Hi, foodies! This post marks the first of hopefully many recaps of the special dishes eaten along this journey. Read on to see what I’ve been lucky enough to savor during my first week in Barcelona.
A Homemade Dish
The family I’m staying with has a housekeeper. She’s very nice, a little shy, but I think she’s starting to warm up to me. We’ve bonded by watching a Spanish dating show (think The Bachelor and The Bachelorette as one show).
On Wednesday, she made a traditional Spanish dish: La tortilla Española con papa (pictured above). No, not like a Mexican flour or corn tortilla, you Texas readers. This is made with eggs, white onions, and potatoes (she added in green peppers). It’s fairly simple to make. You cook the chopped vegetables in oil, let it simmer and add it to a bowl with three beaten eggs. Mix it all together and add it to a pan to cook on medium heat for about five minutes. After you check to see if it’s cooked, flip it onto a plate and slide it back into the pan to let the other side cook.
-If that didn’t make sense, YouTube a tutorial that will be far better than whatever I just said.
Tapas, Tapas, Everywhere
On Sunday, I went into the busy city of Barcelona. I planned to take a tour at 11 and see La Sagrada Familia at 2:45. Those were the times I had booked the night before. Unfortunately, I misunderstood the bus schedule and was late for the tour. Fortunately, it was free (more on that when I actually make it to one), so I didn’t lose any money on it. I was bummed at first but quickly realized this meant I would have time to find some tapas. There are many places to eat tapas, obviously. I checked the reviews on Trip Advisor, and decided to go with Tapa Tapa. It didn’t seem too expensive, had good reviews, and wasn’t too far away from where the bus had dropped me off.
Tapa, Tapa –
I really wanted to get authentic paella. However, the waiter, underestimating my eating abilities, said it was a big portion for one person. I acknowledged his suggestion. But instead of picking a smaller dish, I picked three tapas using research purposes as an excuse to devour everything presented. Another waitress brought out the patatas bravas (angry potatoes), croquetas, and buñuelos de bacalao (cod). She assumed it was for the party of two next to me. No, no. No, ma’am. All for me. I ate everything.
The potatoes were crispy and thick cut, with a red and white sauce squirted on top. I’ve had these in the States, where the red sauce was too spicy for my liking. However, this sauce had the right amount of kick and the white sauce cooled your taste buds down for a nice balance. The pork croquetas and cod buñuelos were tasty and crispy. But compared to the potatoes, they were just all right. I didn’t order anything to drink but if I had, I probably would’ve gone with the guayaba sangria the ladies next to me were sipping on. I asked and they say it was tasty but the guayaba was special to the bar not to Spain from what they knew. I made a mental note to order sangria next time and learn more about traditional drankz…I mean drinks.