This is how I feel about Spanish food (sorry)

[Jersey]

A pata negra de bellota will go for about 80€ per kg. Multiply this by the number ok kg in a leg, perhaps 7 or 8, and you can decide how much you like your friend.

And they don't feed only on bellota, only, if they are "de bellota", during their last two months of life.

Below is the ultimate sketch that explains the different ways iberico is clasified, based on the breed and feed. Remember this and you are all set. There was a similar table at the ham museum in Monesterio.

https://www.google.ca/search?client...2i10i30i19k1.bT_DPRR5sxw#imgrc=nm_XQTHTdHMNjM:

He's a very good friend. The price is borderline for my budget. Definitely a wedding present but you gave me a good idea. I will try and find a friend of his & it can be a present from both of us.

 

[Anemone del Camino]

He's a very good friend. The price is borderline for my budget. Definitely a wedding present but you gave me a good idea. I will try and find a friend of his & it can be a present from both of us.

So you are loking for the black lable. Easy to remember: like the black belt, the very top.

 

[Koidream]

Very true but no need to suffer unnecessarily

If you feel that eating a "non perfect" meal is suffering, then don't eat...
We'll talk eachother after a few days

 

[Peter Fransiscus]

Come over to Belgium and I'll take you to the best horse steak restaurant !

Is that the one in Mechelen or Vilvoorde, have been to both of them .

Wish you well,Peter.

 

[Johan van der Hoven]

We just finished the Primitivo. I'm a boring, fussy eater so my opinion will not count. My wife ate the nice foods but we often, for my sake, just pop into a supermarket and buy food to be prepared at the albergues and also snacks which we ate in park with drinks. And because I'm a big beer lover, I love the beers and especially the reasonable price in the supermarkets.)

 

[Glenn Rowe]

New Orleans barbecue shrimp anyone?

Roux is ubiquitous in Cajun/Creole cuisine -- gumbos, etouffes, etc. After we moved to SoCal I had to learn to make a good roux; it's quite tricky, and some good cooks - including my favorite aunt - just can't seem to do it.

It's been said that, when learning that their son is thinking of marriage, New Orleans mothers ask the same three questions: (1) Who's her momma, (2) Is she Catholic, and (3) Can she make a roux.

 

[KinkyOne]

I've heard almost the same story but in Portugal where brides must know how to prepare bacalao in 100 different ways

 

[SabsP]

Is that the one in Mechelen or Vilvoorde, have been to both of them .

Wish you well,Peter.

Vilvoorde. Will have to check the Mechelen one out.

 

[AbbyDee]

I used to know people who could get you a prime Canadian Haggis in New Jersey for January 25th.
BTW isn't Spam the national dish of Hawaii:-?

one may not call it the national dish, exactly, but it certainly is the state comfort food.

 

[Jersey]

If you feel that eating a "non perfect" meal is suffering, then don't eat...
We'll talk eachother after a few days

I did not say eating a non perfect meal was suffering.
I did say there is no need to suffer unnecessarily. There is a difference.
In other words if there is a better meal to be had not too far away and for not too much more money? Might as well have a go at it

 

[SabsP]

I did not say eating a non perfect meal was suffering.
I did say there is no need to suffer unnecessarily. There is a difference.
In other words if there is a better meal to be had not too far away and for not too much more money? Might as well have a go at it

Exactly..and like already is said...follow the locals!

 

[Jersey]

one may not call it the national dish, exactly, but it certainly is the state comfort food.

I thought haggis was a Scottish dish?
Not that it matters to me. I'm Scottish, English, German & both sides of the Irish

 

[AbbyDee]

I thought haggis was a Scottish dish?
Not that it matters to me. I'm Scottish, English, German & both sides of the Irish

This does stray off the subject of Spanish cuisine (somewhere along the line I am looking forward to trying Paella while I am there.... also churros...)
Haggis is a Scottish dish, made of several parts of a sheep (waste not, want not) that tend to make the unintiated rather queasy. It is also illegal in the USA. So are Kinder Eggs, but I digress.

Spam. however, with all its components of mystery meat, is quite legal and thus one of the great mysteries of out Time.

