I have a vague obsession with Spanish cooking projects. Note: This does not mean I am obsessed with cooking. I cook things once, just to prove I can. Then, I go back to eating take-out falafel oven-roasted vegetables for dinner until I feel “inspired to do something more complicated”. In my kitchen, complicated equates with “using more than one pan”.
Over the weekend I achieved a milestone of la cucina española: my first batch of Spanish croquetas. Croquetas, or olive-oil-soaked fried dough, are a famous sort of Spanish tapas/bar food. See the photo from hogarmania.com for a visual, except you should imagine little vegetables where the jamon is. (Note-this may be hard for Spanish people).
The croquetas were at the end of my list.
Other items have included:
1. Spanish tortilla
2. Paella
3. Gazpacho
4. “Spanish Baked Brie” (Slices of cheese melted into empanada dough)
I consider my cooking a cultural experience
Mostly, because I subject my poor, unsuspecting Spanish friends to both the process and the outcome, usually with very little warning. For example, once while I was making Spanish tortilla a basic stranger who I had never spoken to before delightful friend-of-a-friend walked through the door. I made him dar la vuelta a la tortilla (a Spanish expression for flipping a hot, heavy pan full of approximately 6 pounds of potatoes and semi-raw eggs onto a slippery plate) before he had even taken off his coat. Culture!
In making the croquetas, I practiced Spanish with a wonderful friend for hours–and learned the Spanish word ahumada can double as a polite way of saying “burned”. I’m fulfilled and proud to report I turned on both the oven and the stove since the weekend feel inspired to try new things. Though for my next Spanish cooking project, I may have to branch out into the dessert world. I think I am at the end of vegetarian-options list for main courses. Chuleton de tofu? Probably not going to work…
Thanks to Gaelle Marcel for the cover photo.