Tapas and Spanish Food

We tried a local Tapas restaurant, Santos, near our apartment recently. The atmosphere is cozy and intimate inside. There’s a dining area as well as an area with bar stools and high tops. We were seated at a table for two by the window looking out at the courtyard. Across the courtyard was outdoor seating for Altstadthof Hausbrauerei. We’ve had Altstadthof’s beer and enjoy it thoroughly, especially the Rotebier. Funny enough, we ended up at Altstadthof later in the evening to meet friends for few beers.

I digress. At Santos we ordered drinks, Spanish Chorizo, Patatas Bravas (roasted potatoes) with Romesco sauce, Pollo Rojo (Chicken in Red wine sauce), Calamari (Fried Squid), Bread with Aioli, Sardines in olive oil and garlic. The aioli was a stand out. On our last night in Palma Mallorca, my friend and I went to a fancy restaurant and ordered their homemade aioli, along with other foods. The server brought out freshly baked bread to eat with aioli and we both joked we filled our bellies that night with bread and aioli. It was that good! So I suggested to the husband he try the bread with aioli at Santos. He liked the combination but he wasn't blown away. Too bad. In his defense, in comparison the freshly baked bread with aioli in Palma was better than at Santos. The chicken thighs were tender and falling off the bone and the red wine sauce was notable. Calamari was delicate and fried flawlessly, not overcooked and chewy which is easy to do.  Sardines in olive oil were served cold, acceptable but I was hoping for a warm preparation. Spanish chorizo was thinly sliced and served like cold deli meat; the husband enjoyed it more than I did. Patatas Bravas were our least favorite of all the dishes. They were cooked fine but did not taste extraordinary. The romesco sauce was watery and too acidic from the tomatoes.

Having perused the menu post dinner, there is a larger list of drinks, wine and bier. We guess Santos is a cocktail bar that serves food to accompany. Overall a satisfactory dining experience but not an outstanding one.

Craving Spanish food, I made Chickpea, Meatball Stew from The New Spanish Table. I’ve only made handful of recipes from this cookbook and should cook more from it because everything has turned out really good.

Chickpea Stew with Chorizo and Meatballs
adapted from The New Spanish Table
Serves 4

For the chickpeas
1 cup dried chickpeas, soaked overnight
1 bay leaf

For the meatballs
10 ounces ground pork
1/4 cup grated onion
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon smoked sweet Spanish paprika
Pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper
extra-virgin olive oil

For finishing the stew
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 large ripe tomato, chopped
1 teaspoon smoked sweet Spanish paprika
6 ounces Spanish Chorizo, sliced
1/4 teaspoon salt and freshly ground black pepper

Soak chickpeas overnight in cold water. Drain in colander and place drained chickpeas in a large saucepan with 2 inches of water to cover on high heat and bring to boil. Once the water is boiling, add bay leaf and reduce heat to low and simmer, partially covered for 1 ½ hours. If foam rises to the top, skim off the foam with a slotted spoon. If the water level gets really low, add water to the pot. 

While the chickpeas are cooking, form the meatballs. Combine pork with grated onion, egg, paprika, salt and pepper. If the meatball mixture is too moist to form meatballs, place in the fridge for 30 minutes.  With oiled hands, shape the mixture into golf ball sized meatballs.  Heat olive oil in a large pan on medium heat and cook the meatballs until they are browned on both sides. Cook the meatballs in batches, if necessary.

In the same pan with the meatball drippings, add the onion, carrots, and garlic over a medium heat until they soft but not browned, around 5 minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes, paprika and chorizo, then cover the pan and cook for another 5 minutes. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper.

Taste the chickpeas for doneness. If chickpeas are done, remove from water with a slotted spoon and add the chickpeas to the onion-tomato-chorizo mixture. If chickpeas are not done, continue cooking until done. In the meantime, turn off the heat for onion-tomato-chorizo mixture. Once chickpeas are added, add salt and freshly ground pepper and simmer on medium-low for 20 minutes. Add the meatballs at the end and simmer for another 10 minutes. Taste the stew and season with salt and pepper as needed. 

Serve hot or warm.

Traveling with Transportation

One thing we’ve learned to rely on (and become fond of) is the available transportation in and around us. Nürnberg is very well connected to other major German cities as well as Europe. It also helps to be centrally located in Europe. We often check and use Deutsche Bahn for the long distance trips. Within Bavaria, we get the Bayern pass for 29 Euros and can travel the state in a short period. 