Each of our national cuisines have things that others find strange. Cod Cheeks, anyone?

 

[domigee]

This does stray off the subject of Spanish cuisine (somewhere along the line I am looking forward to trying Paella while I am there.... also churros...)
?

Hi AbbyDee, churros you may find.... Paellla, on the other hand.... I hope our Spanish members correct me if I'm wrong but...it isn't a dish that I have ever found on the Camino francés... I was once served a frozen seafood paella because the others wanted to try it but it doesn't do the dish justice. Bears no resemblance to the real thing. (Maybe I'm just fussy )
If you want to eat well, stick to the local dishes
Buen camino.

 

[Anemone del Camino]

Paellla, on the other hand.... I hope our Spanish members correct me if I'm wrong but...it isn't a dish that I have ever found on the Camino francés... .

Forum rumour has it that in Hontanas their seems to be some sort of informal paella competition, with many albergues serving it. It's not because a dish is more common in an area that it cannot be well prepared 300 or 500 km away.

 

[AbbyDee]

Hi AbbyDee, churros you may find.... Paellla, on the other hand.... I hope our Spanish members correct me if I'm wrong but...it isn't a dish that I have ever found on the Camino francés... I was once served a frozen seafood paella because the others wanted to try it but it doesn't do the dish justice. Bears no resemblance to the real thing. (Maybe I'm just fussy )
If you want to eat well, stick to the local dishes
Buen camino.

Who knows? I may find it.... or not There is always pulpo. and from the many books I have read, there seems to be a contingent of peregrinos who did their caminos powered by cafe con leche, chocolate croissants, bocadillos and Coke Zero (his main complaint was that if you needed ice for an injury, there was ice aplenty, but very miserly in your soft drinks) and one guy who scavenged his way along on the leftovers in the albergue kitchens. (he was on a very limited budget) And one (he was in Leon at the time) who waxed ecstatic over dipping his churro in chocolate.

I am sure whatever I find wherever will be an adventure!

 

[domigee]

Who knows? I may find it.... or not There is always pulpo. and from the many books I have read, there seems to be a contingent of peregrinos who did their caminos powered by cafe con leche, chocolate croissants, bocadillos and Coke Zero (his main complaint was that if you needed ice for an injury, there was ice aplenty, but very miserly in your soft drinks) and one guy who scavenged his way along on the leftovers in the albergue kitchens. (he was on a very limited budget) And one (he was in Leon at the time) who waxed ecstatic over dipping his churro in chocolate.

I am sure whatever I find wherever will be an adventure!

Chocolate con churros is indeed something else!
My husband on the Camino thrives on cafe con leche, napolitanas and....cerveza (grande, of course)
I'm just boring and love cafe solo and bocadillo de tortilla de patatas.

Buen provecho and...buen camino!

 

[KinkyOne]

Hi AbbyDee, churros you may find.... Paellla, on the other hand.... I hope our Spanish members correct me if I'm wrong but...it isn't a dish that I have ever found on the Camino francés... I was once served a frozen seafood paella because the others wanted to try it but it doesn't do the dish justice. Bears no resemblance to the real thing. (Maybe I'm just fussy )
If you want to eat well, stick to the local dishes
Buen camino.

I've heard that paella originally comes from Valencia region. Again, Spanish members, please explain/correct.

But I can swear that the best seafood for me (pulpo as first choice of course) was in Galicia.

 

[JabbaPapa]

In my opinion prosciutto di parma is slightly better than Jamon Serrano but the best is Jamon iberico by far.
Iberico ham is also expensive in Spain.
Serrano is the best value for the money.

All excellent, though personally my favourite is a good Parisian cooked ham, except that most sadly it's near impossible to find even in France, whereas the "mostly OK", and average or poor quality variants are everywhere ; so that even for the French, either an Italian, Spanish, or French raw or smoked ham will be the best available. Freshly-cooked ham is even harder to find !!

But a good Parisian cooked ham served simply with some young boiled potatoes sprinkled with a little black pepper and olive oil, perhaps salt to taste, yummy !

