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| Culinary seasonal specials Your guide to seasonal food specials
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Spring Early spring is the best time to enjoy wild asparagus. The tender shoots have a slightly bitter taste and are excellent in omelets. Snails: The best time to eat caracoles in Madrid is during the rainy seasons: spring and autumn. They can occasionally be found as bar tapas, but several restaurants also specialize in snail dishes: Los Caracoles, c/Toledo, 106, tel: 91 366 42 46 (Metro: La Latina); El Oso y el Madroño, c/Bolsa, 4, tel: 91 522 77 96 (Metro: Sol); La Castela, c/Dr Castelo, 22, tel: 91 573 55 90 (Metro: Ibiza). Bacalao- dried salt cod — is eaten throughout the year, but moreso during Lent. If you’re planning to cook with it, don’t forget it must be de-salted beforehand by soaking it in water for 36 hours, changing the water regularly. Torrijas a typical Easter dish, are sweet bread fritters usually served as a first course or dessert. Made from bread, eggs, milk, sugar and honey, they also make a good alternative to pancakes for breakfast. You can pick them up in bakeries, but it is more usual to enjoy them with a coffee in a cafe. They’re about 1 euro each. Pestiños are deep-fried aniseed pancakes dipped in honey and sprinkled with sugar that are typically eaten during Lent and Easter. They can be found in most bakeries. In May, there are several delicacies which are traditionally associated with the Festival of St Isidro. To enjoy the food and events stop by the Plaza Mayor, Las Vistillas and La Pradera de San Isidro park in front of the Vincente Calderon football stadium (Metro: Marques de Vadillo). Cocido: Perhaps the most representative Madrid dish, this hearty chickpea and meat stew is eaten during the cold winter months, but is also served during the festival of St Isidro. On May 15, the Ayuntimiento traditionally lays on a giant cocido in the Plaza Mayor which is distributed free of charge. Rosquillas del Santo are small, crunchy, sweet ring-shaped rolls available in two versions: listas or “smart” ones, topped with white icing and with a hole in the center, and ton- tas or “dumb” versions which are baked closed. From bakeries, but ask the price beforehand as they can be expensive. Gallinejas: Deep fried lamb’s intestines are somewhat of an acquired taste, but worth trying. They’re often served in bars, but it’s traditional to eat them in La Pradera de San Isidro park during the festival. Summer Strawberries and cream. A not-to-be-missed specialty of the royal summer resort of Aranjuez, 48kms from Madrid. Make a day of it by taking the Strawberry Train (leaves Atocha station at 10am on Sat, Sun and public holidays from April-July and in Sept). Horchata. This milky, almond-flavored drink, originally from Valencia, is made from crushing a root called chufa and is a summer specialty in the capital. Rich in vitamins and minerals, it’s best drunk fresh as it quickly curdles once made. Traditional horchata makers supply most of the city’s coffee shops and terrazas. Other refreshing beverages to enjoy over the summer months are: agua de cebada, a barley and water combination from Valencia; tinto de verano, red wine with Casera; granizado — crushed iced with fresh lemon, orange or coffee; and that most Spanish of institutions, sangría: If you’ve developed a taste for sangría and fancy mixing up a jugful or two at home, here’s how. Combine a liter of red wine with three quarters of a liter of fizzy lemon drink, add four tablespoons of sugar and fresh fruit such as apricots, apples and pears, cut into small pieces. For a bit more kick add a measure or two of your favorite tipple — gin, rum, or vodka. Gazpacho: This chilled summer soup is a summer staple in the capital and available cheaply in most restaurants. It’s also easy to make at home; all you need is 75g of bread with the crusts removed, a kilo of ripe tomatoes, chopped, a small green pepper, chopped and deseeded, three cloves of garlic, 2 tsp of salt, 75ml of olive oil, 5 tbsp of wine vinegar and half a liter of water. Soak the bread in water for 10mins. Blend tomatoes and pepper until very smooth. Sieve mixture. Squeeze out bread and place in blender with garlic and tomato puree. Blend until smooth. Add salt, olive oil and vinegar. Transfer to bowl, add water and stir. Chill for an hour before serving. (Serves 6.) Almond soup. Made from a combination of ground unripe almonds, bread crumbs and garlic, this cold soup is usually served chilled as a first course. Keep a look out for it on restaurant menus during the warmer months. Autumn Setas: Although the cultivated variety can be found on supermarket shelves during much of the spring and summer, wild mushrooms are best eaten in the autumn when the rains begin. They can be enjoyed as a tapas in bars, or served at home lightly fried with crushed garlic and seasoned with salt and pepper. They’re also good in an omelet or served with other vegetables. Fabada: This hearty Asturian stew, made with bacon, beans and morcilla — a type of black pudding seasoned with cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg — is a staple of Asturian restaurant menus around town. It’s a great Autumn warmer. Winter Nov 1 is All Saints’ Day, and is celebrated with a sweet, almond-flavored confection known as Huesos de Santo or “Saints’ bones”. Keep a look out for them towards the end of October in your local bakery. Buñuelos, deep-fried puff pastry buns with different flavored creamy fillings such as chocolate, coffee or cream, are another seasonal specialty. Again they are available in most bakeries, but can be expensive. Nov 9 is the Festival of Almudena, in honor of the female patron saint of Madrid and is marked with a Roscón de la Almudena. Soft inside with a crisp crust, this large, ring-shaped, sweet bread roll is decorated with fruit and almonds and often contains a small trinket. From bakeries. Garlic soup. Originally a peasant dish, garlic soup is rarely seen on restaurant menus and is more usually eaten at home. To make your own, thinly slice half a loaf of a day-old barra. Boil a chopped clove of garlic and a level teaspoon of salt in half a liter of water for 10 minutes, then add half the sliced bread and simmer. In a separate pan, fry one clove of chopped garlic with the remainder of the bread in olive oil until golden brown, then add a pinch of paprika. Add the sautéed ingredients to the soup base and simmer for 10 mins. Just before serving add two raw eggs to the soup. (Serves two.) Roast Chestnuts (castañas asadas). With the approach of the cold weather keep a look out for chestnut vendors on city streets, chestnuts roasted over charcoal are best. A handful in a paper packet costs around 1.50 euro. Turrón is the ubiquitous Christmas candy in Spain. A white, almond-filled nougat, it is made according to recipes dating from the Arabic occupation of Spain. Available in soft and hard versions, and a variety of different flavors including chocolate, it is sold almost everywhere including supermarkets in the run-up to Christmas. Mazapán. Another Christmas specialty, marzipan comes in a variety of shapes such as fish, ducks, birds, etc. The best sort is hand-made in Toledo. Polvorones, a light biscuit-like pastry dusted with icing sugar, is very common over the festive period. Cardo Con Salsa de Almendras is occasionally found on restaurant menus at Christmas. Cardo, or cardoon as it is called in English, is a sort of thistle, boiled and served hot with almond sauce as a first course. 12 New Year’s Eve grapes. As the clock strikes year-end revelers eat a grape for each stroke and make a wish. To ensure wishes come true, the last grape must be eaten as the clock strikes the last stroke. Roscón de Reyes. This large, ring-shaped roll decorated with glacé fruit is eaten on January 6 to celebrate the arrival of the three kings who traditionally bring gifts for the children of the household. The rolls, which usually contain a small trinket, can be picked up at local bakeries.  |
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