Although the rail network is extensive what many fail to understand is the cost of travel. One thing is obvious- living in Europe is expensive (compared to US). Given that, it is still perplexing to pay high prices for travel outside of Bavaria. If, for instance, we want to travel to Zurich for a weekend, average cost for tickets is 100 Euros/person. The only hitch is to plan 60- 90 days before the trip. This is also the case for traveling to other German cities outside of Bavaria, like Cologne (Koln) or Hamburg. Last minute booking and travel is not common here. After speaking with some coworkers the husband learned “last minute travel” is defined in 30 days, for Germans. And very rarely there will be deals for “last last minute travel.” Having lived in America and planned many trips last minute and traveling that very weekend, it’s taken some adjusting to this. 

And this isn’t just for rail travel. 

Air travel isn’t much different. Since Nürnberg isn’t a top 10 city for international travel in Europe, the flight options are limited. Of course, we have a functioning airport and there are many international flights yet finding deals for flights out of Nürnberg is a challenge. A discount carrier that flies out of Nürnberg is Air Berlin. It has reasonable deals (i.e. Mallorca) unfortunately other than Mallorca we haven’t found a steal. Other discount carriers like Ryan Air fly out of a city close to Munich, Memmingen. To get there, we’d have to travel to Munich and then a bus to Memmingen so although ticket deals (i.e. Dublin 60 Euros/round trip) are inexpensive, adding train tickets (a day pass for going and returning) and bus the total equates to taking the train from or flying out of Nürnberg. 

Car rentals are sometimes worth the deal and sometimes not. For instance, we rented a car recently for a trip to Austria and it turned out to be expensive (with the cost of gas). On the other hand, when we rented a car for Budapest, it was very inexpensive. Nonetheless, I pick train and plane over car. When road trips are 4+ hours it’s easier to be in a train where both passengers can be mobile and can enjoy the ride. 

The key to traveling in Europe is to look for deals in advance and book a port of transportation that is convenient and economical at the same time. 

Thankfully we still have plenty to see in Bavaria and those day trips will continue to happen. And at the same time plan our long distance trips well in advance.

Scones Delight

Speaking of Mallorca seeing all those citrus trees everywhere on the island, even in February, I had to buy couple kilos of Clementines and Oranges for the husband. Had to because he loves citrus fruit and will trade in his Fall Apple days for all-year-around citrus.  And he’d do it in a heartbeat.  You understand my husband’s obsession with citrus?  On the last day of our trip, while lugging around our bags and newly purchased olive oils, I made my final purchase at Palma Farmer’s Market.  I bought 1 kilogram of Clementines and 1 kilogram of Oranges.  The obvious difference I could tell were Clementines are sweeter in taste than their Orange counterpart.  And they have thinner skin (easy peel) compared to Oranges.

The Clementines were devoured within the first week.  And the Oranges were almost gone after few Sunday mimosas but with some left, we made delicious scones.

If you’ve never made scones, I suggest you try these.  The fresh orange zest coupled with cardamom, it is breakfast bliss.

We followed this recipe.  I am reposting here if you didn’t click on the original.

Orange Cardamom Scones 
Yields 8 scones

200 grams plain flour, sifted
1 scant teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons baking powder
47 grams sugar
2 1/2 ounce unsalted butter, very cold
2 eggs
3/4 cup heavy cream
56 grams blanched almonds, roughly chopped
2 Tablespoons freshly grated orange zest
1 teaspoon ground cardamom (if using fresh from pods, use 10 cardamom pods, cracked open and the black seeds crushed in a pestle & mortar)

1 egg
1 Tablespoon water
demarara sugar for sprinkling (also known as Turbinado sugar or sugar in the raw)

Preheat the oven to 450F. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. Cut the butter into the flour with a fork or pastry cutter, or pulse in the food processor until you have the texture of coarse sand. Don't worry about seeing little bits of butter in the flour, this keeps the scones flaky.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs and cream together and add the orange zest, and cardamom. Add the flour into the egg and cream, add the almonds and stir quickly to combine. Do not beat the mixture, just stir gently to form a rough ball shape. Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead no more than 3-5 times.

Press the dough into a 3/4 inch thick flat circle.  Cut the dough in 8 equal slices, like cutting pizza into equal slices.
Put the scones onto an ungreased baking sheet with 1 1/2 inch space between each scone. Make the eggwash by beating the egg and water together and brush the top of each scone. Sprinkle with demarara sugar.

Bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.

Mark Bittman tips- do not over knead the dough or the scones will be dry.  And try to avoid adding too much flour as you knead, the dough is much softer than a bread dough and will be slightly sticky to the touch.

Spring has Sprung

We had a moment recently. One of those where he reminded me that he doesn’t like Rhubarb. After I’d slaved over baking The Crumble. And this is where the moment intensified. He said, “remember last year when you made something with rhubarb and strawberry and I didn’t enjoy it?” Yes it all came back to me. He doesn’t like Rhubarb. We’ve tried few times with the same results. So we I decided last night, each spring when I see Rhubarb at the farmer's market, I’ll buy it, make something delicious with it and then he’ll remind me post-eating, of course, he doesn’t like Rhubarb. And then I won’t make anything with it until the next year. This compromise works for both of us, I think. I get my annual fix and he doesn’t have to eat it more than once a year.

This is really a simple and delicious recipe if you enjoy this tart Spring fruit. With the addition of nuts, hazelnuts (walnuts would work in a pinch) it's splendid.  

Rhubarb Crumble
Serves 2-4

Filling
1/2 ounce butter
1 Pound rhubarb, cut into ½-inch pieces
2 ounce sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping
2 1/2 ounce all purpose flour
2 ounce butter, cold and cubed
1 1/4 ounce sugar
1 1/4 ounce loosely packed brown sugar
1/4 cup chopped hazelnuts (use any nuts you have on hand)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter an 8x8 square baking dish.

On medium heat, add butter to a saucepan, followed by rhubarb, sugar and vanilla. Cook until the butter is melted and the sugar is dissolved, about three minutes. Stir occasionally. Add the filling ingredients to the buttered baking dish.

In a small mixing bowl, combine the flour and butter. Rub the butter into the flour with hands or use a fork. Mix until the flour and butter resemble a coarse texture. Add in the sugars and the nuts and mix well. Scatter the topping over the rhubarb filling.

Bake 35 to 45 minutes or until bubbly and browned.

Allow the crumble to cool five minutes before serving. Serve warm or at room temperature. Vanilla ice cream is the best accompaniment.

11 months

Celebrating 11 months is pretty exciting for both of us. I completed 6 German courses and feel very confident in my communication skills. Or let’s say understanding-others skills. Like most languages in the world, learning all most nouns, adjectives, verbs and their correct conjugation takes a long time. I am in that phase now where I understand others when they are speaking to me however I am often looking for the right words to say and have many blank stares. Unfortunately, I am very impatient and wished I knew it all, now.

He on the other hand is very good at writing emails and letters as well as knowing technical German words because of his work environment. Initially his manager and team requested he speak German once a week, Friday for instance. That entire day, both he and his team would have to communicate with one another in German, if either party blundered, they’d have to pay 1 Euro to the department bank. (The money will be used for a party at the end of his delegation.) At first it was tough; like me, he had problems coming up with the right words to say in a meeting or to a coworker. Then later on, it increased to 3 days a week of German-only in the office. And in the last month, he suggested 100% German in the department. That’s ambitious of him but he believed this is easier for everyone to know it’s German, all the time. He’s made some mistakes, naturally, and donated money to the party fund but he knows he’s still learning. He still searches for the right words to say in meetings but due to our length of time here, it’s gotten a bit easier. As of now he’s completed 4 German classes.

Although we aren’t anywhere close to where we’d like to be with the language, we’ve accepted it will come with time.

Pedicure

This was my Pedicure routine in America. Every 5- 6 weeks I would get a pedicure in Spring, Summer and Fall. (Those that think I am fancy pants, consider this. My profession, Chef/Caterer, required to be on my feet 5-7 hours daily and during big events, 12+ hours a day. So I allowed myself the only pleasure I knew I could within my budget, a pedicure. And furthermore, those women that enjoy pedicures, manicures (no thank you, I am a chef and I don’t want those chemicals in the food I make), facials also enjoy shopping sprees. For me shopping spree means going to few stores twice a year and getting the essentials or “trend” items for couple hundred dollars. Fancy pants I am not.)

