We had a Christmas party at the bakery. Everyone brought in some goodies to share and beers to drink so we would all walk out into the snowstorm later that night happy, fat and just a bit drunk. My contribution was a giant batch of plantainos, those salty fried plantains my grandmother taught me to make. After drinking a few beers and eating far too many sweets a friend came up to me with a gift. In honor of my trip to Spain, I was given a box of Dona Jimena Pastas De Espana: Assorted Spanish Delights.
Naturally I was ecstatic. I love delights, especially Spanish ones. So I immediately tore open the box and shared with friends. After I got home I started inspecting the box to see what the hell it was I was eating. Everything seemed fine until I looked at the ingredient list: wheat flour, sugar, animal fat…
Wait a second; the Spaniards put pork fat in their pastries!! This place is going to be even better than I thought!
Although I feel guilty that my vegetarian friend wolfed down one of these succulent suet sweets with me, I must admit that I have a soft spot in my heart for animal fat. Most carnivores do, but they try and hide it. I remember when I was a kid and I used to snag the fried chicken skins from my grandmother’s plate and I am sure that most people have some similar memory—taking the extra piece of chicken just to chew the crispy skin, sneaking a few slices of bacon beneath pancakes, pouring a bit of those velvety drippings on top of your portion of thanksgiving turkey.
Anyways, the pork fat candies got me thinking about the other delights that await me in this mystical, pork worshipping land called Spain. Since I can’t bite into the tasty concoctions yet, I’ll have to busy myself with a few scraps of writing about the tasty stuff.
Check out the Bo Ssam pics
Check Fats from Animals
One day I'll cure meats too
Otto Pizza...mmm
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