The gourmet's guide to Europe

A candid Frenchman, who had lived long in Spain, asked as to the cookery of Spain compared with that of other nations, replied, "It is worse even than that of the English, which is the next worst.” That Frenchman was, however, rather ungrateful, for the Spaniards taught the French how to stuff turkeys with chestnuts. The Spanish cooks also first understood that an orange salad is the proper accompaniment to a wild duck, the Spanish hams are excellent, and The Arroz Valenciana and some of the egg dishes deserve a place in all cookery books. The lower orders in Spain have too great a partiality for ajo and aceite , for oil and garlic. Their oil, which they use greatly even with fish, is not the refined oil of Genoa or the south of France, but is a coarse liquid, the ill taste of which remains all day in one’s mouth. Garlic is an excellent seasoning in its proper place and quantity, and the upper classes of the Spaniards have their meat lightly rubbed with it before being cooked, but the 273 " s 274 Gourmet's Guide to Europe lower classes use it in the cooking to an intolerable extent. Capsicum is much eaten in Spain, being sometimes stuffed, but in any quantity it is very indigestible. The peppers, red or green, but generally green, are first heated on a gridiron and then steamed in order that the skin may be easily removed. In a salad with tomatoes they form an excellent mixture. In the south of Spain the heat is tropical in the summer, and the only meat then available in any small town is generally goat. As in India, the chicken which you order for your lunch is running about the yard of the inn when the order is given. The principal dish of Spain is Puchero , which is analogous to the Pot au Feu of the French. Everything goes into the pot, but the principal ingredients are garbanzos (the Spanish name for white haricot beans), meat, fresh bacon, rancid bacon, onions and garlic. When the water boils, the soaked garbanzos are thrown in. In most kitchens in Spain the mixture is allowed to boil as rapidly as possible, but the classic tradition is that it should boil slowly, and that the scum should be taken off. Unless the mistress of the house happens to be in the kitchen, the scum never is taken off, for Spanish plain cooks much resemble plain cooks in other countries — only more so. The liquid of this stew forms the Caldo , or broth, and by adding rice, vermicelli, or Italian paste, the broth becomes Sopa de Puchero. When the broth has been drained off, chorizo , a sausage of pork and red pepper, a sort of blood pudding, and whatever vegetables are in season, are put in and allowed to stew. The stewed meats being extracted are served as Cocido , and in well-to-do families are put on the table with the vegetables ; but in poor families the meat, bacon, &c., form a separate dish, and are called La Pringada , Gaspacho is a cold mixture, the staple Spain 275