Jenny Chandler - The Real Taste of Spain: Recipes inspired by the markets of Spain

From the famous Boquera in Barcelona to the tiny village markets of rural Spain, market life and fresh regional products are at the heart of Spanish life and cuisine. The Real Taste of Spain focuses on basic ingredients and core principles to offer simple and delicious Spanish recipes.

Here are the everyday foods of Spain that are central to good home cooking: plump tomatoes, fresh fish and vegetables, ripe fruits, tasty cheeses and perfectly cured meats. With more and more of us wishing to eat a varied and healthy diet, this beautifully illustrated cookbook and reference combines this demand with Spanish foods ever-increasing popularity.

Divided by the stalls you would find in the local market: shellfish, fresh fish, charcuterie, meat, poultry and game, rice and pulses, groceries, eggs and dairy, the bakery, vegetables and fruit, each section offers delicious recipes for the type of produce on offer. Jenny Chandler brings the vitality of the market to life with introductions to each stall and explanations of the products. She also includes traditional cooking techniques and easy variations for each recipe.

With a few Spanish store-cupboard essentials and good fresh, local produce, be it from the markets of Bristol or Bilbao, you will be well on your way to re-creating the real taste of Spain.

Jenny Chandler studied Spanish and Catalan at Bristol and Barcelona Universities. After training at Leiths School of Food and Wine, she worked as a chef on a luxury yacht based in the Mediterranean port of Palma de Mallorca. Jenny currently runs The Plum Cooking Co. School in Bristol and teaches regularly in London and Bath. She has also made television appearances for the BBC, HTV and Carlton Food Network. Her first book, The Food of Northern Spain, was published by Pavilion in 2005 and was shortlisted for the prestigious Andr Simon Award.

www.anovabooks.com

For Peter, my rock, and our gorgeous Imogen.

This edition published in the United Kingdom in 2012 by
Pavilion Books, Old West London Magistrates Court, 10 Southcombe Street, London W14 0RA

First published in the United Kingdom in 2007 by
Pavilion Books, Old West London Magistrates Court, 10 Southcombe Street, London W14 0RA

An imprint of Anova Books Company Ltd
Design and layout Pavilion, 2007
Text Jenny Chandler, 2007
Recipe photography Pavilion, 2007
Location photography Jenny Chandler and Peter Bassett, 2007

The moral right of the author has been asserted.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.

Senior Editor: Emily Preece-Morrison Designer: Vanessa Courtier Recipe photography: Vanessa Courtier
Location photography: Jenny Chandler and Peter Bassett Home Economy: Jane Suthering Styling: Wei Tang Copy Editor: Kathy Steer

Ebook ISBN 9781909108127

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Also available in hardback
ISBN 9781862059757

Reproduction by Rival Colour, London

www.anovabooks.com

The key to Spanish home cooking is its honesty. It is simply a combination of the very best basic ingredients and a little fuss-free preparation.

It is true that Spanish cuisine has evolved dramatically over the last few decades. The Nueva Cocina has hit international headlines and taken the restaurant world by storm. Traditional dishes are turned on their heads making dining out a roller coaster ride for the senses. Paella is transformed into a packet of shellfish infused Rice-Krispies while a squid ravioli might just explode in your mouth. But even Ferran Adri, the master magician of this molecular gastronomy, insists that it is special occasion food. In fact, he goes further still, recommending that you eat at his restaurant just once in a lifetime for its spell to really work. The cutting edge cocina may have put Spain firmly on the Michelin map but it has done little to change the way most people eat on a daily basis.

The pace of modern life, and newly found affluence, has played much greater roles in moulding the home kitchen. Slow-cooked bean stews are increasingly replaced by a choice piece of meat or fish, ready in a matter of moments on the griddle. In the past such extravagance would have been unthinkable in much of Spain, particularly during the hungry years that followed the Civil War. But, ironically, today it is the hotpots of beans and chickpeas that come out on high days and holidays when cooks are prepared to spend their precious time slaving over a hot stove. Yet one thing has not changed, the profound appreciation for ingredients, where as much thought and importance is given to selecting the right type of rice as picking the best lobster.

Discerning home cooks and passionate gourmets still go to the market to pick up the freshest local produce on offer. Some city mercados, or markets such as Barcelonas Boquera or Valencias Mercat Central are awe-inspiring buildings packed with everything from butchers and fishmongers to entire stalls of snails or wild mushrooms. Meanwhile, a weekly harbour-side market in Galicia may amount to little more than a fresh produce stall, a van from the local bakery and a fisherman selling the catch of the day. The latter certainly lacks the variety but will provide a feast all the same. What could be more delicious than a fabulously fresh, grilled sardine served with the traditional corn and rye bread? It is all down to eating what is in its prime, following seasons and regional specialities.

And so I have headed to the markets of Spain to research this book, a fascinating and enlightening experience. There were certainly days when I began to question my own sanity. One occasion, six months pregnant, scaling steep cobbled streets in 40 degrees heat only to be greeted by a sea of laced knickers and tablecloths, is memorable for all the wrong reasons. In the villages of the Alpujarras, high in the Sierra Nevada mountains, the mercado semanal, or weekly market, turned out to be little more than a local fruit and veg van doing its rounds. By the time I had turned up at the fourth market running Im sure the vendor thought that he had acquired a stalker. Yet there are so many unexpected occasions when a town square comes to life with stalls of salt cod, pungent cheeses, cured sausages and picturesque mounds of fruit and vegetables. But the most captivating part of any provincial market is the small huddle of locals with their truly seasonal fare: a bucket of spindly wild asparagus, a biscuit tin of dried camomile, a misshapen cheese or a wheelbarrow of cherries.