SPAIN: SQUID INK

We were in Barcelona for a couple of months, and I discovered that I love dishes with squid ink. Like most people who travel to Spain I was excited to eat paella, but what surprised me was how much I enjoyed Arroz Negro - squid ink paella with squid and clams. My husband said it's like eating blindfolded, with the blackness you're not quite sure what you're putting in your mouth. But it's rich and salty and tastes like the sea. We also ate it in its context, in a small restaurant known for its paella, which only offered paella, the menu in Calalan, and served with Pa Amb Tomaquet, bread smeared with tomato, if you asked for it. 

Arroz Negro is served with an aioli sauce on the side, which adds a mild garlic flavor to it (the traditional paella is never served with an aioli sauce). I read that squid ink boosts immunity, and increases memory and concentration.But it does temporarily make your mouth and lips black.

Another dish with squid ink that I love is called: Mongetes de Santa Pau con Chiperones en su Tinta. Beans from Santa Pau with squid in it’s ink. Santa Pau is a small village of Catalonia, and chiperones are baby squid.  We ate this the night of Thanksgiving, along with many other tapas and too much alcohol, in a divey looking tapa bar in El Born. It was one of the best meals I've had in a long time. That night, returning to our temporary apartment, full and drunk, I sent photos of our meal to some relatives with exclamations like: My God the food was amazing! How could I describe that the beans came from that little town in Spain of only 1,500 people, and the pork dish we had was made with pork raised only in that area? It's impossible to explain, it needs to be tasted. I finally texted: Come to Barcelona, we'll take you. 

                          

                                      

                                                                                                                             - Jennifer Artley

          

A BOOK BY A SPANISH AUTHOR TO GO WITH THE PAELLA:

This Too Shall Pass by Milena Busquets

This is one of my favorites and you can see by the cover that I have read the crap out of it. 

"MILENA BUSQUETS was born in Barcelona where she attended the Lycée Français de Barcelone. She obtained a degree in archaeology from the Institute of Archeology at Univeristy College London, began work in publishing, and has since founded her own publishing house. She currently works as a journalist and as a translator."

Description:

"Blanca is forty years old and motherless. Shaken by the unexpected death of the most important person in her life, she suddenly realizes that she has no idea what her future will look like. A refreshingly frank and ruefully funny portrait of a grieving daughter which explores how our deepest relationships are changed by tragedy, with bonds often becoming stronger in ways we never expected."