Berlin to Morocco via Poland, Prague, Austria, and Italy

Sunday, September 7, 2014

Eighteen Hours in Madrid


Madrid!

A good rule for traveling, and life in general, is take advantage of the time you have, no matter how short it may be. I try to follow that, so when I had an 18-hour layover in Madrid a few weeks ago, I hopped on the metro and headed for the center city to eat some Spanish food!



I have to admit, there are more ideal places to eat as a non-drinking vegetarian than Spain, land of beer and pork – rather, cañas y jamón (and salchichón, and morcilla, and chorizo, and morcón...). 


But no matter your alimentary gravitation, you’ll have no trouble finding plenty of other delicious things to eat, most notably juicy summer fruit, ice cream, excellent olives, churros y chocolate, tortilla española, fiesty sheep’s milk cheese, bocadillos de calamares, sweet and chewy almond turrón, fresh seafood, and a multitude of tapas. Or, you know, salted cod.


For some reason, I'm not quite sure exactly why, salted cod is a very popular traditional dish in Portugal and Spain. It was sold in this fishy-smelling though rather charming little shop.


I passed that one up and headed straight to Mercado San Miguel, not far from Plaza Sol. This place will be forever be emblazoned in my memory from the first time I was in Madrid. I’d flown in that day from Belgium, and, hungry and tired, had stumbled across the glass-walled market. I wandered through it, my eyes wide. For a (I’ll admit it) major foodie, it was heaven on earth. 


That day we sampled melt-in-your-mouth jamón iberica de bellota, cured ham from a heritage breed of pig fed only on acorns. 


Then sheep’s milk cheese on bread with blackberry jam, then a giant scoop of burrata with pesto and cherry tomatoes. 


If you’ve never heard of burrata, let me tell you what it is so as not to lose one more precious moment missing out on this most marvelous of dairy products: take fresh mozzarella and at some point in the mixing process, add a bunch of cream, resulting in a creamy, rich, soft, pure-white product of cheese wizardry. So that’s where I went first.


This time I chose a sweet one , blackberry jam and almonds, finished with a drizzle of olive oil. 

Dreamy.


Next, olive time!

One the way, I passed these. I believe they are goose neck barnacles. You can eat them. I did not.



I squeezed through the crowd to the olive skewer bar. I nixed everything involving ham and/or anchovies and settled on one with black olives, cheese, and sun dried tomato. It was faaaabulous! I’m mostly indifferent to black olives, which in the US tend to be either totally bland or bitter and unpleasant, but these were rich and full of complex flavor, pairing well with the cheese and savory tomato.



Finally, a spinach croquette. I don’t know what’s in them exactly, but it appears to be some combination of a small quantity of pureed spinach and a lot of melty, soft, creamy deliciousness, deep fried until golden and crunchy on the outside. 


 In Salamanca last summer I tried croquetas de chocolate too – imagine deep fried Nutella. Yep. 




Then I had to get out of there before I got full, BECAUSE IT WAS CHURRO TIME!! First I went to see the Chocolateria San Gines, a century-old Madrid landmark.



I say see, though, because while their churros are perfect, I was not a fan of their hot chocolate when I was there last summer – I found it one-dimensional and slightly bitter. I found another place advertising thick milk chocolate and decided to try that. 


I did sacrifice something in churro quality – they were warm but not piping hot – but that was made up for by the chocolate, thick, rich, and sweet. 


 Crunchy warm churros + thick hot chocolate = culinary bliss.
 
Full, tired, and happy, I headed back to sleep for a few hours before catching a plane home.



Hasta la proxima, Madrid.



Monday, September 1, 2014

Potatoes of Many Lands


This post has been three years in the making and is especially for my dad. The subject? The unique, versatile, reliable, delicious, marvelous…spud.

Bags of potatoes in a street market in Bolivia
I’ve found that everywhere I’ve traveled in the world, people like potatoes. There are different types, different ways of cooking, and different styles of eating, but the potato is ubiquitous. You can find them everywhere from the humblest street stands in Bolivia to the most luxurious épiceries in Paris. 

Vegetables in La Grande Épicerie in Paris (the potatoes are in the back on a lower shelf)

The story begins in South America. Three years ago I biked from Buenos Aires, Argentina, to Lima, Peru, crossing the pampas, the Andes, and the Atacama desert.

Sweet potatoes in a supermarket in Argentina

We saw dozens of varieties of potatoes. One of the most interesting was a form of dried potato popular in Bolivia and Peru. Apparently, they leave them outside on cold nights to freeze, then let them dry out in the warm day time sun. This process is repeated until you have effectively freeze-dried the potatoes, which are then easier to carry and store.

