Spain

Tonight’s meal came from Spain. For this dinner we enjoyed a salad, a main, and a dessert. Though some of this meal needed to be started earlier in the day, it was one of the easier meals in my opinion.

Our salad, Zanahorias Aliñadas, was made by cooking carrots and letting the cool. We then added a dressing that was made by creating a paste of garlic, oregano, cumin, and paprika. I wasn’t sure how much of a paste it would make, but it seemed to work well. This paste was mixed in with the carrots before adding apple cider vinegar and water. This sat in the fridge for a few hours to marinate before dinner.

This dish was okay, though I think the carrots could have been cooked a little longer. If we made it again I would probably cut back on the garlic as it was strong and there’s no way I’d want to eat it at work! I’m not sure we’ll make it again, the kids really didn’t like it, and I don’t think I liked it enough to make just for the two of us. But it was different and that I liked.

https://spanishsabores.com/marinated-carrots-zanahorias-alinadas/

Our main was Tortillas Española a definite hit as it quickly disappeared. This was made by thinly slicing golden potatoes and cooking them in olive oil before adding white onions. This was then removed, the excess oil drained, and then placed back into the frying pan and covered in eggs. Cooked until it was golden brown on the bottom, we then flipped it over to cook the other side in our smaller pan. This didn’t work quite as smoothly as hoped, but it still worked. The larger pan is more difficult so for this one we opted to set it under the broiler instead.

The kids didn’t really eat it with the toppings, but I enjoyed the added mayonnaise, paprika, and parsley that was placed on top. The only thing the kids wished was different about this was that next time we add bacon. Sounds good to me!

Dessert was Crema Catalana, a tasty custard like dish. It actually really reminded me of the filling we had in the melkterts from South Africa, only in a bowl instead of a tart.

To make these at boiled cream with orange and lemon peel and a cinnamon stick. While this was cooking we beat egg yolks with icing sugar and added corn starch and water. Once the milk boiled we removed the peel and cinnamon, tempered the eggs, and then mixed it all together, cooking until thickened.

Once it was thick we placed it in ramekins and set it in the fridge to cool for a few hours. Before serving we sprinkled sugar on the top and then, as we don’t have a food blow torch, we put it under the broiler to harden the sugar. Finally, this was topped by a strawberry. As with the melkterts, these were quite enjoyed.

https://spanishsabores.com/homemade-spanish-crema-catalana-recipe/

Did you know that Spain does not have a Tooth Fairy? Instead they have a magical mouse named Ratoncito Perez who collects teeth and leaves gifts. Nudity is legal but driving in flip flops is not. Spaniards fight with tomatoes and over 150,000 tomatoes are thrown at the La Tomatina festival.

Spain endured a Civil War from 1936-39 where 500,000 people died. General Francisco Franco ruled until his death in 1975 when Spain finally became a modern, industrial, and democratic European nation. Their national anthem has no words.

Spain is home to the oldest still operating lighthouse in the world, the third oldest university in the world, and was the original proposed home for the Eiffel Tower.