A Boqueria challenge / project

[pepe]

OK, I think 19 June could be a good deadline, I also have ideas for a menu.

[culinary bear]

I hate you all... I would saw off both arms (though admittedly I would need help with the second) to live near the Boqueria. The fish is the best I have ever seen.

*weeps*

[Mar Calpena]

If there are no changes, it's Friday afternoon shopping for my sister and me on to a Sunday dinner!!! I'm really looking forward to all this ( she wasn't available any sooner ). I might split my answer in two posts... We're going to improvise, in terms of recipes.

Mar

[Silly Disciple]

Well, I just came back from the Boqueria, having spent EUR 29.4 .

I will and let you guess what each thing is. Later on tonight I will break down what I've spent, and what each thing is, along with the menu and an overview of the recipes.

We are planning a 6 course dinner tonight !!!!

SD

edited to add pics.

Edited May 18, 2005 by Silly Disciple (log)

[Silly Disciple]

We just finished dinner... we are all quite full. A friend of mine from cooking school came to help me cook, along with another friend, and my mother was visiting too, so we ended up being five people instead of the original two. Surprisingly, we only had to add one or two things to what we bought to be able to stretch all the courses.

Here's what we originally bought:

100gr Morels - 4 EUR

450gr Duck Magret - 6.3 EUR

410gr sweetbreads - 3.1 EUR

1 big spanish mackerel, about 560gr - 2.20 eur

Assorted produce, consisting of:

- 3 tomatoes

- 4 sweet onions

- 2 zuchinnis

- 1 cauliflower head

- 1 pack green asparragus

- 1 pack white asparragus

- 1kg artichokes

- 1 mango

- 1/2 a pineapple

- some ciboulette

- 1 escarola (in english? chard?) head

- all for 11.8 EUR

1/2 dozen fresh eggs - 1 EUR

50gr almonds - 1 EUR

total: 29.4 EUR

I later bought a bunch of spinach for .9 EUR, so I'm officially over budget .

I also used 4 strawberries to garnish the dessert, lemon zest, olive oil, a bit of heavy cream, a bit of coffee, sugar, salt, etc., all of which I had at home.

To feed the extra three people, I added another duck magret and used 3 extra eggs (I broke one of the ones I bought, and I needed 2 more for one of the courses).

The menu:

1. Asparagus in three textures (served 5 people)

2. Egg Cocotte with morels and cream of spinach

(served 5 people and we had a few morels left)

3. Sweetbreads salad with coffee vinagrette (served 4 1/2 people)

4. Maquerel papillote with sauted zuchinni and artichoke heads. (served 4 people)

5. Duck Magret with Cauliflower puree, sauted chard and spinach vinagrette.

(served 5 people after I added an extra magret, and we had enough meat for a repeat).

6. pineaple ravioli with mango sorbet. (served 5 people + 1 repeat).

As I said, I'm pretty surprised we were able to create six courses for five people for about 40 EUR... that's really cheap, 8 euros a head, 1.3 eur per course !!! We were really thinking things wouldn't be enough for two people.

SD

[Mar Calpena]

Wow!!!!!

Impressive!!! You have set the bar very high!!!!

I almost can smell the food, and I'm dribbling, SD.

Just one non cooking related question: How would you translate "sweetbread" and "morel" to Spanish?

Congratulations! Everything looks tempting!

Mar

[Silly Disciple]

Just one non cooking related question: How would you translate "sweetbread" and "morel" to Spanish?

Thanks for the comments Mar!

morel = morilla / colmenilla (murgula in catalan, I think).

sweetbreads = mollejas

SD

[slacker]

A brilliant start. Thanks SD.

I have accidentally and brutally cut off my chopping hand whilst clipping my fingernails, so won't now be able to compete. Sorry.

Let's see how the rest of you do, though.

I am rather excited about the market too.

:)

[Mar Calpena]

It's been delayed, but I'm still in...

[Saborosa]

Silly

Did you decide on your recipe/menu first or go to the market first and just bought what took your fancy and then tried to construct a menu around that? (like Ready Steady Cook, if you know it!)

Kirsten

[Silly Disciple]

Silly

Did you decide on your recipe/menu first or go to the market first and just bought what took your fancy and then tried to construct a menu around that? (like Ready Steady Cook, if you know it!)

