Food of Galicia
Beez Neez now Chy Whella
Big Bear and Pepe Millard
Mon 11 Aug 2008 09:43
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Food of Galicia
Because of the rugged landscape and
rough weather the people of Galicia use every bit of what they grow or catch.
Many farms are only 1 or 2 acres and have been passed down through families for
generations.
The national dish is Octopus which they
freeze or beat first (Bear says i'm not allowed my own hammer on board - way
too dangerous ) to reduce the boiling time to an hour. The boiled,
cubed octopus is then served with boiled potatoes, Olive Oil and sprinkled with Sweet Spanish Paprika.
  When I saw this octopus on show in
the window of many restaurants ( they like you to point to the one you fancy, my
finger stays firmly in my pocket-how anyone can fancy that is beyond me ),
I honestly thought they were plastic examples, I was soon put right. I got Bear
to put his finger against the suckers, the mere thought of chewing through that
put the skipper well and truly on his own.
Lobster,
Cray Fish and Crab are huge and in ready supply. We
saw a fisherman at sea dropping lobster pots by the hundred at measured rope
lengths apart, with only one marker buoy. Little did we realise when we
have seen an odd marker in the past, what was below. Of course Bear's COMMENT
was predictable "a pretty bad day if you forget where you put it after
a long night or a row with her
indoors".
The most famous dish in Galicia is
Lacon Con Grelos, the boiled meat
from the front leg of the pig, and Grelos being the leaves of the turnip.
These once boiled are served with sausage and potatoes.
Limia is an area famous for its Potatoes (wonderful).
Galician
Broth is a very common dish of cabbage, potato and beans. Often
served with ham, sausage and pork to make a filling stew.
  The Galician's will eat any fish. You
can choose by teeth or eyes if you want the cuter looking dish. This area ate
seventy pounds of fish per person in the year 2001, the rest of the EU ate
fifteen pounds.
When my mum was young she sat on the
fourth stair and ate rice pudding while the rest of the family ate fish on
Friday, the only day of the week, just like so many other households. I
reckon in Spain she would have spent her life on the fourth stair and
possibly got fed up with rice pudding?
I got put off an awful lot, every
Friday when you arrived at school the smell was enough to make you nauseous
to say the very least. You knew that coley, not filleted was going to be served
with mash and cauliflower. Did the nuns do it on purpose, who in their right
mind would serve a pure white meal that smelt ghastly ??? To this day I only
really like plaice and skate because you don't have all those splinters to deal
with, when I see Bear sifting out all the little bones I shudder and
it takes me right back into school uniform.
   Veal, Rabbit,
Pork, Beef, Brains, Liver, Turkey, and Chicken are
all meats we have seen on menus and readily available in the
supermarkets. We don't know what health and safety would make of raw meat
being on the shelf above the fish in this
window with the sun beating on
it ??? If you can't read Spanish you can always point it out on a picture board.
I
may not like the stuff but I know a man who loves it, so I prepare and cook it
for him like a good first mate should. The feeling of this is to hard to
describe without serious expletives, I'll leave it to the reader to guess what I
was muttering all the while I had this in my mitts. However if it was still
moving - - - - that and what with the size of their razor-sharp beaks, if
I ever catch one I will just cut my line, end of story. I got the lady who
served me to understand what I felt and pointed to Bear, she threw her head
back and really laughed hard.
Jamon
Serrano (mountain ham) is cured for at least a year and is
served with Olives and Cheese. It is similar to Italian Prosciutti.
(Jamon Iberico is much more expensive and entirely different, this ham has been a
delicacy since the Roman Empire).
The whole village get together for
the cull of mainly "Landrace" white breed of pig, the fresh hams are cleaned,
trimmed, stacked and salted to remove excess moisture, left for two weeks,
washed and hung to dry for six months. Finally the hams are hung in a secaderos
or drying shed (built on higher elevations, therefore "mountain ham") which is a
cool, dry environment and left for six to eighteen months depending on the
climate. A ham man goes and sticks a long needle into each ham and sniffs,
rather like a cheese or wine taster to declare when they are ready. Highly
amusing if you think about "sell by dates"
Tiny peppers called Pimientos de Pardon are considered a delicacy,
fried in olive oil and sprinkled with sea salt. Many tourists get the taste
and take loads of the peppers home with them.
The Galatians' will eat anything from
the sea. Scallops ( the shells are worn by pilgrims on The Way of St James ) are
most abundant. Mussels which are huge in this area are seen hanging in scores under
every pontoon and rock pool. Oysters,
Razor Shell Clams, Heart Clams are just a few
of the shellfish we have seen. ( All shells are ground to be used as fertiliser
). Goose Neck Barnacles which look like stubby brown worms are very popular.
Prawns and Shrimps are also easy and cheap to get hold of.
COMMENT. The first time I was
ever given an olive was in Cyprus in nineteen eighty, I was told "it is as sweet
as a grape". I put this big green olive in my mouth and the explosion of greasy
salt has left me scarred for life. Knowing I will "have to be big" as I get
nearer the Caribbean and further from meat and three veg, I tried a tiny bit
with the same result. Bear doesn't mind, its the one thing he keeps to himself
and knows not to offer me. On that same trip to Cyprus I did get the taste
for Parma Ham served with fine cut Mozzarella and huge chunks of Water Melon. Most days I have that for
brunch. Bear has chunks of bread with Pate (another one of my pet
hates).
  How can you think about kissing a man
who just eaten this. My serving of his crab, and my edition of Paella (amazingly tasty
variety of fish and shellfish -yum yum). You will now know that Bear's
input will be in italics from now on. Paella is
on every menu you see, This famous and commonly served dish has just
about anything chucked in that is vaguely edible.
The Spanish can certainly make
excellent cakes. The most famous is:
St James
Cake ( Tartar de Santiago ) is a rich heavy cake of ground
almonds decorated with icing sugar with a plain cross or The Cross of St
James. It is not known where the recipe originated but it was brought to
Santiago by one of the pilgrims.
  Skipper trotting along with his
afternoon cake, beautifully wrapped with stubby cocktail sticks to
support the paper. The present, unwrapped, cost three euros sixty, not a cheap
treat, so only now and again.
This wander through the foods of
Galicia is by no means it, I haven't mentioned the Sauces they are so
famous for, I have just gone through what we have seen
and experienced as a cruising couple, Big Bear has been on his own in
trying. I thought I was really brave trying a smidging of his Mackerel, for
heavens sake !!!!!!!! |