Naturally freeze-dried potatoes in South America
 Two years later, across the world in Belgium, I tried the famous Belgian fries. Well, actually I didn't try the Belgian fries, which are traditionally fried in beef fat. But they were delicious nonetheless, especially served with tangy mayonnaise.



Spain also celebrates la papa. I tried these lovely fried crunchy bits at a tapas bar in Salamanca.

Crispy potato shreds at a tapas bar in Salamanca

Spanish tortilla is wonderful too, a thick, savory omelet of fried potatoes and onions.

Spanish tortilla, an omelet-like dish of potatoes, eggs, and onions

Potatoes are found in myriad other forms in Spanish cuisine, such as the truffle-cream filled ones below, or in huevos rotos, fried potato cubes topped with a fried egg and lots of Spanish smoked paprika.

Truffle cream filled potato tapas at the San Miguel market in Madrid
The rest of Europe loves the potato, too. We had these delicious roasted potatoes on New Year's Eve in Poland...


...and saw multiple forms of potato chips in the Christmas markets in Prague.



In Italy a few weeks later, more delectable roasted potatoes were served alongside fresh mozzarella at a wine tasting lunch at an organic vineyard in Tuscany.


A similar version of roasted potatoes was served at a dinner I attended at the Spanish Institute of Tetouan, Morocco. They were once again the highlight of the meal, which included roasted chicken, squash, and stuffed baked tomatoes.


Hot, salty fries accompanied our vegan version of currywurst, a German staple that consists of a pork sausage topped with ketchup and curry powder. I have to say, the fries were the best part of the meal. Some things just can't me made vegetarian.


Overall, the best potatoes I've eaten were in Morocco. Fries accompany practically everything, even giant platters of fried fish.


They are stuffed into sandwiches too! At first I thought it was a weird combination, but it proved to be delicious.


One of my Moroccan friends had the brilliant idea to fry potatoes not in sticks, but whole, resulting in delicious, tender-on-the-inside-crunchy-on-the-out potato balls.


Tangerinos, with their proximity to Spain, also make a mean tortilla, which is usually served here with bread and Moroccan hot sauce.


After eight months of traveling, I'm super excited to be home and have the chance to actually cook some for my dad!! Some of our favorites are grilled sweet potatoes...


...roasted potato wedges to accompany sandwiches or grilled veggies...



...and fried potatoes with eggs for breakfast! Fried whole potatoes are definitely going to be replicated as well.

Saturday, August 2, 2014

Moroccan Cooking Part 2: Bread!

Moroccan bread is one of my favorite parts of the cuisine. There are many different kinds, each with prepared and eaten at certain times and in certain ways.

The first kind I learned how to make is harcha, a pan-cooked wheat bread. It is made from semolina (like cous cous) rather than regular white flour. The semolina is mixed with oil (or melted butter) and water or milk, as well as a pinch of sugar and salt. It is then placed on a hot pan or griddle and patted into rounds about half an inch thick, in sizes varying from two inches to ten inches. It's delicious plain, hot off the grill. It's often served with butter, Moroccan fresh cream cheese, and honey.


Another delightful type is erghayef, made with mostly white flour and a little bit of semolina. It starts out like a normal bread dough, with milk, oil, water, salt, and a little baking powder - no yeast. The dough is left to rest and then formed into small balls.


These are flattened out reeaaalllyy thinly and carefully folded in thirds in both directions to create a crispy layered texture. Sometimes they are filled with spiced vegetables and bits of meat.


Then the squares are stretched out slightly before being grilled to golden brown.


Erghayef is eaten with both savory and sweet accompaniments - sometimes cheese and sliced canned beef (which for some reason is super popular here), sometimes with butter and honey, sometimes with chocolate spreads, sometimes with jam.


The most basic type is probably hobz maklah, which just means pan bread. It is made from wheat flour and yeast, and is kneaded and flattened into rounds before being cooked on the griddle.


This type is often eaten with savory dishes like soup, lentils, or meat, but might also be eaten for breakfast or a snack with butter and honey.


My faaaaavorite type of bread (actually it changes every week) is baghrir, a super light, fluffy, yeasted crepe. It is made from a thin batter of flour, semolina, water, oil, sugar, and yeast, and left to rest for 30 minutes to an hour before being cooked quickly in a frying pan. The preparation is much like a pancake, expect that you don't flip it - there is no need because there are so many bubbles that the top is cooked by the time the bottom is done.


