Typical Spanish Dishes: Puree de zanahorias

This was one of my favorite cold weather, warm-up dishes. It's pureed carrot soup (though it bears no resemblance to baby food, if that's what you're thinking). My host mom, María José, also made puree de calabacín, my other favorite puree. Instead of carrots, she used zucchini, added a little more pepper, and on special days, we put dates in the soup.

Here, the carrot puree is served with a side of pechuga de pollo con ajo y vino, ensalada, y pan--chicken breast with garlic and white wine, salad, and bread.

Mmmmm. Such great taste memories

Delicious

Happy winter :)

Typical Spanish dishes: Arroz Cubano

       This dish was one of my all time favorites of Maria Jose's. It is rice with parsley and garlic covered with a sauce that has tomate frito (a fried tomato sauce), beef, white wine, and garlic. A little variation on it would be topping it with a friend egg. And of course, true to my host mom's mentality on lunches (1st plate, 2nd plate, and bread) a small salad was paired with this many times and the wonderful bread to clean the plate with.

Arroz Cubano con ensalada: Cuban rice with salad

Pan : bread from the Pan Man

         Before I left for Christmas vacation, I sat down with Maria Jose and got some of her recipes for these delicious dishes! Arroz cubano was one of them, seeing as it was my favorite. When I returned home for the holidays, I decided to make it for my family. It turned out pretty good (although host mom still always makes it best) although I couldn't find the essential tomate frito so I tried a combination of different tomato pastes and purees. Still a perfection in progress but take a look at the result!

Tomate frito and beef sauce simmering down

Finishing touches!
Maria Jose insisted that when you prepare it, you must pack the rice into a mug (or small cup) first, put that on the plate, and then pour the beef and tomato sauce over it so it looks pretty. So, not to go against the word of a Spanish mom, here's the finished plated food below!

The finished product!
Arroz cubano con tomates y aceite: Cuban rice with tomatoes and olive oil
(And bread, of course)

Typical Spanish dishes: Sopa de Picadillo

                When I studied abroad with API, the housing options we had were a home stay, a residencia, a shared apartment, or independent living.  I elected living with a family in a home stay during my first semester abroad. This meant that I would live with a Spanish family and my host mom (or dad) would do my laundry once a week, provide 3 meals a day, and cleaning once a week. One of the best things about this option (besides the great daily Spanish practice with a local) is the food. My host mom, Maria Jose, was a fantastic cook. She believed that a proper meal always consisted of a first plate, a second plate, and bread. While I was living with her, I took to habit to take pictures of almost all of our meals. Here, I will share with you some of the typical Spanish dishes she cooked for me!

                To start things off, one of my favorite dishes:  Sopa de Picadillo

The lunchtime spot: the kitchen table of Maria Jose

                This dish has shredded chicken, small thin noodles, carrots, and cooked egg. Sopa means soup in Spanish and Picadillo means mince, such as minced meat. So Sopa de Picadillo means a soup of minced meat. In this photo, the meat is not so much minced as it is shredded. This soup is delicious during colder weather; it’s a perfect pick-me-up! That day, it was served with a side place of an egg, ham, and green bean omelet as well as bread (what I observed as a huge staple in the Spanish diet) 

Sopa de Picadillo

Stay tuned for more pictures and 

information about typical Spanish dishes!

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