Revuelto de Morcilla : Scrambled Blood Sausage

Catchy title, isn’t it? 

My good phone-camera is currently missing and I’m using a backup.  One which I have, obviously, not quite figured out.  If this pic looks less than appetizing it might be the camera’s fault (or the user thereof) or it might be what you opine regarding the ingredients  - - or maybe the appearance of the final dish.

It really is very tasty and it’s not just a made up dish.  You can get this in cafés ‘most everywhere.

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Revuelto de Morcilla : Scrambled Morcilla

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• oil, for frying, and lots of it
• 1 very large potato (or 2 medium large)
• 1 morcilla (also large)
• 1 green pepper
• 4 eggs, stirred up with a fork
• a dash of salt or two

Procedure

1. Peel then cut the potato into very thing julienne strips (we’re talking shoestring/straw potato sized)
2. Place in a bowl of cold water, dump the water (essentially a rinse), refill with cold water and into the fridge for 20 minutes
3. Peel the skin from the morcilla, cut into 1cm [1/2”] cubes
4. De-seed the green peppers and cut into julienne [sticks]
• The strips ought to be on the short side; maybe 4-5 cm [2”]
5. Drain the potatoes; fry them up in a lot of hot oil until just turning brown (in a couple or three batches)
• Dump the excess oil once the potatoes are done
6. Fry up the green peppers, in a little oil, medium heat, until just softening
• Add a dash of salt
• set  them aside
7. Fry up the morcilla, in a little oil, until just cooked
8. Add the green peppers back, stir it around
9. Add the eggs, stir it around until the egg-juice is just set (keep it moist – avoid over cooking and making it dry)
10. Salt the shoestring potato straws
11. Serve the scrambled up morcilla over a pile of potato straws

Done
Messy and odd looking but good

Notes

1. I used fresh Morcilla of Burgos (rice and onion based)
2. Chilling the potatoes in the fridge is important.  I think this step gets rid of excess starch so the potato straws stay nice and separate
3. Red pepper works just fine as well
4. Using 5 or 6 eggs would be okay too.  I went really quite light on the egg proportion
5. Potato straws can be made hours in advance, no problem - - and they’re good all on their own.

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Beef Chef Grill

There’s a new restaurant in town (bringing the total here in a suburb of Madrid to five).

Gazpacho

Do you see the chopped various things floating on it? (onions, green peppers, cucumber, tomato) This might or might not have been house-made gazpacho. Fine flavour but missing that special “something” that a real chef would have added to it. Maybe adding some really good olive oil would solve it? The croutins were definitely commercial; leave them out.

Grilled vegetables

Basic but tasty; and healthy too.

Roast beef

Good presentation. Tasty. The gravy might have been a commercial product.

Lomo de buey

Standard Spanish fare. This one was done quite correctly.

Lunch menu: €14,50 including starter, main, café (or dessert) and a glass of house wine (which was either Rioja or Ribera).

Location: Las Matas de Las Rozas de Madrid - and they might have another branch in Leganes.

I think they will do well. I’ll be back; if only to try their hamburger. Good service. Decent price. Looks like it would a kid-welcoming place.

The mobile telephone with the 5 megapixel camera is missing at the moment. This was taken with a simpler phone-camera. I know, in know - if food blogging one should get a decent camera - - and one day I might.

Mid day Cafe

This was the lunch hour rush at a local café/pizzería (3:00). Not that the economy is having an impact or anything like that? It was a nice day, warm, not hot (85 rather than 95 for example) and just a 100 yards down from a hotel.

Maybe it’s not a good moment to be in the hospitality industry.

Hog Roast

The local pub decided to roast a hog on the weekend.  Haven’t had one of these for years.

The cook, alas, elected to cater to the sensibilities if the visiting English clients and removed the head prior to spitting the pig.  Some of the best stuff is in there – brains for example – and the cheeks.

In any case, delicious.  Crackly skin and moist meat.

Recipe: Spit the animal; turn slowly over medium low flame; for 7 hours.

Inside the Pizza Oven

End of the shift at a pizzería.  The fire’s been allowed to die down; although the oven’s still blazing hot.  Shows that you don’t always need flames to cook a pizza in a wood burning oven (although it’s very colorful to have some).  That’s my pizza in there.  Note the nice puffy edges.

Baked Salmon

• Sauté the onions (lots and lots; 4 or 5) until just barely soft.
  Cover the bottom of an ovenproof dish with olive oil & slightly sautéed onions.
  
  
• Sprinkle thyme from your back porch garden on the salmon; salt and pepper (white pepper please)
  Place salmon filets on top of onions
  Sprinkle with white wine (1/4 C; not a lot) and lemon juice.
  
  
• Bake at 150c (300F) for 10-15 minutes – or until just barely cooked.

Ta da!

Wine Selection

And they`re all eco, organic or biodynamic Spanish wines. At my favorite pizzería.