Baghrir is almost always eaten with sweet things - butter, honey, jam, or amlou, ground almonds mixed with oil and honey. The bubbly structure makes it perfect for soaking up the sweet, buttery goodness! I can't wait to make these at home and try them with maple syrup.

These are the types of bread I've helped make, but there's a bunch more! There's erghayef in different shapes, oven-baked yeasted rounds, a type that kind of looks like spaghetti squished together in a pancake shape, basic soft white baguette-shaped loaves eaten with soup, and many more. And that's just in Tangier - every region has its own bread cultures and traditions. Being in Moroccan has given me a much deeper appreciation for the delicious culinary possibilities of bread, as well as its deep cultural and nutritional significance.

Ramadan



Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar and a deeply significant time for Muslims, just ended. During this month, all health adults fast from before dawn to just after sunset as a way to remember God and those less fortunate than themselves. Fasting during Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam and is a duty enjoined upon all Muslims, with exceptions for the sick, the elderly, pregnant and breastfeeding women, young children, and travelers. During the day, many people devote extra time to prayer, reflection, and reading the Qur'an. There is a mosque just around the corner from our apartment, and we often heard the call to prayer. Dozens of men would line up for Friday prayers, and the beautiful, melodic words of the Qur'an would echo up from the street below.


 Some people had to work during the day, like normal, but students and people on summer vacation from work often sleep late into the day, until 2 or 3! The evening call to prayer depends on the sunset time, and in July was at about 7:45pm. The streets were utterly silent at this time, as everyone was at home to break the fast with their families.


The most important part of the meal is harira, a tomato based soup made with onions, small noodles, chickpeas, and sometimes lentils, and flavored with sheep bones and bits of meat. Just before serving, a pat of rich, savory cultured butter is dropped in, and an egg is cracked directly into the pot.


Dates and chabakia are also key! Dates symbolize hospitality and health, and are severed at weddings, feasts, and many other special occasions in Muslim cultures. Chabakia are a type of traditional sweet made from fried spiced almond dough soaked in honey and sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds. These two sugary treats are wildly delicious after 14 hours of fasting.


Hard-boiled eggs sprinkled with cumin, salt, and pepper are always on the table, too. People sometimes eat them with bread, or break them up and put them into the soup.


After the meal, most of the men go to the mosque to pray, and families relax at home. They spend time together and watch popular Ramadan TV series, which last for the 30 days of the month. A few hours after the break the fast meal, around 10 or 11, the streets are filled with people - walking, shopping, eating in restaurants, hanging out in cafes, and meeting friends.

The early morning call to prayer happens around 3am, before any sunlight appears in the sky. This is also the time you have to stop eating and drinking. Some people go to sleep around 10 or 11 and wake up for the suhor meal, others just stay up the whole night. Fruit, bread, milk, and sometimes more chabakia and dates are common, followed by lots of water.


The first week of Ramadan was hard - I was utterly exhausted all the time, even after eating in the evening. When I woke up in the mornings, around 12 or 1, I would lie in bed for 2 or 3 hours pondering existence. After the first week, it got easier. I would meet with friends to walk around the city, read, and help friends prepare food for the evening meal. By the end of Ramadan, the schedule felt normal. We slept until 3 or 4pm, then watched movies, talked, or wandered around the city for a few hours until it was time to eat. Then we'd go out to cafés with friends until it was time to go home to eat at 2am. The whole city felt different, calmer and friendlier. Some of my Muslim friends said they didn't like fasting and were impatient for Ramadan to end, but most loved the time spent with families, the traditions, and the sense of closeness to God that it brought them, and were really sad when it ended!



 The upside was all the delicious treats on Eid, the festival at the end of Ramadan. Many families spend the last week preparing all sorts of cookies and cakes - crescents filled with almond paste, crumbly ground peanut cookies, date paste wrapped in little circles of pie crust, corn starch cookies dipped in chocolate, orange-scented sugar cookies, and ground nuts wrapped in phyllo dough before being baked and soaked in honey.


Many people are on a late schedule, and don't even sleep the night before, since the festivities start at 7am. Men go to the mosque, and then families eat breakfast together around 8am - tea, coffee, bread, and lots of cookies! The day is spent at home with the family and going out to visit relatives and friends. I spent with day with the family of some of my close friends here.


Ramadan was a wonderful experience that allowed me to feel a sense of camaraderie with my Moroccan friends, and to see and a traditional, intimate part of the culture that I otherwise would not have experienced. It was filled with friendship, generosity, goodwill, laughter, and delicious food! Ramadan Mubarak and Eid Mubarak Said!