Spanish food culture – part 2

I take it back. My remark about Spanish food culture and it’s influence on quality. It IS possible to eat badly in Spain. I’m not quite sure how, but the establishment we found on a day trip ‘across the border’ into Aragon managed to get just about everything wrong (including the bill which had at least two mistakes in it).

Before I get accused of elitism (Catalonia vs Aragon, which in the days of Catherine of Aragon were one kingdom, incidentally) I should say we were so hungry by the time we got there we decided to eat before climbing to the Casco Antiguo - the old quarter, which, it turned out boasted a range of quality establishments, so ate at not the first place we saw…but the second, as it had a terrace and had a wood burning grill. So it was partly our fault.

But my point, which I stick to, is that up to that point, I have been to many similar – and ‘worse’ (run down/untidy) establishments and while the food has not always lived up to expectations, it has never been poor (see my previous post on Spanish food culture). Oh, and not just in Catalonia – Rioja (ok, that’s a given!), Asturias, etc., too. Here, however, the only good thing about the restaurant was the local Somontano wine, from the Enate estate (a best of breed, which I visited a couple of years ago), at a reasonable €12; though given the other wines were around €6…hmm now I think about it I remember bells going off in my head when I saw the prices of the wine, but figured – it’s local wine, we’re over in less affluent Aragon now, that’s why it’s so cheap, we may have stumbled upon a little gem here (oh how wrong can you be!)

Now normally, if you put some meat on a grill over a wood fire you cannot fail to make it taste great. These guys managed this spectacularly. First of all I think the rabbit must have been found missing a leg and starving in a barn somewhere as there was very little meat on it. It didn’t taste too great either and was overcooked (that made me suspicious too). The salad at least was fresh, and had some good local cured meats, but cutting some lettuce and opening a packet of ready sliced meat is arguably even harder to mess up. I’m sure people do manage it though so let me know if you’ve encountered this!

Wow, I’ve surprised myself in the torrent of negativity that I’ve just produced – that’s not like me at all. I normally give the benefit of the doubt and don’t like to criticise. Maybe it’s this blog and my public service duty coming out to warn you to look a little more carefully before diving in – no matter how hungry and tired you are!!

Written on June 21st, 2009 , Culture, Spanish culture Tags: , , ,
Paella Party

I have had two more Spanish food culture experiences in the last 24 hours.

As I wrote yesterday just before leaving home, as part of the local neighbourhood fiestas, there was a Paella Party – and competition, as it turned out. My friends who were competing won Third Prize for Presentation – it was classic Paella, with large, juicy prawns, plump mussels and an abundance of squid and small cockles. The judges must have felt they had over-salted it, but I would rather have slightly too salty than bland – and it was, as my grandfather used to say, very tasty. (Actually my father has inherited that expression and I must confess to it slipping out occasionally too; then again I was always a bit of a ‘young fogey’ and I’m beginning to grow into the mould!)

The best part of it, though was the whole ambience. It was another example of the joys of fully integrating into the local culture. I was one of a limited group of people allowed to actually eat the Paella – sitting cramped inside two long rows of tables in the street under the stars (well the few brighter ones visible within the city). Perfect temperature, perfect temperament, good company – and a couple of bottles of my favourite, artisan-made Cava (a bargain at €2.99 from my local deli).

Some of the competitors of the Paella Party

Some of the competitors of the Paella Party

One of the larger Paellas

One of the larger Paellas

Written on June 20th, 2009 , Culture, Spanish culture Tags: , ,
Spanish food culture

I couldn’t go any longer without writing something about Spanish food culture. It is one of the great pleasures of being here.

Spanish Food Culture - Sunday Paella

Spanish Food Culture - Sunday Paella

So far, I have found very few places where you actually eat badly, whatever the price point. Sure, the standards of environment, service and in some cases health and safety vary substantially, even more so the price, but the basic quality of the food is generally good or excellent. I recently spent a few days in Barcelona and even there we were able to have a ‘menú del dia’ – 3 course meal with wine and/or coffee – for less than €15, and be very satisfied, both in quality and quantity (especially the latter – another characteristic of Spanish food culture).

The same cannot be said for the UK, though in the South East of England, at least, things are an awful lot better than they used to be (though prices are much higher), not least, I reckon, because many places are now run by foreigners… (Don’t get me wrong I think English food is much maligned and these days usually without good reason, and I enjoy a pie and a pint as much as the next Englishman.)

The consistent quality here is down to Spanish food culture and the famous Mediterranean diet, which, although as in many western cultures is afflicted by the modern disease of convenience and disconnection from production, is still alive and well. It is still possible to walk down the street and find butchers, greengrocers/small fruit and veg markets and fishmongers. And while many of the younger generation now buys gazpacho and mayonnaise ready made, ready meals have not really taken off and the new wave of healthy eating seems to be rolling in before the unhealthy tide fully came in.

