They were just running around yesterday...

Shopping for food has been a huge adjustment for me.  Case in point:  chickens.  I've found some nice poultry vendors at the Mercat Galvany (Monica Avirum or something like that)... developing a rapport with the vendors is very important to me.  That's also the key to getting better service, or just learning more about what you're getting or what you can special order...

Here at Monica's, they carry lots of interesting poultry and prepared foods.  They also sell rabbit, which i'm still curious about.  I tried the "Cordoniz" which i'm not sure if it's a cornish hen or a poussin.  Actually, I'm not sure anymore if it was the Cordoniz that I got or the really tiny little guys at the bottom left of this picture here.

But their whole chicken is what I usually get... though i've been getting the "conventionally" raised birds rather than the organic or cage free birds that I prefer (on principle).  It's strange - in LA, when I'd get my chicken from Lily's Eggs (at the Hollywood or Santa Monica Farmers markets), they'd be 3-4 pounds each - small birds.  But here - the pasture raised hens are huge - like 6 pounds or so. 

But those pasture raised hens are like 18 Euros each - way too expensive.  That's like $25!  These birds pictured above are the conventional ones.  And they are very fresh - they were just alive and running around the day before!  They still have the heads attached and they have their innards.  So when you get a chicken from these market vendors - the people behind the counter provide full-service. 

 I wanted my chicken butterflied for this one recipe I was trying out.  So without hesitation, Jessica grabbed a chicken, lopped off the head, trimmed the feet, butterflied and gutted it... saving the gizzards and liver for me.  Even the cheap chicken is expensive and I'm not letting any of it go to waste. 

They also usually have carcasses available if you're looking to make stock or broth... but if there aren't any available, they'll just grab a chicken, remove the parts, clean out the interior, and in about a minute, you have a carcass with a good amount of meat to add extra flavor to your stock/soup.  I made lots of stock this year.  I wish I had a bigger stock pan - my biggest pot is pretty small... I could hardly get enough stock for one soup recipe.  The carcasses are pretty cheap - like a euro or 2... and they will toss in a handful of Italian parsley sprigs if you ask. 

Trying to embrace the food... key word: trying.

For those of you who know me, you know that I love good food. And here in Barcelona, I've been having a couple of hits, but plenty of misses. 

So I thought - maybe if I shift my perspective a bit, and start eating like a local, I might actually stumble upon something good.  Rather than getting frustrated that I can't find what I'm used to finding in that agricultural wonderland that is California... I should start playing with what's at hand. 

See these guys:

EUR 55,00 per Kilo!! most of which is shell and rock.

Percebes (aka Goose Barnacle).  I had never heard of them before, but I see them all the time at the Mercat Galvany.  They are these little tubular shellfish-y things that latch onto the undersides of rocks along some coastal parts of Spain & Portugal - where the waves come crashing in.  Very dangerous to harvest - hence the expensive price tag.  Some governing offices also want to ban this practice of harvesting due to the danger of the task.

Now I would never buy anything so expensive while clueless as to what to do with them.  Especially since I don't like shellfish all that much to begin with.  But my friend Patty (who's an incredibly good cook) served them up last week for her birthday dinner. 

You eat them cold, like crab legs (which she also served).  hold the little "goose barnacle" at one end and then you pinch just below the grey claw-like part and then pull the sleeve off.  what you're left with is the edible part - which is at most one inch long by a quarter inch in diameter - it's TINY.  And very SALTY. 

Worth the price tag?  I'll pass.  Give me lamb, foie, anything dreamed up by this man... I'll skip the percebes.  and the crab legs. 

My recent attempt at cooking with local flavor was a recipe given to me by one of my English students:  "Sepia estilo Vinaroz"- a Fisherman stew using Sepia (squid - larger than calamari - 1 kilo each), potatoes, toasted bread, and chocolate!!!???!!!  I'd learned how to clean calamari while working at Ludobites - but this sepia was too much to deal with.  I didn't enjoy preparing it.  The finished product was kinda odd - but I don't know if it's because I made it wrong, or that's just how it's supposed to taste. 

Have I had some good meals here?  yes.
And if you love seafood, cured pork products and potatoes, you'll love Spanish food.

As for veggie lovers like myself, well, I just need to get more inventive with what I see.

