With Semana Santa just around the corner, bars in Sevilla sell up to three times their normal rate of any tapa without meat… whether customers are observing Lent or not. Of course anything with cod is a big hit now, but espinacas con garbanzos are popular all year round. Tender, healthy & packed with flavor, this is a great way to get some veggies into your bar diet. Let’s get cooking!
Read More »recipe: espinacas con garbanzos
And you thought gazpacho was the only way Spaniards found another use for day-old bread! Much of Spanish cooking is waste not-want not using simple, high quality ingredients. In fact, migas (literally “breadcrumbs”) uses only five common kitchen staples to make a classic dish. This particular recipe comes from a family of saffron harvesters in Castilla-La Mancha, so they add a pinch of their local spice. For this traditional shepherd’s dish, saffron wouldn’t normally be on hand but its addition makes this version even more tasty.
Read More »recipe: migas
At the risk of adding yet another cod recipe to this blog, I couldn’t let Holy Week pass without presenting another of my favorites from Portugal: bolinhos de bacalhau. This traditional petisco (snack or appetizer) is great with beer when you’re feeling peckish, at the beginning of a meal to ease an eager appetite, or several accompanied by a salad makes a meal. While traditionally fried, my version is baked but just as tasty… maybe that means you can indulge in an extra!
Read More »recipe: codfish cakes
A big bowl of lentil stew makes any winter day warm & cozy… delicious even while temps in Sevilla reach 23ºC in mid-February! Every Spaniard grows up with their family’s version of this classic dish, & Rafa finally let me have a go at making this crowdpleaser. Lots of spices along with onions, carrots & potatoes give fantastic flavor to a basic kitchen staple: the lentil. One taste & this may become your favorite stew, regardless of the season.
Read More »recipe: lentejas
Surprisingly versatile, bacalhau deserves its spotlight in Portuguese cuisine… although I’ve grown tired of the cliché that there are 365 salt cod recipes, one for each day of the year. Why be so trite about such an amazing & versatile ingredient? This cod recipe has a more dignified beginning than most: a royal crowdpleaser based on the French brandade de morue spread. A rich, creamy bechamel combined with the sweetness of onions & carrots tastes divine, so the dish lives up to its heavenly name.
Read More »recipe: bacalhau espiritual
One of the joys of traditional Spanish cooking is that nothing goes to waste. Soups, in particular, take basic leftovers & spruce them up with fresh ingredients. Gazpacho is the perfect summer example while sopa de ajo (garlic soup) adds warmth to the first cool days of autumn. Tasty & hearty, this filling soup is a perfect way to use extra bread & jamón we often have on hand at home.
Read More »recipe: sopa de ajo
After spending so much time cooking during quarantine, I’ve decided to post more recipes. Usually I’m on the road so I post about those experiences but this year has been, well, different. And every attempt to reproduce Spanish & Portuguese recipes gives me that much more insight into Iberian culture. Note: Every recipe I post works. I often try a few times to get flavors exactly how I like them. So consider these posts as a base to start exploring Iberian cooking… then you do you.
Read More »recipe: gazpacho
Classic recipes from any country have at least two things in common: an intensely debated origin & of course, several variations… everyone’s grandmother obviously makes the best! Since my grandmother was not Portuguese, I draw on 20 years of travel to & eating in Portugal to make their classic comfort food at home. I promise this won’t turn into a food blog, but I love to eat & cook so I wanted to share some of the dishes we regularly make.
Read More »recipe: bacalhau à bras
My second recipe! Again, it’s not my idea to turn Endless Mile into a food blog. But after Luis at Oleum Viride saw my description of how to make sopa hervia, he asked if I could publish a recipe for salmorejo. Another Spanish favorite to use leftovers, I just happen to have a fantastic recipe that I often make at home. Enjoy!
Read More »recipe: salmorejo
My first recipe! Don’t worry, there’s no danger of this becoming a food blog. Although I love to cook & eat, I can’t seem to focus on one particular topic… or even a single country 😉 Sopa hervida (pronounced in andalú without the “d”) translates literally as “boiled soup”, but in reality it is more like what we would call a stuffing in the USA. Spain has invented a number of ways to use leftover bread, & these “soups” are some of the most traditional recipes in every family.
Read More »recipe: sopa hervia