Alright, time for a Spanish recipe! I thought it might be fun to share some of the local meals/goodies that are a part of life here. I have plans for a few more things to share once I actually master them. Today I have the day off and I thought... I should unpack all of our house stuff that arrived yesterday! So of course I am blogging instead.
Around here, there are many breakfast cafe offerings that are the same as in the states. Cafés open in early morning and then reopen after all the businesses take a siesta in the afternoon. We have found a few sweet shops and one of them is right around the corner from our house.
It's my new favorite place! It's called The Panaderia. It's a walk-up bakery counter with a great selection of fresh baked breads, doughnuts, pastries, etc. We go there religiously now... The owner is so very friendly and doesn't judge me at all when I ask for 'dos' of 'those' haha. Still learning names of things!
So today after Ron and I wandered around at the beach for a bit, I headed over there to get a few baguettes. Everyone eats much less and less often here, but when we do eat, it's the real deal! Meals are fairly simple in regards to ingredients, from what I have seen so far. The emphasis is really on the freshness of the individual foods with simple flavorings.
For example, the breakfast I made today! It is called Pan con Tomato y Jamon. The first thing needed is some fresh bread, aka 'pan.':
2 loaves for 1 Euro, which makes it that much more delicious. Next, we add the Jamon. This sandwich is common without it as well, but this is a version I have seen in many a tapas bar so far. I picked up a package at the minimart next to the bakery. It's a cured meat and does not need to be cooked when you eat it. It's like a more delicate version of ham- people buy the meat and slice it at home. It's a careful process and to buy it directly from a butcher is somewhat expensive. So I buy this version for now until I can find a good place to get it away from the supermarket.
I will slice open the loaf and lay out a few pieces before toasting it in the oven for a few minutes. Apparently, our oven operates in Celsius, so I do this at 180 degrees... Which I think is about 350 Fahrenheit.
While it's warming up, it's time to get out the juiciest tomato I can find and cut it into very thick slices. This is the main focus of the dish in my opinion!
And after we pull out the bread, on go the tomatoes, with lots of salt and a drizzle of olive oil. Some people also add oregano among other things.
Like I said, it's pretty simple. It reminds me of a yummier BLT, but for breakfast or really any time of day. We also picked up a french press and some Spanish coffee....
Apparently 'Mezcla' means it's a mix between natural coffee beans and 'torrefacto' beans. We picked randomly since we don't understand labels on anything... and I guess they are beans that turn black because they have been cooked with sugar until the outer skin darkens. It makes for a strong cup, and it certainly does the trick! Hmm!
So there it is. Let me know if you are interested in this kind of post... For now I will be waiting patiently until this afternoon to munch on a few other goodies I got for a euro at the bakery... However, today feels like a YOLO day so no promises!!!
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