Kirsten

←

menu first, but had to adjust a few things on the way, mainly due to a. finding good/seasonal stuff at cheap enough prices (ie the morels) and b. things running out of budget (wanted to get one or two more types of greens, which I didn't).

edited for more details:

I first decided on the main ingredients, and then I looked around and discussed with my friend from cooking class about recipes and such.

I knew I wanted mackerel because I simple love it and its a fairly cheap fish. I also knew I wanted duck magret, because while it is regarded as expensive, you can get away with small portions (not so small, about 120gr each, cooked, I think) ,it gives the whole meal a "wow, he did spend some money" look In a way, the rest of the meal was built around this dish.

I also like sweetbreads a lot, and they are very popular back in my home town (Buenos Aires), and since they are cheap we went for that too.

The week before cooking this meal I went to Paris with my family and we ate at L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon, and one of the dishes we had were the eggs cocotte w/ morels, which I loved and when I saw the morels at the market I thought it would be a great idea to try to mimic this dish.

Then asparagus are the seasonal ingredient (as are the morels), and the dessert was my friend's idea (i'm not into desserts that much).

SD

Edited May 23, 2005 by Silly Disciple (log)

[Silly Disciple]

So? What's going on???? where's everyone's groceries / meal?

SD

[chapeaulong]

This thread makes me remember how i lost my romance for dining out. It is soooo much cheaper at home. And the greatest foods can be done so simply with a little practice. I cant read this one anymore, the food looks beautifu!!

[Mar Calpena]

As I said, I'm running late with these project, but I'm in, even if I fail my own deadline. THe only good point is I'll be able to do a bit more planning beforehand... and now I've got my wages, I've got myself a new camera and I'll be able to take pics of everything.

[misscasserly]

pay day! i'm off to the market with my 30 euros.

[pepe]

Hello, I'm sorry but i can't go to Boqueria, I change my work place, if you want i'll send my challenge from Palafrugell,the fish is more expensive but the vegetables are amazing.

[Silly Disciple]

Hello, I'm sorry  but i can't go to Boqueria, I change my work place, if you want i'll send my challenge from Palafrugell,the fish is more expensive but the vegetables are amazing.

←

Pallafrugell sounds fine for me, it will be nice to see/hear from other markets outside Barcelona for a change.

bona sort!

SD

[pepe]

Hello,

Here am I, with my Palafrugell market., I pay for all 20,90€, so i added a bottle of Syrah from Jumilla Monasterio de Santa Ana, 4,70, so all for 25,60.

I have problems with the images so I buy:

2 boiled pig feet, 2 perol sausage (butifarras de perol), 1 iberic sausage (butifarra de ibérico), 1 sweet sausage (butifarra dulce), this is a special sausage made with sugar, lemon skin rappe and cinnamon I never find in Barcelona but here is usual. A pack of quail eggs.

For the vegetables:

Artichokes, broccoli, "escalonies", red pepper, potato, "piñones", dry grapefriut (pasas), zuchini, 2 apple golden, 1 pink Lady, 1 granny Smith.

For the desert:

a pack of "mato" or requeson or "recuit de Fonteta", Strawberrys.

Mint leaves.

When I solve the problem with the images I'll send you the rest.

Try guessing the menu, it's a mixture of vegetarian and porc dishes.

Pepe

[Bux]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but Palafrugell is in Catalunya north of Barcelona on the coast. As an English language web site, we have a great many readers who are not all that familiar with Spain, its geography and language.

By pasas I believe you mean raisins, which is what we call dried grapes in English. I also assume you mean grape and not grapefruit. Grapes are uva in Castilian, but I don't know what they call them in Catalan. I think grapefruits are aranja in Catalan and pomelo in Castilian, although we call another fruit "pomelo" in English. Throw in the fact that my wife's Spanish is from Latin America and you can understand why we are sometimes surprised at what we get when we order. Jamon is pernil in Catalunya, but pernil is fresh leg of pork in Puerto Rico as well as in shops in latino markets in NYC.

The butifarra dulce sounds interesting, though I'm not sure it would be to my taste. In Madrid, we had some morcilla that was heavily flavored with cinnamon. It was interesting, but I found the cinnamon overpowering.

Requeson is a fresh cheese. Probably very good with the berries. Is that your intention?

