The Bitten Word

The Best Things We Ate in Spain -- Part II

We continue eating our way through the Iberian peninsula. You can read Part I here. ¡Vamos!

 

 

Salmorejo

We fell in love with Seville the moment we arrived. We had loved Barcelona and San Sebastian -- and would go back to both in a heartbeat -- but we also really enjoyed the feeling of Sevilla. With its sunny plazas, bright stucco buildings, orange trees, festive tiles and Moorish ironwork, Sevilla was filled with a languid, sleepy beauty.

A signature dish of this part of Spain, the area called Andalucia, is a cold soup called salmorejo. It's like a gazpacho but with bread blended in, so it's thick and hearty but still refreshing on a hot afternoon. It's usually topped with a swirl of olive oil and some shredded ham; sometimes there's hard-boiled egg as well. (You might recall that our first-ever Cover to Cover Challenge included a recipe for salmorejo, from Team Saveur.)

We really enjoyed the classic salmorejo we had in Seville. We also had an avant-garde version at one restaurant, which was bright green and blended with apples, arugula and black olives. The less said about that one, the better.  

 

 

The Best Things We Ate in Spain -- Part I

"What's the best thing you ate??"

That's the one question we get more than any other when we return home from a trip. 

Answering that question is always hard. But after our recent trip to Spain, it was downright impossible. We ate constantly over the 10 days we were in Barcelona, San Sebastian, Seville and Granada. We were always roving: We didn't eat three meals a day; we ate a dozen. And on the occasions we did sit down for a proper meal, it was frequently tapas-style or a tasting menu, meaning a dizzying array of bites, morsels and small plates.

Spain was our buffet, and -- believe us -- it was definitely all-you-can-eat.

Food in Spain is less of a sit-down event than an ever-present hum in the background. There is always food. You are always eating. And it is glorious. Lunch might be four or five plates of food. Dinner might be 10 plates at five different tapas bars. (And yes, dinnertime is 10:30 or 11. We saw families with small kids sitting down to dinner at midnight. We absolutely loved it!)

But out of that complete barrage of food -- that culinary blitz -- we wanted to share some of our favorites with you.

Some of these are specific dishes; others are more about the overall experience. But each of them was truly special -- and delicious.

So settle in, Bittens, and tie on a bib. This post is going to be epic.

 

Arugula Salad with Dried Cherries and Pistachios

Fine Cooking (April/May 2015)

We're gonna go out on a limb and say that spring is the best time of year for salads. We know: BOLD.

Seriously, though, we can't get enough. After a long winter, even the simplest greens with the plainest dressing somehow taste amazing. And with fresh greens at the farmers market, in our CSA (which just started up again last week) and our own backyard garden (which we need to talk to you about soon!), it's high salad season.

This one from Fine Cooking is especially good, thanks to a few unexpected elements. 

Chocolate Double-Nut Butter

Food & Wine (May 2015)

 

As a rule, we have a ban on peanut butter in our house. 

 

No, we're not allergic. And no, we're not in the middle of a feud with Mr. Peanut. 

 

The real reason is this: We are absolute peanut butter addicts, and can go through an entire jar in a day. Give us some alone time with our DVR, a fresh jar of peanut butter, two spoons, and a few hours, and you can kiss that PB goodbye. 

 

So it was not a light decision on our part to make Zak Stern's Chocolate Double-Nut Butter from the May Food & Wine. 

 

And therein lies the problem with making a delicious Chocolate Double-Nut Butter: You then have an amazing treat in your house, and it's the only thing you want to eat. 

 

 

Snap Pea Salad with Coconut Gremolata

Bon Appétit (May 2015) 

We are suckers for a crazy salad. We still think about that wacky Kohlrabi, Fennel and Blueberry Salad we made a few years ago. And we loved the Fattoush Salad we tried last summer.

Does this Snap Pea Salad count as "crazy"? Well, it's the only salad we've ever made with shaved coconut. And anything with pea shoots, lime, chives and fish sauce is at least slightly crazier than your standard iceberg-lettuce-and-tomato-with-vinaigrette.

As it turned out, though, this salad wasn't crazy enough.

Miso-Glazed Mahi Mahi with Macadamia Nut & Sake Cream Sauce

Aloha!

We may be just back from Spain, but before we dive into all of our Iberian food adventures, we first want to take you someplace else: Hawaii.

We mentioned last month that we took a Hawaiian fish-cooking class this winter, thanks to a gift certificate we had received as a Christmas gift. We never had aspirations to learn Hawaiian dishes, but when we went on the cooking school's website to choose a course, the one sort of jumped out to us. Four fishes dishes, prepared in traditional Hawaiian ways? Why not! So we took the class, loved the food, and then promptly tucked away the recipes with great intentions of later making them at home. But then we got all busy, and then we went away, and our Hawaiian aspirations got put on hold.

Once we got back home this past week, we were eager to see friends, so we invited Drew and Ralph over for dinner to catch up. It was a perfect spring evening -- cool and breezy -- and we planned to have dinner in the back yard.

It seemed like just the right occasion to try out our favorite dish from our Hawaiian cooking class: Miso-Glazed Mahi Mahi with a Macadamia Nut & Sake Cream Sauce.

 

Back from Spain (and Full of Ham)

 

We've just returned from Spain, full of ham, wine, vermouth and tales of Michelin stars. We need a few days to get ourselves together, download some photos and get back into our own kitchen.

Expect new recipes and blog posts very soon! Plus a good dose of Spain tossed in. 

In the meantime, you can get a little preview of our trip over on Instagram (we're @thebittenword). 

Now we're off to sort through photos and make ourselves a (much needed) green salad. 

xoxo--
Zach & Clay