"SpanishCooking" news and stories

One of the best ways I know how to learn about a culture is to cook the food. I learned a little more about Spain ths past weekend by slow cooking estofado catalan, as well as a whole table full of tapas-like dishes to go with sangria. One of the things I made was patatas bravas, or potatoes served with a tomato sauce. It's kind of like French fries and ketchup, but a million times better.

When we were little, my sisters and I used to eat Dinty Moore Beef Stew all the time. We would pour the stuff over steamed white rice and mix in some Korean hot pepper paste, goh-choo-jahng. We're grown up now, so we know better. Skip the the goh-choo jahng and mix in some chopped kimchee.

Really, though, the stuff is absolutely horrible. Canned beef stew, that is. But real beef stew, slow-cooked until the meat is as soft as room temperature butter and the vegetables have practically melted into a caramel mess in the sauce, is incredible. Estofado Catalan is a beef stew with its origins in the Catalonia region of Spain. It's often made with meaty, fatty shortribs, but for the New-Year's-resolutions-conscious guests at my dinner party, I used a slightly leaner cut of beef. It's okay, though, since long, slow cooking takes care of what could potentially be tough.