3 stars

Tarta de Santiago

1:23 AM


 
Tarta de Santiago:✩ ✩ ✩

This cake known as tarta de Santiago, is an almond cake with a very unique texture and flavor. This cake seems doesn't seem to be around too much in Vigo, in fact, I don't think I've ever eaten it here in Vigo. Even though I've never eaten tarta de Santiago here, I have definitely seen it on restaurant menus and in the windows of bakeries. Tarta de Santiago is immensely popular in the city of Santiago de Composetla, or the city of Saint James. It is the capital of the Galicia area with a very rich and fascinating history. If you'd like to read more about Santiago de Compostela, click this link. I don't neccessarily LOVE this cake, but it is very interesting and different than anything I've tried in Texas. While I was in Santiago, I took a tour and we learned that you can go to a convent where nuns live and buy one of these famous cakes made by the nuns. No offense to the nuns, but it was not as great as I was expecting it to be, but worth a try if you go to Santiago. Tarta de Santiago has a layer of powdered sugar on top and the symbol on the top is the cross of the Saint James. It's a very interesting design and it think it's very pleasing to the eye. Sometimes, I don't love the texture of this cake. I also LOVE desserts and sometimes this cake is so sweet that it's sickening. I'm also not the biggest fan of almond in a cake. It's a very famous dessert and it'd be a little odd if you visited Santiago de Compostela or Galicia without giving this a try. Needless to say, this is a must try when visiting Galicia and even though it's not necessarily my cup of tea, you could end up loving it like many others.

2 stars

Empanada

1:04 AM

Empanada: ✩ ✩

I personally do not like empanada all that much. I take that back, I do like empanada, but I'm a little particular about what is inside. Personally, fish inside the fried dough with raisins does not necessarily appeal to me all that much. Empanada is definitely not limited to just fish and raisins though, you can put literally just about anything inside an empanada. I swear, here in Spain, they have empanaderías, which translates to empanada store. Yes, there are stores that literally just sell empanadas stuffed with different things to your heart's content. I think that it is not a very flavorful food, mainly due to the outside fried dough component. The dough is pretty flavorless, sometimes lacking even salt, and it just acts as a filler in my opinion, serving no real purpose. Even the texture is quite dull, so I can't give empanadas anything over two stars. It deserves two stars because of all the amazing variety and I'm that there's at least one for everyone, but I really just don't like the seafood ones too much. Honestly, nothing about this food really excites me. But I think it's worth a try if you visit the area and it makes a quick and easy snack in between breakfast and lunch. Many people do really enjoy them and who knows, you might too.

5 stars

Filloas

4:13 AM

Filloas: ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩
Image result for filloas
 Filloas are a dessert here in Spain that are quite popular. They strongly resemble a crepe, but they're a little thinner. Personally, I don't see much of a difference. But I love dessert so I don't necessarily spend too much time looking at the dessert on the plate because I'm too busy eating it. These wonderful little thin pancakes of heaven can be topped with absolutely anything you want! Dulce de leche, chocolate, whipped cream, and/or caramel. It's always so nice to have one of these warm comfort foods on a cold day. They honestly do remind me a little bit of pancakes, so they are kind of a nice little reminder of home. The reason filloas get five stars form me is because of how simple they are to make and how diverse they can be. It's an easy base recipe with not too many ingredients and then you can create your ideal dessert by topping it with whatever you want. It's such an easy recipe that we make filloas almost every Saturday in my house here and have them for breakfast. I love watching people make them as well! you can check out a video of that here.
 
This is another recipe that I'd love to learn to make as skillfully as the person in the video so that I can make it for my American family when I return. I love how I can put literally anything I want in or on the filloas! In my house on Saturdays, my little siblings usually eat their filloas with Nutella and whipped cream. I love it with just about anything and I don't really have a preference about what goes on it. I recommend giving this recipe a try in home and have fun putting making them any way you'd like!





