Ansley

Thanks for the tip - I look forward to checking out the restaurant some day. This made me think of the popular "Falsarius Chef" who has built an empire on recipes using common canned foods in Spain. He calls it "Cocina para impostores." I love the tongue-in-cheek attitude, but the main draw is really the food. Here is a link to his blog:http://www.falsariuschef.com/.

I have been living in Murcia for two years now and can attest to the fact that vegetables are often the stars of local cuisine. Many restaurants offer a parillada de verduras, a heaping plate of fresh vegetables -- red peppers, asparagus, mushrooms, zucchini, eggplant, thinly-sliced artichokes -- seared a la plancha and seasoned with olive oil and sea salt. I have had excellent versions at Los Toneles (a bodega), La Pequeña Taberna (a bit more upscale) and Mesón de Angel (homestyle cooking). Some other popular vegetable dishes found in most tapas bars and restaurants include pisto, morcilla de verano (made with eggplant and pine nuts), zarangollo (a zucchini and onion scramble), and the potaje and vegetable rice dish (arroz con verduras) mentioned my MoGa. I never feel short-changed in terms of vegetables here.