And I digress. Every 5 weeks, I would schedule an appointment to go to my favorite salon near our home. I’d get there, picked my paint color and wait. The person (sometimes the husband of a couple, but mostly the wife) would have me sit in a massage chair and soak my feet in hot water. While they got their equipment ready, I would play with the buttons to get the perfect combination of upper back and lower back massages, sometimes both at the same time. And then the process began. They wiped down each foot with a hand towel, remove old nail polish and cleaned. This included cuticle cleaning, removal of dead skin, nail cutting, nail filing and etc. At the end of all the curing and before painting the nails, they always massaged the calfs, ankles and feet. During the pedicures, they always made conversation and asked about my work or day to day life. The husband often joked. Personable.

Now erase that picture and imagine a room with white walls, white chairs, stretch bed and few small machines. Imagine a hospital room. This is what they have in a local salon’s pedicure room. I was shocked. Upon entering the salon with a friend, we were designated to our individual rooms. (Where’s the girlfriend chatting time?) As I sat down, the woman asked me to lay down on the adjustable bed as she started working on my feet. I was surprised she soak my feet. She started to remove old nail polish paint. Then with a machine, she removed the dead skin. With another machine, she cleaned my cuticles. She cut my nails and then filed them with… a machine. Then she applied lotion. When she was done I asked about nail polish and she gave me a puzzled look “am I supposed to do that?” I kindly asked her to paint my toes. And she painted each one of my toes, in the middle, leaving the edges untouched. Either this person has never painted anyone’s toes or she was nervous because her paint job was terrible. It looked like a child painted my toes, just in the middle of each toe nail. Sadly, the only communication between us were the times I laughed when a machine tickled my feet and she giggled in response. And worst of all, there was no massage at any point.

I was highly disappointed from the service. And maybe I have a higher expectation of pedicures because of my experience in United States but I believe if a company is offering a service and calling it an internationally recognized name (i.e. pedicure), the service must meet its basic description. I didn’t expect a lengthy massage but a short one to relax my feet would be good. Or at a pedicure, I anticipate the person knows how to paint nails. Especially when the prices are comparable.

This can possibly also be a misunderstanding because I don’t speak German fluently and wasn’t able to express my expectations and she didn’t know English well to explain to me. However I do know I won’t be getting a pedicure advertised in a salon’s window anytime soon.

Oh I miss sitting in that massage chair while my feet soaked.

That was a bust but I treated us to a spa-like experience at home by making this elegant gratin for dinner. It didn’t beat the pedicure blues but it sure pleased.

Potato Leek Gratin

1/2 kilos (1 pound) potatoes, scrubbed and peeled
2 leeks, white & light green parts
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan, or other hard grating cheese
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
salt & freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Thinly slice garlic. Slice the leeks and add them to a deep bowl full of cold water. The grit will float to the bottom. Repeat once more to remove all the dirt and grit. Make sure to lift the leeks from the water rather than dumping everything in a strainer.

Heat 1/2 tablespoon of butter to a 10”, oven-proof skillet, on low heat. When melted, add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the rinsed leeks, tossing in butter to coat. Add thyme, salt and pepper and sauté leeks & garlic until softened, without browning, about 8 minutes. If the leeks brown, briefly remove the pan from heat and allow the pan to cool down.

While the leeks are cooking, thinly slice the potatoes, 1/8” thick. A mandolin works great here but slicing by hand is also fine.

Combine milk & cream in a cup measure, add nutmeg, salt and pepper. And grate the cheese.

Once leeks are done, scrape them into a bowl, add a touch more butter to the skillet (to prevent the gratin from sticking) and layer half of the potatoes into the bottom of the pan. Salt the potatoes. Turn off the heat. Spread the leeks evenly over the potatoes. Layer the remaining potatoes over the leeks, building a 2nd layer of potatoes. Salt and pepper the 2nd layer.

Pour the milk/cream mixture over the potato-leek layers. As the final layer, sprinkle on the grated cheese, cover with aluminum foil and bake in the preheated oven until potatoes are tender, the top is lightly browned, and the liquid has been absorbed, about 50 minutes- 1 hour.

Cool the gratin for 10 minutes before slicing. Serve warm with a green salad.

On a much more optimistic note, I just learned that pedicures are also known as Fußpflege. I’ll try it again with a new name.

Ethnic food

Since our transition into the apartment months ago, we’re always looking for local neighborhood restaurants as well as ethnic places nearby. The type that we feel comfortable ordering from and either picking it up or eating there last minute. We have found amazing German restaurants that do the local cuisine spot-on and are thankful for the availability and accessibility. On the other hand, we’ve tried few places here and there and liked a couple however in general great ethnic restaurants in this city are few and far in between. We’ve found decent Greek, above average Thai and memorable Turkish food but Mexican is always dreadful, Chinese is unheard of and Middle Eastern doesn’t exist.