At the Mercat Galvany

I don't quite "get" the point of these "Mercats" around town.  They are not quite supermarkets - as they only sell food items - but they aren't like the "Farmer's Markets" that I am accustomed to in Los Angeles.  They are open daily until around 1pm, and have their fixed stalls with their dedicated vendors... but they aren't Farm-to-Market vendors... they are all middlemen, and buy their produce from other wholesalers.  But they do have interesting things that you don't normally find in Los Angeles. 

In honor of Sabel (a co-intern at Ludobites) who taught me how to clean squid... no, i didn't buy any

Not sure what these are - but they look interesting - and I don't see these in LA

Frying fish?  Sardines? 

I usually avoid the center of the market - that's where all the fish are.  They look so menacing and bizarre.

Some knife!  She was actually the friendliest of the fish mongers... all the fish sold at her stand were from Galicia (to the north) or locally in the Mediterranean.  She was filleting Sole from the Galicia area.

escargots!  fresh live snails!

How would I describe this market to my Angeleno friends?  It's kinda like the Farmer's Market at 3rd & Fairfax, yet not... 

And you think you're gonna get organic and local stuff here?  Newp.  Not quite.  I did opt for Fuji apples from France over the Pink Lady apples imported from Chile.  Think either are organically grown?  Newp. 

When I asked about organic or biologica fruits and veggies - they tell me that it all looks ugly.  There is no such thing as gorgeous organic produce in Barcelona.  I think they just want me to give up, and buy from them. 

Be still my beating heart!

Found:  my favorite autumn fruit!  Persimmons (happy dance).  From Valencia.  These small ones seem to be the Hachiya variety... I didn't get them - I got a single giant Hachiya which I will enjoy tomorrow morning for breakfast.  Though I'm thrilled that I found these.  As for the Fuyu variety?  Well, I haven't seen them yet.  I'm not sure which I prefer - I love them both.  But a season without Fuyu Persimmons will not be autumn to me.  In LA, the Fuyus were always ripe in Autumn with the Hachiyas ready closer to winter. 

But you know what they call these fruits?  Kaki.  Doesn't have the same ring as purrr-si-mon.

Mmmmmeat

 

Yes - that's a whole leg of pig.  Two to be exact.  Some restaurants just have the leg right there on the counter, and they slice your Jamon Serrano or Iberico straight off the leg.  

More cured meats and cheeses.  Seeing as today, Saturday, is sandwiched between two holidays - most of the stalls at the Mercat Galvany were closed.  But a few were open.  We were able to get some asparagus, leeks and artichokes.  and some pancetta from this deli stand.

Day 8 - at the Mercat Galvany

I never seemed to have so much trouble getting up in the morning as I've been having here in Barcelona.  It's not jet lag - I've been here a week.  It's just that evil beast "insomnia" rearing its ugly head every night.  Of course there are the pills to take to help me sleep (xanax, clonazepam) - but those make it harder for me to get up in the morning.  

It's like entering a church!

So every morning, I miss the Mercat Galvany - which closes at 2pm.  That is the closest thing to a farmers market for me.  but their produce stands are very disappointing.  All the fruit/vegetable stands sell the same things (lettuce, peas, favas, strawberries, oranges, celery, currants...) As opposed to what I'm used to at any of the certified farmers markets around the southern california area... where I know Coleman farms will have all the best greens, and Harry's Berries will have the best strawberries (and jam), and Baldessari farms will have my favorite Mayfair nectarines in about a month or so... I wonder if I'll find any boysenberries when I go back next month?  

However they do have lots of fish, seafood, meats and poultry.  And lots of ham.  everywhere.  Jamon Iberico (pernil, if you're looking for the word in catalan).  

The purpose of today's excursion was to get the items for Monday night's Matzo Ball soup and I was seeking out chicken backs/necks/wings... or just plain old carcasses... and then the rest of the veggies to make the soup (or Caldo, as they called it)... how do I order 3.5 pounds of chicken carcass? I never realized how handy the unit converter app on my iPhone would come in handy (1.58 kilos)

They keep the heads on their animals... ummm okaaaaay

I asked the friendly butcher lady what that animal next to the chicken carcasses were... after saying the word in spanish (which flew over my head) - she said "buss bunny" in her attempt at english translation. Maybe one of these days I'll try a rabbit stew.  I know that Healthy Family Farms & Jimenez Farms (both at Hollywood) had frozen rabbit for sale at various times throughout the year.  But seeing as it was so exotic - I never got around to making any.  

You know how some recipes say to wash and clean the chicken?  Most chicken sold in the US is already quite clean.  These... not so much.  I  think I'll ask the butcher to lop off the head for me.  picking the feather shafts off will be oh so fun.