An Octopus-y Odyssey

The 25th January was Richie’s birthday and after a nutritious breakfast of flumps (Jack’s marshmallowy and only ever so-slightly self-interested birthday present to his father) the day progressed into a galloping gourmand gourmet odyssey.

I know what you’re thinking – this woman feeds her family Flumps for breakfast….how well placed to pontificate on all matters culinary

It was a gloriously sunny day as we headed to Gijon, which with its beaches, restaurants and the best play park ever, satisfied all members of our (birthday) party.

San Lorenzo Beach, Gijon. Blue skies and sunbathing in January – North Wales it ain’t

From the beach, our attention was drawn to ‘La Bella Vista’ resturant (the blue one on the end in the photo above.) With a gorgeous terrace  shimmering in the January sunlight and very ‘bella’ views across the bay to the old quarter of town, it seemed like the perfect spot to celebrate.

A quick check of the menu on display by the gate confirmed that this was an upmarket joint with a menu selection that gave an inventive twist to traditional Asturian fare. Prices were correspondingly on the slightly sophisticated side but just enough so that we could feel like we were celebrating in style without risking bankruptcy.

The ‘Menu del Dia’ lunchtime formula option was priced at 14 Euros for three courses with wine/cider (weekday ‘menu’ price in Gijon ranges between 7 to 15 euros) but we threw caution to the wind and went a la carte.

The birthday boy had a yen for octopus (nothing new there – pulpo, as it’s called in Spanish, is a firm family favourite). As the only such dish was ‘pulpo a la brasa’ in the ‘to share’ section we naturally plumped for that for starters.

When the waitress deposited the gorgeously presented dish to us, Richie’s face fell like that of an 8 year old whose aunty has just bought him the wrong football strip for his birthday. ‘I think we’ve made a horrible error,’ he whimpered. (We actually have a history of making dodgy dining decisions on his birthday. E.g. seven years ago we spent Jan 25th in a deserted Polish restaurant in Sheffield. Pity for the proprietors should never be a factor in your choice of restaurants. If they’re always empty there’s probably a good reason.)

Jack tucks into the tiny but perfectly presented octopus dish

To be fair, the octopus tasted great. There just wasn’t enough of it. The portion wouldn’t even have been large enough for Jack on his own – and sure enough he polished off a good half of it. (Ways in which Jack is a Spanish toddler Number 3 – he happily devours all kinds of tentacled foodstuffs.)

At 16 euros for the portion it a) seemed rather pricey and b) just wasn’t going to satisfy our penchant for pulpo.

Our mains, albondigas de perdiz (partridge meatballs) and carpaccio de gacela (gazelle carpaccio with a cherry salsa) were a big improvement, being imaginative and well-executed but also more generous in size. (We’re really not that greedy, honest, but it’s a fairly basic requriement of the whole dining experience to leave the table sated.)

Carpaccio de gacela and albondigas de perdiz

We skipped dessert – mainly due to a crabby toddler who needed his post-prandial siesta (soooo Spanish, I’m telling you). Discretion being the better part of valour we beat a hasty retreat to the promenade where Jack soon nodded off in his pushchair.

A meander along the seafront brought us face to face with the dilapidated looking Galician Bar-Restaurant which we had previously pondered over as a dining destination, being, as it is, a dedicated pulpo restaurant. We caught each other’s eye. We couldn’t, could we? Well, it was his birthday….

Never mind the rundown exterior – it’s a pulpo palace!

The last lunchtime patrons were leaving the bar as we entered. The floor beneath the counter bore testament to the passage of a busy lunch service – hundreds of cider spattered napkins and toothpicks littered the floor. An excellent omen.  The frontage may be past its best but if the diners keep coming the food must be good.

We ordered a restrained half portion of pulpo gallega (priced at 9 euros, with a full portion at 16) and when it came, unlike its tentacled colleague from earlier in the day, it did not disappoint. It was a mound of succulent, olive oiled, rock-salted, juicy octopus. Perfect!