Thankfully, both Turkish (homey, grandma made it) food and döner kebabs are all over town and each Turkish person you ask for their favorite place will name one that’s different from the last referral. Regardless, Turkish cuisine is well represented and is a hit with us each time we try it. Like Greek, Italian is done exceptionally well. We’ve found two restaurants that we like a lot and visit regularly.

There’s a comprehensible explanation for these three cuisines to have such an impact in the food scene. After the war, Germany signed an agreement with many countries to receive guest workers (Gastarbeiterin) from their respective nations. These individuals would help rebuild the country and drive the economic development by working in unfilled jobs. Turkey, Italy and Greece were some of the countries that participated in the agreement and by some accounts had the largest percentage of population sent for the program. Over the course of the period these guest workers helped rebuild the country, and in most cases of migration, many didn’t return home. Due to their large resident population, the rest of us benefit from their authentic food.

Unfortunately meat wrapped in bread or pasta aren’t our idea of take out; we generally prefer Thai, Chinese, or Mexican. Sadly, except for Thai, the rest are either unavailable or not worth it. The Thai place that I initially raved about isn’t close to our apartment (it was closer to our hotel) and the food quality has declined slightly. When I went there with my friend last month, they served Pad Thai with a noodle that didn’t resemble a rice noodle (the norm for Pad Thai) and the taste of the dish was just okay.

Few months ago, we tried a Korean place, Seoul Kitchen. I ordered bibimbap and he had a Korean version of pork soup. Both were well seasoned with a hint of gochujang (Korean red pepper paste), deliciously spicy. The banchans (side dishes) were limited but still flavorful and functional for our meaty main dishes. We had potatoes (don’t be so surprised), pickled radishes and sautéed spinach. Overall a good experience at the restaurant. Sadly the restaurant is 20 minutes, walking, from our apartment so we only go there on planned nights.

So the hunt for ethnic take-out restaurants continues. In the meantime, I am cooking foods at home for the lack of varied restaurants.

This is loosely adapted from this recipe.

Pork, Kale and Mushroom Stir Fry

1/2 kilo (1 pound) pork loin, thinly sliced on an angle, against the grain
2 tablespoons Shao Hsing wine
1 teaspoon oyster sauce
1 teaspoon light soy sauce
1 teaspoon garlic chili sauce
2 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons sunflower oil
1/2 of medium onion, sliced thinly
1 tablespoon fermented black beans
2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced thinly
3/4″ cube fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
1 small hot (Thai) chile, thinly sliced on the diagonal
4 dried Shitake mushrooms, soaked and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
2 cups kale, stems removed and cut into 2” pieces (any hearty green will work- Spinach, Chinese Broccoli (Gai Lan), Yu Choy)
3 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1/4 teaspoon sesame oil

In a medium bowl, combine pork with shao hsing wine, oyster sauce, light soy sauce, garlic chili sauce and cornstarch. Marinate for 30- 45 minutes.

Place dried mushrooms in a bowl and add boiling water to the bowl. Soak the mushrooms in hot water for 20 minutes. This reconstitutes the mushrooms. When ready, remove the mushrooms from the water and thinly slice.

Heat a wok or non stick deep curved pan until it smokes and then add peanut oil. When oil is hot, add onions and black beans and stir fry for 1 minute, or until the onions are golden and fragrant. Add garlic, ginger and chile, and stir fry 30 seconds more.

Push the onion-garlic-ginger mixture to the sides of the wok and leave room in the center for additional ingredients. Add pork (without its marinade) in a single layer on the bottom of the wok. Allow the pork to brown on one side without stirring, approximately 1 minute. When pork is browned on one side, begin to stir fry. Add the sliced mushrooms in the bottom of the wok and stir fry the meat and veggies.

Deglaze the wok with soy sauce, scraping up any browned bits of marinade clinging to the sides and bottom. Stir in the pork marinade from the bowl and cook for 30 seconds.

Add kale and water and stir fry, scooping the browned pork over the kale. The heat from the pork will cook the greens. As soon as kale begins to wilt, 3 minutes, add oyster sauce and continue stir frying until the meat is cooked through. Kale should be cooked through but still hold its shape and have a slight crispness.

Remove wok from heat and drizzle in sesame oil over the stir fry and stir to combine. Serve hot or warm with steamed rice.