---

I've lost weight on every Camino, sometimes a great deal of it ; but not on the Way to Rome, where despite the 25 to 65 K hiking days, I gained about 5 kilos, as the food really is just that amazing, and they provide it so generously too ...

---

I've only rarely had a pilgrim menu or menu del dia or single course meal with vino tinto or whatever to dislike on the Camino -- I like a good pilgrim menu, perhaps because food on the Way most days consists of a little bread plus a variety of fillings + fruit and veg, from what's available and what I feel like, so the menu del peregrino seems like an enjoyable change rather than the same old day after day as I've heard some describe it.

The "bread plus" diet is BTW hands down superior in France to either Spain or Italy -- the French sausages and cheeses and hams and pâtés and terrines and etc etc are simply amazing once you've worked out how to choose between them for both daily variety and local variations, and although the Spanish and especially Italian veg and fruit tends to be better when you buy locally, the French aren't bad with theirs either. The Italian version of the "bread plus" diet anyway is simply called a pizza.

 

[JabbaPapa]

HORSE meat? My ancestors relished it, second only to buffalo. I'm a bit surprised that it can be found on modern menus.

When it's tender it can be great, but quite frequently it can be way too tough.

I've eaten it in school lunch in both Catalonia and France.

 

[JabbaPapa]

Paellla, on the other hand.... I hope our Spanish members correct me if I'm wrong but...it isn't a dish that I have ever found on the Camino francés... I was once served a frozen seafood paella because the others wanted to try it but it doesn't do the dish justice. Bears no resemblance to the real thing. (Maybe I'm just fussy )

Not too fussy no --- if you keep your eyes peeled, you can occasionally find freshly made paella all along the Camino from Menton on the Italian border and most of the way to Santiago -- though I'm really not sure I'd look for any in Galicia. Closer to Italy it might be a bit dodgy, though certainly not as bad as the frozen version ; but it steadily improves in quality, I've found, as you head towards Spain, even if it's been prepared in a supermarket or a local food market stall. These sorts of "paella specials" exist in Spain too along the Camino, though you should never count on them being there, but in Spain it would be wiser to seek one of the few genuine paella joints on the Camino that I've heard about, but never visited. My advice anyway would be to never order a paella unless you can see beforehand that it's really on the menu, and not sitting in a freezer. Avoid it completely outside Spain and the South of France.

 

[David]

What concerns me about ordering Paella on the Camino is that it appears at your table within fifteen minutes - so, yes, must be frozen pre-prepared I guess.

 

[JabbaPapa]

What concerns me about ordering Paella on the Camino is that it appears at your table within fifteen minutes - so, yes, must be frozen pre-prepared I guess.

If it doesn't appear almost instantly (because they sell a lot of it and have prepared it just before opening time), or if they don't politely warn you you'll need to wait for it, that's the strongest sign it's not freshly made.

I do tend never to order paella unless I can see with my own eyes that it's fresh.

 

[Carlos Santiago]

Niiice! I have been waiting for Paella talk.

 

[domigee]

If it doesn't appear almost instantly (because they sell a lot of it and have prepared it just before opening time), or if they don't politely warn you you'll need to wait for it, that's the strongest sign it's not freshly made.

I do tend never to order paella unless I can see with my own eyes that it's fresh.

For those of you who start from Valencia, then YESSS, go for paella But there are also so many other good dishes in Valencia... Fish stew, fish soup... They're just annoying as their cooking is pretty good!
I also had fantastic sea food (fish and shellfish I had never even heard of) in Santander, I guess the Camino del Norte must be pretty special food-wise
I know I go on (but then I'm French ), go with the local specialities wherever you are. It is always exquisite (if to your taste!)
Don't do like the French do and order steak and chips and then complain it isn't as good as in France!

Buen camino to all and... Buen provecho! Bon appétit !

 

[Anemone del Camino]

I've heard that paella originally comes from Valencia region. Again, Spanish members, please explain/correct.

Sushi comes from Japan, but I can still get excellent sushi at home , and I hear Morimoto does a pretty good job with his Japanese cuisine in the US. That is what recipes are for. Whether from Valencia or not, people follow recipes, and use the same ingredients.

