I was very excited when I got home from work yesterday because the postie had delivered this month's Kitchen Nomad box. I knew that it had a Mediterranean theme but that was all I knew so I excitedly opened the box to discover where our taste buds would be travelling to this month. The answer leapt out at me ... SPAIN !
I was slightly underwhelmed with a couple of the products in last month's box - Jelly Tots and Nando's Peri Peri Sauce as South African ingredients?! Hmmm ! - but this month, I was really pleased with the fabulous, authentic-looking packages in the box.
I love this little bag of paella rice - I think this may have to be upcycled afterwards, maybe as a lavender bag to stick in my sock drawer ?!
I actually have no idea (yet) of what Chufa is but I love the mini hessian sack it comes in.
Some sunflower seeds.
Some Caballitas - not quite sure what fish they are.
A lovely-looking tin of olive oil.
Some cuttlefish ink - eeeek ! I've seen this used a lot in risotto but have always been a bit nervous of using it myself, probably because I can still remember the horrible taste of ink exploding in my mouth as a kid when I had the daft idea of sucking on a pen !
And finally some rather yummy-looking Turron de Alicante which looks a bit like nougat.
On to the recipes ...
Tapas with green peppers and caballitas
Gazpacho Ajo Blanco - I'd never heard of this but apparently, this white gazpacho, typical of Malaga, is usually made with ground almonds, preferably "green" or freshly harvested ones, or in the springtime, ground fava beans (habas) are substituted. If it’s too early in the summer for grapes, chopped apple or melon can be used instead. Sounds interesting.
Paella with cuttlefish ink
Crème Catalane which looks like a Spanish version of crème brûlée
Horchata de chufa - a quick google search tells me that this is a typical Valencian drink made from ground 'chufas' (tigernuts), water and sugar. No idea what that will taste like !
It's been really hot here for the last few days so it's the perfect weather for trying out these Spanish delicacies. I'll be back to tell you how we get on.
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Nice selection! I thought they stopped their service, have I confused them with another food box service? I love squid ink pasta and risotto, but usually buy it ready-made. I haven't actually used the squid ink, looking forward to seeing what you cook with all these foods
ReplyDeleteI used to be with Kitchen Nomad who stopped, so now I've gone on to Kitchen Trotter, but they only deliver to France. I'm a bit nervous about the squid ink (is that the same as cuttlefish ink ?) but I'll give it a go !
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