Eating out in Sabadell - El Pendejo

I love Mexican food, just the thought of it makes my mouth watereth over. Even though Spain and Mexicospeak the same language, Mexican restaurants here are pretty mehhh, nothing special, spiciness – not so much, apart from chorizo and salsa del diablo the Spanish seem to have a pretty tame pallet.

 

El Pendejo can be found in Sabadell, a small town about 30 minutes away from Barcelona, it’s pretty big compared with other Mexican offerings, good for large groups, celebrations and birthdays and even has its own Mariachi band singing.  It can get really busy at weekends - on Friday and Saturday there are only two sittings 9pm and 11pm - so it’s best to book early.

 

It isn’t the cheapest Mexican I’ve been too here but the portions are HUGE; mountains of nachos covered with cheese, salsa, guacamole and real sour cream (I’d love to know where they procured it, sour cream, “nata agria”, is pretty unheard of here), one salad is big enough for four and the Papas Mexicanos were made from the biggest potatoes I’ve ever seen and that was all just for starters

 

For out main course, there were fajitas, burritos and enchiladas around the table. Bear in mind that nothing here is spicy so remember to request a serving of the spicy sauce and dollop generously, this will set you back another 2 euros but otherwise the food would be pretty bland. I also ordered an extra helping of guacamole but it turned out to be unnecessary as there was already so much food.

 

I glimpsed some desserts on nearby tables and they looked delicious but I was just so full I couldn’t manage another mouthful for this reason we also skipped coffee.

 

The bill came to €25 a head which was pretty good value considering the amount we ate. This has to be my favourite Mexican restaurant in the Barcelona area and I’ll definitely be paying another visit in the near future.

 

El Pendejo

www.pendejo-online.com

c/America

Sabadell

Tel: 937277172

 

 

 

 

 

Free Icecream Day

What sounds better than that?

Today is free icecream day at Ben & Jerry’s across the world. I have already been for my free scoop of chocolate fudge brownie and it was delicious

Last year they gave away over 10,000 scoops to hungry icecream lovers. I wonder how many they’ll give away this year?

 

Baked Gilthead Seabream

I’ve always been a little afraid of cooking fish - I never really quite know what to do with it, how long to cook it, what to put on it but this, this is one of the simplest fish dishes ever.

For 2 people

2 breams

A lemon

Garlic

Bay Leaves

Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper

Have your fishmonger prepare the fish for you, this includes gutting, cleaning and descaling it and even making some handy incisions.

Then just take a couple of slices of lemon, bay leaves, a couple peeled garlic cloves - give ‘em a whack with the back of your knife to release the flavour - and stuff it all in the middle of the fish, adding a slice of lemon in one or two of the incisions depending on the size of your fish. Drizzle over a little olive and season with salt and pepper.

To accompany you could be very lazy like me and halve a few potatoes and throw them in the tray as well - also drizzled and seasoned.

Then pop in the oven at around 180c and bake for around 45 minutes.

That’s it. Seriously, what could be easier! You could add other bits and bobs - rosemary, onions etc but why complicate life.

Eating out in Barcelona - Kathmandu

The Spanish have never been renowned for their taste in spicy food - in fact, apart from the occasional spicy chorizo and the infamous pimientos de padron, spicy does not really register anywhere in their cooking repertoire. I remember one occasion when I had some friends over for dinner, including a Spanish girl I had invited, I prepared some Mexican food, which of course features chillies but I didn’t go over the top or so I thought until I saw the poor girl crying because of the spiciness of the chicken… That’s not to say that there are no Spanish people that like spicy food, quite the contrary, once you introduce them to it (poco a poco) they’re hooked!Unlike Chinese restaurants of which all (that I know of) are bad, Indian and Pakistani restaurants can be very good in Barcelona, the food enjoyable but it never reaches the spiciness level to which the “Vindaloo” Brits have become accustomed. The waiters do ask whether you would like to have your dish spicy but even after specifying “British spicy not Spanish spicy” it never quite gets there which is why I was very happy when I found Kathmandu in Gracia.

Kathmandu is actually a Nepalese restaurant although looking at the menu there it was hardly any different to the Indian and Pakistani menus around Barcelona, the Spanish do tend to lump all of these cuisines under the title “Comida Hindu” so I guess that would explain it.

 We started with the typical poppadoms with a selection of chutneys and yogurt dip followed by some samosas. Between three of us we then shared a Chicken Saag, a Chicken Tikka Masala and a Jheenga Machha Masala which are Prawns in a Nepalese Curry Sauce plus rice and naan. We were asked if we wanted it spicy to which we replied that we did and low and behold - it actually was spicy!! Not blow your head off spicy but just the ticket.

The food we ordered was plenty to fill us all up and there was even some left over, the best thing about it, the whole meal plus beers came to 15€ per head. Bargain!

 So if you’re looking for a real spicy curry in Barcelona, now you know.