 

[Jersey]

I've heard that paella originally comes from Valencia region. Again, Spanish members, please explain/correct.

But I can swear that the best seafood for me (pulpo as first choice of course) was in Galicia.

Last year in Madrid my friend made what he told me was authentic Valencian paella. Chicken & rabbit. His girlfriend from Valencia helped him make it. Not sure what else went into the dish (I was out for a walk when they put it together )
I do know he was a little upset by what Jamie Oliver considers Paella while another friend up in La Coruna could care less.
They have both told me generally speaking the best seafood is up in Galicia. The best overall food in San Sebastian.

 

[JabbaPapa]

Maybe it's just the wine talking, but I can't help but like the cuisine of La Rioja.

 

[KinkyOne]

Last year in Madrid my friend made what he told me was authentic Valencian paella. Chicken & rabbit. His girlfriend from Valencia helped him make it. Not sure what else went into the dish (I was out for a walk when they put it together )
I do know he was a little upset by what Jamie Oliver considers Paella while another friend up in La Coruna could care less.
They have both told me generally speaking the best seafood is up in Galicia. The best overall food in San Sebastian.

When I ate it paella de Valencia contained also seafood and chorizo. I googled and found this recipee:
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/paella-valencia
which confirms that. But as we say here not every village and every house in the village prepare food the same way. That makes cuisine diverse and interesting.

 

[Jersey]

When I ate it paella de Valencia contained also seafood and chorizo. I googled and found this recipee:
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/paella-valencia
which confirms that. But as we say here not every village and every house in the village prepare food the same way. That makes cuisine diverse and interesting.[/QUOTE

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...o-brings-fractured-spain-together-against-him

 

[KinkyOne]

Hahahaha, "rice and stuff"

 

[JabbaPapa]

When I ate it paella de Valencia contained also seafood and chorizo. I googled and found this recipee:
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/paella-valencia
which confirms that. But as we say here not every village and every house in the village prepare food the same way. That makes cuisine diverse and interesting.

My mum used to make a simple chicken, spring onion, and white mushrooms paella for lunch on school days in Catalonia -- never had anything quite like it since (it was a local recipe from the grocer's wife), and likely never will

 

[Pingüigrino]

Generally, I'll eat almost anything that doesn't eat me first. To my sorrow, however, I discovered that my system cannot tolerate Jamón, either Serrano or Iberico. Because they're dry-cured and not cooked, they're just too oily.

I agree; be they in Barcelona, Seville, Ronda, Granada, Cordoba, Toledo or wherever, tapas are marvelous.

Hey there, hearing about Ronda, my place of birth, in this site make me smile, due it´s far from the Caminos.
I agree, tapas are marvelous. But, I think you dind´t try a good jamon. A good iberico is not oily.
Buen Camino and ¡Buen apetito!

 

[kdespot]

Hello, moderators? Can we find an XXX rating for vegetarians for threads like this? ¡Dios mío! The things you folks eat! Brings the topic full circle for me, a lover of Spain and the Camino, but NOT of its food!

 

[nycwalking]

In Ponferrada while volunteering my Spanish cohort cooked the best meals, especially his Paella. In Rabanal male co-warden prepared excellent salad dressing. And, in a teeny town just beyond Fromista two Spanish peregrinos prepared dinner, in our albergue, and insisted I join them. In a resturant in Cizur Menor, I had mouth watering cheesecake courtesy of three priests. When, I think on it many of my meals and foodstuffs on pilgrimage were either cooked or supplied by men. Um. Now, that some years have past and my lithe physique has been replaced by a steroid-induced Rubenesque one, I wonder if my spoiled times of yore are now truly a thing of the past. Even if that becomes that case next time out, I will eat well, and munch on as much Manchego cheese as Santiago allows.

 

[Carlos Santiago]

When I ate it paella de Valencia contained also seafood and chorizo.
But as we say here not every village and every house in the village prepare food the same way. That makes cuisine diverse and interesting.