Finally satisfied we headed for home. If there’s one thing about getting older, you sure do know exactly what you want and, if you’re lucky, how to get it.

Back to Baked Beans…

A postscript to my Spanish croquetas recipe. It seems that whenever I feel at my most supremely Spanish I awake the next day (or even sometimes the next moment) to find I’ve gone all cliched ex-pat. So, the day after croquetas I find myself cooking sausage, eggs, baked beans and chips. Some kind of deep-seated unconscious reaction to my espanolization? Well, the sausages were criollo, at least (the beans were Heinz, claro.)

Spanish Home Cooking – Croquetas

Today I feel like a real Spanish mamá. I just cooked some croquetas from chicken left-overs. It doesn’t get much more Spanish than that. Well, except maybe if I cooked it whilst wearing a supremely practical blue housecoat. And in a spotlessly clean house….Well, anyway…..today I cooked croquetas. And they were great.

Me and my homemade croquetas – plain but fabulous!

Croquetas are a classic Spanish dish and a fab finger-food that is beloved of children and bar-propping tapas eaters alike. They are also a fantastically frugal food, helping you use up every last scrap of any left-over cooked chicken (or ham) that you happen to have.

I have to confess that I always thought that croquetas were made with potatoes (maybe because I’m Irish?) so it was a revelation the first time I actually saw them being made, by my neighbour Rosi, and realised that the basis for the filling is in fact a thick white sauce or bechamel.

Watching Rosi make her croquetas also made me realise just what a simple, good home-cooked food they are (or can be at their best) and it inspired me with the confidence to incorporate them into my own kitchen repertoire. It’s the kind of plain, real cooking that is best learned at the elbow of a kitchen matriarch.

Real Spanish food as cooked in real Spanish kitchens

Just in case you’re not so lucky as I and that’s not an option for you, below is the basic recipe for you to have a play with. ¡Que aproveche!

Recipe for Chicken Croquetas / Croquetas de Pollo

You’ll need:  Nothing you don’t already have! (That’s the whole idea )

whatever cooked chicken you have left over and need to use up! I grind mine in my new whizzy food processor but Rosi just chops hers up into tiny pieces with some kitchen scissors

for the white sauce:  olive oil (note: not butter, this is a Spanish recipe!), milk, plain flour, onion, salt, black pepper, nutmeg (optional)

for the coating:  egg, breadcrumbs

Olive oil to fry

The quantities all depend on the amount of meat you have and how far you want (or need) to make it go.

On this occasion I made 12 croquetas and used approximately: 2 tbsp of olive oil, 4 tbsp plain flour and 8 fl oz of milk plus some finely chopped onion (a small handful).  I had 250g of chicken to hand.

Heat the olive oil then add the onion and fry gently for a few minutes until it becomes soft and translucent.
Sprinkle the flour in and stir for a minute or two more then add the milk slowly, stirring constantly and bring the paste to a boil.
The aim here is to make a gloriously thick white sauce that ultimately winds up with the consistency of a dough mix.

Once the sauce is thickened, turn the heat off and add the chicken and season to taste with the salt, pepper and nutmeg.

Spread the mix on a large plate and place in the fridge until fully chilled. This is important as it makes the mixture much more easy to work with and shape. Allow at least a couple of hours or even overnight.

Once it’s thoroughly chilled you’re ready to shape the croquetas – line up your plate of paste, a plate with beaten egg, a plate with breadcrumbs and a plate for the moulded croquetas.

Rosi uses a dessert spoon to get the perfect Spanish croqueta shape. You can do this or shape them with your hands by rolling. Next dip them in the egg and finally in the breadcrumbs, making sure they are nicely coated.

Now all that remains is to fry them in very hot olive oil. I use a deep-fat fryer set to 190 degrees c. You could also just do them in a deep frying pan.

Once they are a gorgeous golden brown (a matter of just a couple of minutes) take them out and soak off the excess oil onto kitchen paper.

Serve immediately.  Riquísimo!!