August 24, 2011

Eating Spanish in Delhi


While I may have indulged in a glass (or three) of Spanish wine at the Instituto Cervantes, I confess that on my recent trip to Delhi, I didn't eat any Spanish food at all. I mean, why would I? The food in India was amazing: succulent wood-roasted tandoori chicken, dahl, korma, tikka masala, etc. And after all, I only had a week to taste it all. But if I could do it all over again, I would take the time to try the food at Chef Saby's incredible restaurant, the Olive Bar and Kitchen, which I unfortunately only heard about on my last day in the city. In any case, I couldn't help writing about this culinary gem and some of the other Spanish gastronomy that is making its way to Delhi.

Read more in "India Savors Spain" on www.foodsfromspain.com

August 4, 2011

Bluefish Revisited


Last night I finally fulfilled a request made a couple of years ago by my dear friend Pepe, the ex-waiter from my ex-restaurant, to reprise his favorite dishes from Bluefish: Plato Beirut, Roasted garlic with brie and Apple pie with vanilla ice cream.

I have to admit that the cooking part was pretty fun. Considering how big my own kitchen is, I almost felt like i was back at Bluefish. I knocked off the prep work for these three dishes in about an hour - one hand making the apple crumble, while the other boiled water, drizzled olive oil, peeled garlic and diced parsley. It was as automatic and speedy as it used to be and the ingredients flowed into each dish without a moments doubt. At the same time, I realized that despite how much time has gone by, I still don't particularly feel like eating any of these things. So, in order to spice up the routine a bit I decided to pickle some carrot sticks using an easy recipe from Gourmet.


They were delicious: crunchy, slightly spicy from the garlic, dill and pink peppercorns that I added on a whim. Truly, the photo doesn't do them justice.

The whole thing was pulled together by a limonada or white sangria that I made with white wine, lemon fanta, fizzy water, lemon juice, peaches, pineapple and cherries and a splash of cherry liquor that I bought during a recent trip to Valle del Jerte in Extremadura. I should point out that, here in Spain, people really NEVER drink sangria. It is strictly tourist fare. However, this was a delicious and satisfying beverage anomaly meant to deal with a particularly hot day and alcohol-infused week - but it was delicious!
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