Yes, the Umami from seafood (especially shellfish) give it character. Aside from Rice and Saffron, clams or mussels preferably both are also default for my paella; then the "stuff" - squid, chicken, crabs, Chorizo Bilbao, fish, shrimp, etc.; whatever is available. Titled paella like Paella Mariscos or Paella Negra or Paella Valenciana are best eaten in Spain to ensure authenticity.

... authentic Valencian paella. Chicken & rabbit. His girlfriend from Valencia helped him make it.

I ate fried rabbit (like fried chicken) only once, near Valencia - with a pitcher of iced Sangria - in 1979 (Madrededios, so previous lifetime).

 

[Glenn Rowe]

Hey there, hearing about Ronda, my place of birth, in this site make me smile, due it´s far from the Caminos.
I agree, tapas are marvelous. But, I think you dind´t try a good jamon. A good iberico is not oily.
Buen Camino and ¡Buen apetito!

Yep, we were touring southern Spain on our own. We arrived in Ronda (after getting seriously lost in the hill country) from Seville and continued southward from there to the coast.

We're going back one of these days, hopefully sooner rather than later. About the jamon: after two bad experiences in a row I'll not be trying it again. I may talk slow, my friend, but I don't think slow.

 

[Icacos]

Yep, we were touring southern Spain on our own. We arrived in Ronda (after getting seriously lost in the hill country) from Seville and continued southward from there to the coast.

We're going back one of these days, hopefully sooner rather than later. About the jamon: after two bad experiences in a row I'll not be trying it again. I may talk slow, my friend, but I don't think slow.

I don't see slow!

 

[Carlos Santiago]

I found this on Matador network. (https://matadornetwork.com/read/gui...ail&utm_term=0_c4e20459d5-38d779819f-77978945)


https://d36tnp772eyphs.cloudfront.net/blogs/1/2017/07/Spain-On-The-Map.jpg

 

[Glenn Rowe]

When I ate it paella de Valencia contained also seafood and chorizo. I googled and found this recipee:
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/paella-valencia
which confirms that. But as we say here not every village and every house in the village prepare food the same way. That makes cuisine diverse and interesting.

Paella even made it to the New World. Its living descendant is found today, along the Gulf Coast.

Anybody ever heard of jambalaya? It's essentially paella, modified with Cajun and Caribbean flavors/ingredients. Like paella, jambalaya is more a style of cooking than a specific dish; one includes what one has on hand.

 

[Anemone del Camino]

Just watch some fish cooking tv show. Paella made with hallibutmona bed on Italian rice, cilantro and habanero....

Purists ... nah, I don't feel sorry... as long as one knows what the original is, and the derivatives Not unlike walking around with a tourist shell on...

 

[Jersey]

Just watch some fish cooking tv show. Paella made with hallibutmona bed on Italian rice, cilantro and habanero....

Purists ... nah, I don't feel sorry... as long as one knows what the original is, and the derivatives Not unlike walking around with a tourist shell on...

What is hallibutmona?
Italian rice? risotto?

 

[Anemone del Camino]

What is hallibutmona?
Italian rice? risotto?

Halibut on a bed of Italian rice, with cilantro and habanero.

 

[Jersey]

Just watch some fish cooking tv show. Paella made with hallibutmona bed on Italian rice, cilantro and habanero....

Purists ... nah, I don't feel sorry... as long as one knows what the original is, and the derivatives Not unlike walking around with a tourist shell on...

Cajun food along with barbecue is pretty much the closest thing we have to true American cuisine.

 

[Jersey]

Halibut on a bed of Italian rice, with cilantro and habanero.

Halibut on a bed of lemon risotto with cilantro & habanero actually sounds pretty good

 

[Carlos Santiago]

Paella even made it to the New World. Its living descendant is found today, along the Gulf Coast.

... and the Far East too. "Valenciana" or "Arroz Valenciana" our local version of Paella Valenciana is a special-occasion dish served in Panay Island (4 provinces), Philippines. Although I grew up there accepting it as local food, I wonder why it cannot be found as local food in other islands as well.