Spanish food culture was high on my list of reasons for wanting to come (back) to live here. That and the wine – you can still get a superb bottle of local vino for under €4. It’s the ‘little’ things in life, which combined with the climate make daily life here so much less stressful and more enjoyable than living the rat race in the UK.

Written on June 17th, 2009 , Cultural differences, Culture, Spanish culture Tags: ,
Spanish bureaucracy

Following my last post on culture shock my ideas have been seriously tested. I’ve been living in Spain for six months almost to the day and for most of that time I’ve not had a car. This has not been a serious problem here, living in town. That itself is cause for celebration and validation of our decision to move here. The impact on my wallet, environmental conscience and health/fitness (ok, so it’s mostly the first two!) have been significant, especially since we’ve also gone from two in England to one  car here.

Or, more accurately until today, none, as I say. Because my wife is from Lleida, a relatively small provincial capital, and not Malaga/Mijas Costa, the infamous Spanish bureaucracy is even more difficult to navigate as a foreigner. God knows what it would have been like if my wife were not from here!

I’ll save the gory details for another time for those that are interested, but a small example in the process is the Head Engineer at the local ITV (the Spanish equivalent of the British MOT roadworthiness test) thought that the UK was not part of the European Union…..

As soon as we got one piece of official documentation we found we needed another, although some of this could have been avoided if our gestor (someone who deals with bureaucracy for you) had been better informed. And most of the time the first reaction was “oh no, that can’t be done”. Several times I was about to book a ferry ticket back to the UK to sell it, at a distress sale price.

Fortunately, the main sticking point, the fact that the car was foreign and had things in the wrong place (though we replaced the headlights and one of the wing mirrors to Spanish models) was not a problem for the ITV station in the next province so we had it done there. Quite quickly, in fact. Then acquisition of the rest of the paperwork, while being in parts ridiculous and involving an unnecessary and expensive trip to Barcelona, went quite smoothly.

The process has, as I say, challenged my thoughts on culture shock as the inability of some people to think beyond “the way things have always been done” is mind-boggling. But my theories did work – I did write the last post after suffering some of the worst problems. Getting angry doesn’t help anyone. You have to (try to!) understand and work the system, even if that means finding others that will understand better what you want to do. 

I’m sure I will return to the subject of Spanish bureaucracy but that’s enough for now, I’m sure you’ll agree!

Written on June 5th, 2009 , Culture, Spanish culture Tags: , ,
Where art thou, English culture?

Having married into a Spanish family (or more specifically Catalan) over ten years ago, I have long been aware of the multitude of cultural traditions here, as numerous as the towns and villages themselves. I have experienced many first hand, which has helped to compensate for the inevitable sacrifice of the ‘family holiday’ in favour of a trip to see the Spanish family.

Now I am living here my feelings of cultural starvation back in England are brought into sharp focus. On a daily basis, not just on festival days (many, it has to be said!), there is a real sense of cultural identity and a pride therein, which back home has been beaten into submission by political correctness. I am the last one to try to subdue minorities and that is precisely why I think so highly of these small local traditions. But it seems that we British cannot even use that term without being labelled ‘racist’ by a small but vociferous minority who seem to think it is derogatory to the many other cultures living on the islands of the United Kingdom. Since I am now myself a (very small) minority where I live, I think I am entitled to speak out in this way, just as I feel it is my duty – and rewarding – to adapt to my host culture…but that’s a whole other story for another post!

Such has this persecution of Britishness, and more particular Englishness, that apart from village fetes and Morris Dancing, themselves a moribund tradition, there is precious little we can celebrate with local pride and joy. Somehow it is more acceptable to be a proud Scot than to be a proud Englishman. Far from resenting the Scottish pride (except perhaps when it errs into England-bashing!), I see it in the main as a wonderful sign of the preservation of those traditions which in the South East of England, at least, we have all but lost.

Ok, so the abandonment of those traditions has a lot to do with a general move away from the local to the global and the pursuit of wealth – or at least survival, especially recently. And the absorption of a large number of people from other cultures has widened our cultural spectrum.

But somehow other cultures, like Spain, manage to combine cosmopolitanism and modern consumerism (with its excesses as anywhere else) with at least a large dose of cultural traditions. Take Barcelona: no-one could argue that the city be a bland photocopy of any other major Western city, thanks to its fierce Catalan identity, modernist architecture and rich cultural heritage in all the arts; yet it is precisely the openness to other cultures and ideas that has made the city what it is – and different from any other.

Despite the inevitable commercialisation of many of the fiestas and celebrations here in Spain, you can still find, especially at the local/village, family level, genuine and earthy traditions inextricably linked to the land and its people – the very definition of culture.

I look forward to exploring this cultural cuisine in more detail over the coming months and years.

Written on March 6th, 2009 , Catalan culture, Cultural differences, Culture, Spanish culture Tags: , , , ,

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