 Kathmandú

C/Corsega 421

Barcelona

Tel: 934593769

What I did

Even though I still don’t have my own kitchen (grr, Spanish builders live up to their ominous reputations) - over the Easter break I rustled up some delights in my mother-in-law’s. I even tried my hand at my very first batch of hot cross buns!

Unfortunately I didn’t take photos of everything - mainly because it was all wolfed down before I had a chance, but anyway here’s what’s coming up

• Hot cross buns (of course)
• Garlic Buttery Prawns
• Penne a la vodka
• Simple sushis
• Roasted Gilthead Bream

Kitchen Update

Well my kitchen should have long been finished by now.. but it isn’t. We’ve had some set backs but I’ve got my fingers crossed that by April it will be all done.

 Good news is that we now have our brand new super dooper electrical domestics and a whole array of kitchen gadgets but no-where to put them.

 Patience is a virtue. .

Calçot time

It’s calçot time here in Catalunya. During February and March people flock to the countryside to cook and eat these tasty seasonal onions.Apparently calçots are only grown in Catalunya, if I were to describe one I would say that it is a cross between a spring onion and a leek. Traditionally the best, and only, according to some, way to eat calçots is to cook them over a wood fire until they are black and charred on the outside. They are then wrapped in newspaper and taken to the table where they are unwrapped and snaffled up by hungry bystanders.

The calçot is picked up by the leaves with one hand while with the other you pull off the charred outer leaves. The calçot in then dipped in romesco sauce, a sauce made with roasted garlic, tomatoes and peppers, almonds and hazelnuts, once dipped dangle the calçot above your head, tilt your head back and pop it into your mouth.

What with charred leaves, dipping sauces and all that dangling it is a messy process and in restaurants they often provide you with bibs and gloves.

Eating out in Barcelona - Kibuka

Whenever I go back to the UK, I always like to make sure I go for a slap up Chinese meal complete with crispy duck pancakes, because as hard as I look, there just doesn’t seem to be any decent Chinese food in Barcelona. 

Thankfully, that isn’t the case for Japanese food. Barcelona has an abundance of Japanese restaurants, some better than others, but all relatively inexpensive (compared to UK) 

My personal favourite is Kibuka. Located in Gracia, there are two of these Japo-Brazilian restaurants serving the most delicious sushi, sashimi and maki ever to grace my mouth. Clearly I am not the only one who thinks so as come opening time, it’s best to be there on the dot or find yourself on a three hour waiting list.. (no reservations unfortunately) 

The menu is creative using ingredients such as strawberries, mango and fresh crab. The Uramaki’s are out of this world, I recommend the Tataki Uramaki, or in fact any of them, they’re all delish! Make sure you also try the spicy tuna, mmmmm mmm. My favourite dish is the hot Philadelphia roll, filled with smoked salmon and Philadelphia cheese, tempura-ed, then served hot with a mouth watering dipping sauce it will leave you thinking about it for weeks or until you go again. 

Whenever we go to Kibuka, we generally skip the starters, maybe some edamame (soy beans) or a sunomono (cucumber salad) and just order a big variety of sashimi, uramaki, and assorted sushi.  For around 25€ per person you get a good sushi fix, plus drinks and dessert.

 www.kibuka.com

kibuka-Goya  C/ Goya, 9, 08012 Barcelona(Gràcia)

Thermomix

I was lucky enough to receive a Thermomix for Christmas.

A Thermomix is a kitchen robot with a whole host of functions such weighing, chopping, blending, sautéing, steaming.. I could go on.. 

My sister-in-law also got one and on Saturday we went to the demonstration at her place (as we have no kitchen to have her own).

I was very impressed at the speed that it does everything, in the space of two and a half hours we made 

Fruit sorbet – approximately 3 minutes – The velocity in which is turned ice cubes to slush is AMMMAAAZZING

Lemonade – approximately 1 minute – didn’t even have to peel the lemons, just

Pizza Dough

Bread crumbs

Bolognese sauce

Béchamel

Courgette soup

Steamed vegetables

Poached eggs 

And it was all damn tasty! 

I can’t wait until my demonstration. 

Another good thing is that they have courses to show you other ways to use your Thermomix every week. Sign me up! 

I’ve also discovered various forums for Thermomix users in English and Spanish.

Apparently it even cleans itself.. ahem. 

I think it is gonna get some good use.

Without a kitchen

A new year, a new blog, a new kitchen.. well not quite a new kitchen, but nearly.

Having spent the last couple of months renovating an apartment, it is nearly finished with the new kitchen being fitted on Tuesday however I have yet to choose the electricaldomestics, the things that actually DO the cooking.

I have been looking across the board but with so many different opinions and time running out I’m really not sure what to do… EEK.

Anyway until the new kitchen is fully installed my cooking attempts will be limited. In the meantime my intention is to provide information on Barcelona’s restaurants, bars and general information about Spanish gastronomy 

Let’s see how it goes!