the oldest of the younger people in the household (and thus didn’t have to be The Role Model all the time). And I most definitely loved teasing her teenage vanity; I took a special interest in hiding her cigarettes so she couldn’t smoke 😏

21st November 202021st November 2020

Sourdough walnut bread

Baked walnut bread loaf, hot off the oven

We used to buy loaves of walnut bread from the Fabrique bakery nearby… and I say “we used to” because through trial and error I have developed a recipe which produces loaves that are even tastier than theirs. So we won’t buy this anymore!

Sorry, Fabrique! We still buy your cardamon buns (for now 😏).

12th November 202012th November 2020

Bocadillo de longaniza y tortilla francesa (sausage and omelette sandwich)

I made this practice mini loaf the other day as an experiment born out of an experiment: I had made a coca with a focaccia dough made with my beer starter (and a couple of cans of Camden Hells lager instead of water), and I had set some dough aside to practice shaping it into a baguette, as I don’t have lots of experience with that type of shaping.

Then I was gathering ingredients to make an omelette, when I noticed there were two sausages in the fridge, and that gave me an even better idea: