…falls mainly in Madrid! It hasn’t stopped raining for 12 hours. The weather reminded me of an article I wrote for a competition a few years ago, when I lived in Lavapies, which still holds very true today. Here it is, for anyone with two minutes to spare:
If only it rained a bit more in Madrid. For a start, I wouldn’t get into trouble for leaving the tap running whilst I brush my teeth. I try to explain to my Madrileña wife that it’s just a bad habit picked up in my English youth. When later she came to England she understood: with so much rain, we rarely face a water shortage.
It doesn’t rain too often in Madrid, yet how the city could do with it! If only it rained a little more, the streets wouldn’t be so apt to smell of dog shit. In a city of gardenless dog-fanatics, this tends to be a problem. The council employs men, on scooters with giant rear-mounted hoovers, to suck up the offending articles from the pavements. One day I expect a hoover bag to explode, causing a minor environmental incident.
Many of you will know Alan (AKA ‘El listo’) and Brian (AKA ‘Greytop’), from the forums, and here they are in reality! Brian talks about the good life in Pego, on the Costa Blanca, whilst Alan tells us how to turn up in Valencia with not much idea what to do, and end up having the month of your life…
A nice blog from Mark, a friend of mine who turned up in Roncevalles and had a wonderful time walking 5 days of the Camino de Santiago. One day I’ll do it, one day…
Today is ‘Armed Forces Day’ in Spain, with a big military parade and fly-by here in Madrid. Marina and I were standing on our terrace watching the fighter jets zoom by on their way to the King and other assembled dignitaries in the Castellana, when I felt a strange sensation, a stirring of emotion… it took me a few seconds to realise what this was: pride! An unprovoked feeling of pride at seeing the Spanish planes flying overhead! This is getting worrying…
Right, we are off to the beach to make some more podcasts. We’re taking all your great feedback with us, to think about what lies ahead for NFS. Worry not though, nothing much will change, just more content, more podcasts, more videos and, hopefully, more great involvement from you lot!
Roast lamb and a lo pobre potatoes … You don’t get more Castillian than this! Although you can find cordero asado cooked in a similar way throughout Spain, the best is found around Segovia, Valladolid, and other parts of the Castilla-Leon area, where you still see shepherds wandering through the hills with their flocks. Another reason not to miss this dish in these areas is that it is usually cooked in a wood-fired oven (horno de leña), bringing even more flavour to the dish.
Cordero Asado
Ingredients
2 Kg (4 pounds) of good organic lamb (we used leg here)
6 to 8 garlic cloves
3 tsp of thyme
6 bay leaves
2 tsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil
Preparation
The secret of the success of this recipe is to get very good quality meat, organic if possible, and then cook it very slowly in the oven.
Preheat the oven for 30 minutes at 200ºC/390ºF. When the oven is ready, make three or frour cuts in the meat (look at the picture above) and insert an unpeeled garlic clove and a bay leaf into each of them. Then rub the lamb with the rock salt, thyme and the olive oil before sticking it in the oven. After 5 minutes pour a glass of water over the meat. Keep it at this temperature for 5 more minutes and then turn the oven down to a slower setting, about 160ºC/320ºF. Leave it at this temperature for at least 1h and 30 minutes. After this time check with a fork or a knife that the meat is cooked in the middle – if it still seems a little red, leave it for a while longer.
Tip 1
Note that I’ve used leg this time but it would be fine to use shoulder.
Tip 2
If you are Spain it is fine to buy leg or shoulder of either Lechal or Recental lamb, as explained in the podcast. If you ask the butcher to prepare it for roasting he will make two or three cuts down to the middle of the bone, so the meat cooks better in the middle. Note that if the meat has no cuts, or the piece is heavier, cooking times will be longer.
Patatas a lo Pobre
Ingredients
5 Medium Potatos
3 Onions
2 Green peppers
8 garlic cloves
2 tsp salt
15 tbsp olive oil
1 dessert spoon of vinager
Preparation
Start by peeling the potatos and the onions, slice them thinly width-wise and place them into a bowl. Roughly chop up the green peppers, carefully removing all the seeds, and place them in the bowl together with the potatoes and the onion. Add the salt slowly while you gently mix the potato and these other ingredients with your hands.
Now select a large, and preferably deep, frying pan. Note that a wok will do the task very well. If you don’t have a large frying pan you might need to cook this dish using two frying pans. Pour all the oil into the frying pan and allow it to get hot. When it starts to smoke add the potatoes, onions, peppers and the bay leaves. During the whole cooking process you need to stir the mixture with a wooden spoon regularly (every minute) so it does not stick to the bottom. Note that some of the potatoes will break into smaller pieces – this really does not matter as this dish is more about taste. Keep cooking at a high setting for about 10 minutes, and then turn the hob to a medium setting and add the garlic, which has been previously peeled and thinly sliced.
After 20 more minutes try one potato to check if it is cooked. If so, turn off the hob and remove the excess oil using a colander. Put the mixture back into the frying pan and add the vinager while stiring the mixture for a few seconds.
Tip 1
Serve this as a side dish for any roast meat
Tip 2
This recipe requires large quantities of oil. If olive oil is difficult or expensive to get in your area you can easyly substitute it for sunflower oil, or any vegetable oil available in your area.
Now this strikes me as one of the easier world records to beat. Aranda del Duero town council puts out an advert telling people that they get to taste some free wine, vote on it, and at the same time beat another world record. Now the Spanish love the whole Guinness Book of World Records concept (it was a popular TV show a couple of years ago, smashing great records like ‘fastest indoor soccer penalty’) and they love wine, so, how many people do you think they got to turn up?
The answer’s in the first comment below, and the winning wine was Abadia-Retuerta, in case you’re wondering!
Cheek to cheek – two kisses, gently placed on either side. Go left (right cheeks meet) – muac – go right (left cheeks meet) – muac! This is the standard greeting for the Spanish, at least when male greets female, or female greets female.
Or so I thought! In one branch of Marina’s family the men also go for the dos besos shuffle when you walk though the door, and up until recently I’d managed to escape by shoving my hand out in a most British fashion. At this weekend’s family gathering, however, having 2 kissed Marina’s cousin, I turned, palm outstretched, to her boyfriend. ‘Ah, come on,’ he said, ‘give me two kisses!’ Stubbly right cheeks meet – muac – stubbly left cheeks – muac!
Like it or not, I’m getting more Spanish – or less British – all the time!
Notes from Spain by Ben Curtis 