Sevilla - Day 22: Food!

Food is often seen as the identity of a country or culture -- a way to remember its past and enjoy the present, leading to this slightly edited quote prevalent here: "Tell me what you eat and I'll tell you who you are."

Earlier this morning, our little group enjoyed a presentation on the variety of foods that make up the culinary landscape of Spain, and on the many influences that helped shape it — from Phoenicians to Carthaginians, Greeks, Celts, Romans, Visigoths, French, Jews and Muslims, and even the Catholic church. I know I’ve been enjoying its varied dishes for the past three weeks, but to be aware of their subtleties was a nice exercise.

To truly understand food, you have to prepare it and cook it. So following the lecture, we set out to attend a cooking class and prepare three typical Spanish dishes: salmorejo (a cold tomato-based emulsion soup); espinacas con garbanzos — a specialty of Sevilla; and, finally, the purist’s paella: Valencia version — the only dish that can truly be referred to by that name (all other versions with seafood or other ‘decorations’ are simply called: arroz con…).

I needed something to get me out of yesterday's slump, and this was just the ticket! What an amazing experience :)  I've just published an article on my WordPress account that details it, should you be interested. Warning: you might be left hungry after reading it and looking at the pictures ;)