Instead of the short grain non-sticky variety of rice that absorbs a lot of water, local sticky rice is used. What we get is a lump of yellow sticky rice embedded with "stuff"- the usual chicken, pork, liver, etc. cooked in an oversized wok. Instead of Saffron, Annato (Achiote-Spanish or Atsuete-Pilipino) is used. The result is a dish that needs "ten centavos more" to taste like Paella Valenciana. It's almost there.

I learned that Latin American Paella uses Achiote. Our Atsuete must have come from there since the Philippines was ruled by Spain via the Viceroy of Mexico for 3 centuries.

... paella... is more a style of cooking than a specific dish;

Agree!

 

[TerryB]

Hello, moderators? Can we find an XXX rating for vegetarians for threads like this? ¡Dios mío! The things you folks eat! Brings the topic full circle for me, a lover of Spain and the Camino, but NOT of its food!

In most places along the Camino Frances, you will need to get a short way off the route to find good Spanish food. For example in Ponferrada a short walk over the bridge there is a super little restaurant (Meson Luisi) where the tables are taken up by locals! Not a pilgrim in sight. The food is excellent - you would probably find something to suit even if you are vegetarian!

Buen Provecho!
Tio Tel

 

[Glenn Rowe]

Anybody ever heard of jambalaya? It's essentially paella, modified with Cajun and Caribbean flavors/ingredients. Like paella, jambalaya is more a style of cooking than a specific dish; one includes what one has on hand.

From the more-than-you-ever-wanted-to-know department:

My own jambalaya recipe sautés onion, bell pepper and celery -- commonly called the trinity along the Gulf Coast -- with ham cubes and just a touch of cayenne pepper, thyme and coriander, and some black pepper and salt, in some type of oil. (I prefer peanut oil because of its higher smoke-point.) We add garlic to the pot shortly before dumping in the liquid and long-grain white rice -- don't want it to burn.

If we're using chicken, we sauté it beforehand until it turns white. We remove it from the pot, then dump it back in when we add the rice. Don't want to overcook it, you see.

We wait until the rice is nearly done before adding the tomatoes, seafood and sausage. (Jambalaya always contains some type of sausage.) Then, just before taking the pot off the heat, I typically stir in a can of fully-drained corn. This is a personal touch; most folks don't do it.

Then I serve it with southern-style buttermilk cornbread. ("Southern-style" means that it contains absolutely no sugar; sugar makes it taste like cake, AND causes it to fall apart if you even look at it the wrong way.) Yum-yum!

 

[Glenn Rowe]

It will be my honour to guide you around.

And as ever : eternal gratitude for what the generation of your dad did for all of us.

Thank you, from the son of a half-blood Mississippi country boy.

Here's "the rest of the story" as the late Paul Harvey would have said:

My father didn't enlist out of patriotic fervor, but out of necessity. He enlisted shortly after his 21st birthday in 1939, simply because he needed a job. The state of Mississippi was still in the grasp of the Great Depression, and Uncle Sam was just about the only organization that was hiring.

He had been in the Field Artillery for nearly two years before the War began. So, when the Army needed a training cadre to help create another artillery unit, he was one of the first in line. The rest, as they say, is history.

 

[SabsP]

Here's "the rest of the story" as the late Paul Harvey would have said:

My father didn't enlist out of patriotic fervor, but out of necessity. He enlisted in 1939, shortly after his 21st birthday, simply because he needed a job. In 1939 the state of Mississippi was still in the grasp of the Great Depression, and Uncle Sam was just about the only organization that was hiring.

Can't 'like ' your post. A sad but poignant example of life and history....

 

[Bardow]

It depends where you eat. I know that after a splendid menu del dia (mid afternoon ) ., definitely no room for dinner. I always return home without weight loss !! I wonder why?
It's certainly great value., you must admit.
Annie

I love the spanish food. It is ver y ver y good ! I love the coffe, the Bread, the Caña (beer), the wine (Albariño) and the pulpo !!!

 

[Patrice Reed]

Food on the camino did its job and I was so hungry that I appreciated each and every meal. But after a few weeks I was craved vegtables and a plain piece of meat. I lost 18 pounds abd dropped two sizes in clothing, but gained on size in shoes.