We were invited to have Christmas Dinner with a charming family called the Steffens, who have lived here in Spain for many years. The glazed ham, decorated house, and pumpkin pie made it feel more like Christmas at home. We did have Spanish appetizers however: serrano ham, manchego cheese, and langostinos. Spaniards swoon over serrano ham which looks like this:
and is cut from a pig leg that looks like this:
May not look appetizing to you, but the average Spaniard's mouth would be watering over this picture.
Langostinos are pretty much gigantic shrimp, served cold. Now those of you who know us know that we are not exactly shrimp people, but we got the low-down on how to twist off their heads, pry off their armor, discard the legs and use the tail as a handle for insertion in the mouth. The flavor was very nice once you got past the chewy-tendony-bursting texture. Aunt Chrissi would be proud. Brian went back for seconds, though probably just for the morbid pleasure of ripping off something's head.
Manchego is a delicious cheese made from sheep's milk and you can find it in the States nowadays, so give it a whirl. Melted on slices baguette-style bread is best.
No comments:
Post a Comment