Taste of Spain

The big favorite (everywhere in Spain, no matter how far from the sea) is deep-fried fish: Calamares are rings of squid; Boquerones are fresh anchovies (you munch the whole crispy thing); Lenguado are small sole; Gambas are shrimp or prawns of varying sizes, usually served a La Plancha (in Spanish, "Frito" means deep-fried and "a la Plancha" means pan-fried) with heads, legs and all - you peel them yourself (it's messy, but fun).


 Salad is "Ensalada" and usually composed of tomatoes, lettuce, onions and olives and served without dressing - you pour on the Aceite (oil) and Vinagre yourself.

Perhaps Spain's greatest contribution to world cuisine: Gazpacho, a summertime chilled soup which is essentially a liquid salad thickened with bread dough, and flavored with lots of rich olive oil, garlic and vinegar (to be good, it must be made with virgin olive oil- unfiltered. (Available at The Gourmet Emporium)

Ham is the great delicacy here, but not the cooked kind you're used to, which, strangely, is called York Ham - Jamón de York. The local cured variety is similar to Parma Ham, and is called Jamom Serrano, mountain-cured ham. Try a bit to see if you like it, it's delicious but takes getting used to – they like it on the pink, raw side, but in the cities you can get the more cured varieties. Ideally, Spanish ham should be sweet rather than salty. There are several varieties of pork sausage, mainly Chorizo (spicy and tender) and Salchichón (drier and very similar to Italian salami).

Beef is something of a there and called Ternera, which means veal although real baby veal is unknown. You can order a "Filete de Ternera" in any decent place this being a Thinnish beefsteak fried in....you guessed it - olive oil. 
Wines and beers: white wine is "VinoBlanco", red is VinoTtinto", a glass of draught beer is "Una Caña" and a small bottle of beer is a "Quinto".
Most restaurant-bars will prepare you a Sangria, but a less sweet and much more refreshing drink is the very popular Vino de Verano (summer wine) which is simply soda water and red wine on the rocks. The Tapa tradition survives; indeed, bars sink or swim here on the quality of their tapas, which should be hot (not olives or chips out of a bag) and different for every round of drinks. Listen to the barman shout to his wife in the kitchen: "Tres Segundo’s" (three seconds) or "Cuatro Primeras" (four firsts) - they have the various Tapas of the day numbered so that you can have 5 or 6 drinks without repeat of flavors.

Buen Apetito!

Arroz Con Pollo

Five large boneless chicken breasts
1 can tomato sauce

1 tablespoon of Sweet Chile Sauce (Available at LHC’s Gourmet Emporium)
1/2 large onion
2 garlic cloves
1/2 large tomato
1/2 large bell pepper

½ cup baby peas

Pinch of saffron threads

(Authentic Spanish Saffron – Available at the Gourmet Emporium)

1 bay leaf

Pinch of thyme
long grain rice
cooking oil or butter
1 cup hot water

1 cup beer
salt

Cut chicken breast into cubes. Chop all vegetables into bite sized pieces. Sauté a cup of rice in oil until golden brown. Stir in hot water and beer into rice; add vegetables, herbs, spices and chicken. Pour in tomato sauce, Sweet Chile Sauce and a teaspoon of salt. Cover and let boil; reduce heat to a simmer. Cook until chicken is white. Serves six.

We are located in Fort Lauderdale on the SW corner of Federal Highway and Oakland Park Blvd. (diagonal from Target) L'Hermitage Catering & Gourmet Emporium 3045 North Federal Highway Ft. Lauderdale, Fl 33306 (954) 568-2383