Cooking
from the Markets.Com
Spanish
Markets &
Ingredients
(under construction)
Mercado San Agustin - Granada
Just off Gran Via Colon, in the center of Granada, is the modern
covered market of San Agustin. It is largely (and absolutely
spotlessly) devoted to fish, meat and cheese with vegetable, bakery,
spice and olive stands spreading through several surrounding streets
and plazas. There are also two small vegetable and fruit stalls and one baker
inside the market. Open daily except for Sunday, the mercado is small by Madrid
standards but packed with treasures. If you arrive after 10:30 am,
you are likely to find all of the fish sold and the fish vendors gone - with
only the delicious pork products from which to choose. Such bad luck!
One vendor inside the market is more of an all purpose grocer -
though still occupying only a 3 meter wide stall. Here you can buy
very credible extra virgin olive oil (at 2 euros for 750ml - a bargain), excellent
olives (of great variety), capers and a
small selection of cheeses in addition to packaged foods such as
coffee, sugar, salt and wines.
Mercado Plaza Larga (Granada)
(under construction)
Mercado San Martin - Madrid
(under construction)
Mercado San Martin (a small central city covered market in
Madrid) has always had wonderful fruits, vegetables and meat. The freson
("huge strawberries") shown above were bought by us repeatedly to
brighten the cold Madrid winter days. I am not sure where they were
grown but they were superb in flavor and cost only about 2 euors per kilo (about
$1 per pound). Their size did not belie their flavor as it so often does.
Mercado De La Cebada - Madrid
(under construction)
Notes
onSpanish Ingredients / Dishes
Peaches
It may be impossible to buy a bad-tasting peach in Spain. Sound a
bit absolute? Well, it's true. Proceeding cautiously, I asked vendors for a particular quantity
or weight of fruits and vegetables – deferring to their control
over their domains. On first purchasing peaches in Spain, I
immediately wondered if this were not a mistake since the peaches
were very, very firm. Ah, but this was my first experience with
Spanish peaches. Handed my first peach purchase in a Spanish
market, I was skeptical - having learned through experience that a
firm peach could not possibly be ripe. Accustomed to pin-pointing
that five hour period between rock-hard tastelessness and mushy rot
for peaches in American markets with some accuracy, I could not
believe that a very firm yellow peach could be at its flavor peak.
Needless to say, I ate peaches constantly in Spain and even took one
on the return flight for a snack. Unfortunately, my preparations for
the in-flight picnic were a bit excessive and I forgot to eat the
peach. It was ceremoniously removed from a piece of carry-on luggage
by the latex-gloved customs inspector together with an apple and a
banana. Since I had declared the cheeses I was carrying, the
inspector graciously allowed that I had actually just forgotten to
eat it on the plane and did not fine me.
Pork in Spain
Spanish carnicerias offer some of the best-tasting, best-textured
pork in the world. Why it is only possible to import (into the US)
Spanish Chorizo made from pork imported into Spain from Denmark I
cannot understand. The pork loin is the best that I have ever tasted
anywhere. Ordering a brochette of pork sirloin and vegetables
without specifying, one is apt to get the meat cooked medium rare. I
found this delicious in Spain where I trusted that the ethics of the producers
and overseers of the food supply would somehow exceed those of the average
anti-regulatory American who believes that the food supply should police
itself. Pork loin in Spain is so tender that it can be poached and
still be cut with a fork.
Tortilla Espanola
Eggs are a mainstay of the Spanish diet. La tortilla espanola is
ubiquitous in the day-long food extravaganza that is normal in
Spain. A one inch thick omelette usually containing potatoes and
onions, the tortilla espanola can be purchased from even the smallest
cafeteria (actually a coffee bar or cafe) with very good results. While the eggs are of
excellent quality, it is thought by many to be the marvelous Spanish
potatoes which carry the flavor of this staple of the Spanish diet.
In a tiny cafe you can get tortilla espanola for breakfast
(desayuno), almuerzo (late morning snack), comida (lunch), tapas
(early evening snack) or even for cena (supper) at 10 o'clock in the
evening. Served in generous wedges, the tortilla espanola is a
soothing treat that can fill the gap till the next major meal or even
be a appetizer to that major meal.
Chorizo
Chorizo is a cured pork sausage which is seasoned generously with
pimenton (smoke-dried, sweet paprika). While taking an enormous
variety of shapes and sizes, the use of pimenton is the unifying
element. Whether coarsely or finely ground, the lovely, delicately smoky sweet red pepper flavor is ubiquitous. It will remind some of the
flavor of homemade smoked Hungarian Kolbas. It is wonderful with eggs,
chopped in a dish of Judias Verdes (a flatter, thicker but no less tender and
delicious version of string beans), as an enhancing flavor in sauces
and stews and just sliced with some cheese, bread and fruit for
eating on the rooftop terrace or with a picnic on the train.
Judias Verdes
These green beans appear in French markets as "haricots
coco" - perhaps because they bear some resemblance to the cocoa bean
pods. I have only occasionally found them in the US.
They are meatier than string beans but actually tenderer and enjoy being
accompanied by some meat, sausage or salami in the cooking process.
They can be steamed and given a circle of olive oil with excellent results.
Mona Lisa potatoes
The only name I could determine for a variety of potatoes that is
somewhat yellow in color and about 2-3" in diameter was "Mona
Lisa". Otherwise, to vendors and buyers, they were just
potatoes. The potatoes in Madrid and Granada, the two Spanish cities
in which I have cooked from the markets. are unequalled by American yellow
potatoes and would undoubtedly be acceptable to the most demanding French market
buyer as well. Boiled with some salt and ordinary quality (cheap)
Spanish extra virgin olive oil they are marvelous. Combined with onions or
garlic after boiling to al dente and simmered in the olive oil these potatoes
are mind-boggling. You may gain more
weight eating potatoes in Spain than anything else!