SPANISH CUISINE
Spaniards love their food! In fact, the typical Spaniard probably puts away more food than any one of us in the USA, but Spaniards spread their meals throughout the day and walk between meals. Below is a brief description of a day of Spanish meals, when they are eaten and sample menus.
El Desayuno – Breakfast
· The Smallest Meal of the Day
· Continental Breakfast
A typical breakfast might include café con leche - strong coffee with hot, frothy milk, bollos (sweet rolls) with jam, or toast with jam or mild cheese.
Tapas - Little Spanish Meals
Tapas are eaten well after breakfast, but before lunch, the large mid-afternoon meal!
Tapas-time includes bar-hopping to wine-taste and chat. A Different Tapa at each stop. Spanish love tapas so much, they made a verb out of it. The phrase Vamos a tapear! means “Let’s go eat tapas!” A few of the most popular tapas are:
· Tortilla Española - Spanish Omelet
· Patatas Bravas - Potatoes with Spicey Brava Sauce
· Gambas al Ajillo - Shrimp in Garlic
La Comida – Lunch
The Largest Meal of the Day Multiple Courses, Eaten between 1:30 and 3:30 pm
Below is a sample meal that you might find on a menu at a restaurant or if you were invited to someone’s home for lunch:
o Vegetable or Seafood Soup
o Fresh Fish or Seafood, Roast Chicken or Lamb, Fried Potatoes, Rabbit Stew, etc.
o Green Salad or Vegetables
o Dessert - Flan, light pastry, fresh fruit or ice cream
o Coffee, Brandy and a Cigar
Bread is ALWAYS on the Spanish table.
Since Spaniards love eggs and dairy foods, desserts are made from fresh milk or cream. Fresh fruit on the dessert menu, and may be served with a soft cheese. Don’t forget the coffee – You’ll probably need that after the big lunch!
La Merienda - Snack
The late-afternoon snack in Spain is called la merienda and is necessary since lunch is done by 3:30pm, but dinner isn't usually eaten for another five to six hours. La Merienda can be anything from a piece of French-style bread with a piece of chocolate on top, to bread with chorizo, ham or salami. La Merienda is eaten around 4:30 or 5:00pm and since dinner isn't served for at least another 3-4 hours, nobody worries that this snack will ruin the appetite for dinner!
La Cena – Dinner
Smaller than Lunch
Eaten between 9:00 pm and Midnight
A dinner might include fresh fish or seafood, roast chicken or lamb, fried potatoes or rice. A simple and quick dish, commonly eaten at dinner is arroz cubano, which is a mound of white rice, topped with tomato sauce and a fried egg. Green salad and/or a vegetable dish are standard at lunch and dinner. A lighter dessert of fresh fruit or flan (Spanish vanilla custard) may also be eaten.
TOP 10 DISHES…
· Paella (Spanish Rice Dish)
· Pescado Frito (Fried Fish)
· Cochinillo Asado (Roast Suckling Pig)
· Pulpo a la Gallega (Galician Octopus)
· Gambas Ajillo (Garlic Prawns)
· Jamon Iberico and Chorizo (Iberian Ham and Spicy Sausage)
· Tortilla Española (Spanish Omelet)
· Gazpacho (Cold Tomato Soup or Liquid Salad)
· Queso Manchego (Spanish Sheep Cheese)
· Patatas Bravas (Fried Potatoes in Spicy Sauce)
SPANISH CHEFS
· Juan Mari Arzak (/" in San Sebastián, Guipúzcoa, since 1989)
· Santi Santamaría ("El Raco" of Can Fabes, Barcelona, since 1994)
· Martín Berasategui ("Berasategui" in Lasarte, Guipúzcoa since 2001)
· Carme Ruscalleda ("Sant Pau" in Sant Pol de Mar, Barcelona since 2006)
· Karlos Arguiñano, who over the years has presented cooking programmes on various Spanish television channels, in which he shows his communication skills and sense of humour while cooking.
· Simone Ortega, author of the best-selling cookbook in Spain, "1080 recetas".
· Sergi Arola, chef at "La Broché" and a disciple of Adrià.
· José Andrés, chef/owner of "Minibar by José Andrés" in Washington D.C., and a disciple of Adrià. Current host of Made in Spain, airing on PBS networks.
RUSSIAN CUISINE
The essential components of Russian cuisine are the ones, which provide more carbohydrates and fat rather than proteins. Fresh fruits and vegetables are rarely used in food. So, the top five components of a Russian meal are potatoes, bread, eggs, meat (especially beef) and butter. Other popular foods include cabbage, milk, sour cream, curds, mushrooms, lard, cucumbers, tomatoes, apples, berries, honey, sugar, salt, garlic, and onions.
· Borshch, of course, is beet soup, and one of the most famous Russian traditional foods. Beets seem a strange base for soup to many Westerners, but there are plenty of reasons that this hearty soup is one of Russia’s most famous dishes. Full of vegetables and meat, the layered flavors in this soup are especially nice with a dollop of fresh sour cream.
· You may have already heard of pirozhki. These little pastries can be packed full of potatoes, meat, cabbage, or cheese.
· Caviar, or ikra is really something to get worked up about in Russia. Briny and sharp, it is often served on dark, crusty bread or with blini, which are like pancakes or crepes. Caviar on buttered bread is a popular zakuska.
· Blini are also served rolled with a variety of fillings: jam, cheese, onions, or even chocolate syrup. At any restaurant where you aren’t sure of any of the other dishes, blini are always a safe bet. Bliniare such an important part of Russian cuisine, a festival called Maslenitsa celebrates the beginning of spring with them.
· Russian kebabs are called shashlyk. Like any kebab, they can be a combination of meat and vegetables.
· Pelmeni are pastry dumplings filled typically with meatballs. They can be served alone, slathered in butter and topped with sour cream, or in a soup broth. Definitely a favorite in Russia and abroad!
· You can expect to find sour cream, or smetana, accompanying almost any Russian traditional food—with crepes, in soups, and even sometimes in dessert. Often, this sour cream is fresh and often melts into any warm dish, adding to its distinctive flavor.
· Russians love ice cream, called morozhenoe. It is common to find it on many restaurant menus with a variety of topping to choose from—like fruit, nuts, or chocolate.
Expect to find Russian vodka, tea, mineral water, and soda on beverage menus. Beer in Russia is also very popular.
Christmas Goose, Buckwheat Kasha with Crackling, Wheaten Blinis (Red Blinis), Stuffed Suckling Pig, Reindeer Meat Roast, Sauerkraut & Meat Soup (Plain Schchi), Bear Meat Cutlets, Salted Mushroooms, Homemade Sausage, Roast Duck, Meat Jelly, Pelmeni (Poached Pasties w/Meat Filling.
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