3 stars

Percebes

5:00 AM

Percebes: ✩ ✩ ✩

While initially quite frightening, percebes, or goose barnacles in English, are actually quite a tasty snack or side dish. Harvesting percebes is a very dangerous and tough job for only the fearless, therefore making the goose barnacles quite expensive and more of a treat for special occasions. They're actually quite salty, which I don't love, but overall I think theyŕe pretty good. They are cooked very simply and not usually served with any sauce here in Galicia. The hardest part, in my opinion, would be eating them. The prehistoric-looking part isn't eaten and is a hard shell. The part that resembles "the stem" of the goose barnacles has the edible part inside. To reach the actual food, you have to do a little work, as with almost all seafood here in Galicia. The way I learned to do it, is by using your nail to puncture a small cut towards the top of the point part of the percebes. Then, wiggle the stem a little and the outer shell of the edible part should just slip off. Then. you bite off the meat and leave the top part. There is a part that you can eat inside of the sharp looking head of the percebe, but many people here, including me, don't like it because of the texture. I also really hate the way that part of the percebe looks, so I steer clear of that part.





 

5 stars

Tortilla Española

4:57 AM

Tortilla Española: ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩

Tortilla Española. Just the name of this dish makes my mouth water. I have to say that this is one of my favorite dishes, if not my favorite, that I've tried here. I realize that this isn't a dish typical to only the Galicia area, but this totally deserved to be mentioned. Tortilla Española is made up of three simple ingredients; egg, potato, and onions. After combining all the ingredients, the tortilla is then cooked in a pan and ready to serve. Such a simple recipe, yet it has everything that you could want in a dish. Tortilla Española is basically served whenever and wherever. For tapas, for lunch, for dinner, in a sandwich, you name it! I can even remember the first time I tried a tortilla Española, which was at a taparía. It was probably one of the first Spanish foods that I had tried in Spain, and it still pretty much reigns my favorite. I really want to learn how to cook this and take this recipe back home to make for friends and family. This is a super great Spanish dish to try while visiting or even to cook in the comforts of your own home. If you'd like to make this recipe for yourself, check out this link. It's a great dish for somewhat pickier eaters and smaller kids as well. Personally, I prefer that there be more egg in the tortilla than potato, resulting in a less dry tortilla. The best tortilla that I've had here has been from a small taparía in the city of Santiago, and all I had to do was buy a drink! The tortilla came free with the drink as a tapa. It was made exactly the way I like it and it was the most satisfying tortilla I've ever had. Whether you visit Spain or not, I completely recommend that you try this easy-to-make and delicious dish.

introduction

Welcome to my blog!

2:22 AM

Welcome to my blog about Galician food! Right now, I'm fifteen years old and a one-way exchange student in the city of Vigo, Spain for a school year. I left my school, my family, my friends, and my life in Arlington, Texas for almost a year in order to move in with a new family and go to a new school in a different environment. I came here because I want to learn Spanish and experience a new culture and way of life. I love food and there's a lot of different food here in Spain and Galicia, so I thought that it would make a wonderful subject for my blog. In this welcome post, I thought I'd share a little bit of background information about Spanish and Galician food. In Spain, the biggest meal of the day is lunch, not dinner like in America. The meal times are also very different. We eat breakfast in my house at about 7:30am, which is pretty much the same in America. Then, we have lunch anywhere from 2pm-3pm. I get out of school at 2:20pm every day except for Monday, so I eat around 2:30pm on weekdays. Then, we have dinner anywhere from 9pm-11pm. Usually, we eat earlier on that spectrum on weekdays because my siblings here have to go to sleep. There's a different etiquette and way of eating here as well. We always use a tablecloth and spills happen at every single meal, but it doesn't really matter cause we have our trusty 'ol tablecloth. Using your hands to eat is unacceptable and there are only certain foods that are okay to eat with your hands. For example, clams or other mollusks similar to clams, are acceptable to eat with your hands, BUT if they're in a sauce, then you better be reaching for that fork or be prepared to get bad looks from native Spaniards. Quite honestly, I believe that Spanish food is blander than other types of food, and definitely blander than what I'm used to eating at my home in Texas. I normally eat quite the range of food in Texas. My mother is from Indonesia and my father is Italian, so I'm very accustomed to eating Asian and Italian foods. I also really love spicy foods, which is something that I hardly get to taste here. Even though it's quite different than anything I eat in Texas, I've come to love Spanish food. I hope you enjoy my very honest reviews of Spanish food from a Texan perspective.