[Saborosa]

Yup Bux, Palafrugell is in the Baix Emporda, the lower bit of the Costa Brava (plus a bit inland). Palafrugell isn't quite on the coast - its 'beach' Calella de Palafrugell is, a lovely but touristy little ex fishing village.

Botifarra dulce is a speciality of the Emporda I believe. But you can get it in Barcelona, la botifarreria de Santa Maria (excuse spelling) shop near the Santa Maria del Mar church has some, and Quimet i Quimet has some little ones that are given out like candy - mainly i think for the look of surprise on unknowing people's faces when they unwrap what they think will be a chocolate or similar, to see, well, they're generally not sure what until they put it in their mouths - and even then some of them are still puzzled. But I love em! After all, sweet and savoury is not that unusual a combination for most of us, but it's interesting that in this context as a 'candy' the combination throws many people.

And yes pasas are 'dried grapes' - i think there's just been a bit of confusion between grape and grapefruit (which is actually a bit of a crazy name when you think about it.)

Pepe - My guess is there's going to be some combination of sausages and some kind of apple/raisins/pinenut sauce???

I'm aiming to have my go this weekend.

k

[Silly Disciple]

I'm aiming to have my go this weekend.

←

Yay, finally things are starting to happen!!!! Saborosa, please take lots of pictures and let us know how it goes! This past Tuesday I noted a slight increase in fish prices at the Boqueria, but on the other hand many vegetables were cheaper...

SD

Edited June 2, 2005 by Silly Disciple (log)

[pepe]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but Palafrugell is in Catalunya north of Barcelona on the coast. As an English language web site, we have a great many readers who are not all that familiar with Spain, its geography and language.

By pasas I believe you mean raisins, which is what we call dried grapes in English. I also assume you mean grape and not grapefruit. Grapes are uva in Castilian, but I don't know what they call them in Catalan. I think grapefruits are aranja in Catalan and pomelo in Castilian, although we call another fruit "pomelo" in English. Throw in the fact that my wife's Spanish is from Latin America and you can understand why we are sometimes surprised at what we get when we order. Jamon is pernil in Catalunya, but pernil is fresh leg of pork in Puerto Rico as well as in shops in latino markets in NYC.

The butifarra dulce sounds interesting, though I'm not sure it would be to my taste. In Madrid, we had some morcilla that was heavily flavored with cinnamon. It was interesting, but I found the cinnamon overpowering.

Requeson is a fresh cheese. Probably very good with the berries. Is that your intention?

←

Excuse me Bux, for my bad translation, of course you were right with all the changes, Palafrugell is, like Saborosa said, the village of 3 "beaches towns", Calella, Llafranc and Tamariu.

I mean dried raisins, not grapefruits, sorry.

You are right about the sweet butifarra, I tried with friends of Barcelona and they found the sweet flavour "strange", here the cinammon it's not overtaking, it's more the sweet taste

I need a spanish - english cooking dictionary

The menu was:

potato basket with quail fried eggs

artichokes hearts with zuchini two textures

broccoli catalan style (with dried raisins and pinions)

porc feet "puding"? with "escalonies" confit

"mille fueilles" of 3 apples and 3 saussages and

recuit (fresh cheese) with 3 strawberry textures

I have problems with the photos but i promess I'll send you

PP

[Silly Disciple]

The menu was:

potato basket with quail fried eggs

artichokes hearts with zuchini two textures

broccoli catalan style (with dried raisins and pinions)

porc feet "puding"? with "escalonies" confit

"mille fueilles" of 3 apples and 3 saussages and

recuit (fresh cheese) with 3 strawberry textures

I have problems with the photos but i promess I'll send you

PP

←

Pepe, your menu sounds great! I'm dying to see the pictures.

SD

[Bux]

. . . .Excuse me Bux, for my bad translation, . . . .

←

I'll excuse your translation and your spelling, but never for making me so hungry for food I won't get to taste again for at least another year.

I'm teasing of course. When I'm not eating, I love to read about good food, especially when I'm reading what's written by those with a passion for food.

By the way, although this is an English language site, we encourage those who are still learning or improving their skills in the langauge to post and practice their English. Native Spaniards are a valued source of information for us Anglophones on the food of Spain.

[pepe]

Well here are the photos of my market buying in Palafrugell,

Thank you Silly Discipline.

The first one are the products

The second one will be the dessert

I hope tomorrow could post the results.