Olive You Jaén

Have you even heard of Jaén?

If you haven’t, don’t worry, you are in good company. Jaén is a region near Córdoba in Eastern Andalucía that is commonly overlooked by both tourists and many Spaniards.

When I told my co-workers I was headed to the province of Jaén for the weekend, I got a similar response from everyone “I have never been,” and “what is there to do?”

My answer, “comeré aceitunas, por supuesto” - I will eat olives of course.

Jaén is known for the production of aceite de oliva (olive oil.) Jaén accounts for half of Andalucía’s olive oil production, a third of Spain’s, and a tenth of the entire world’s olive oil.

Although a long way to travel for olives, almost six hours, it was well worth the trip. With my friends and fantastic tour guides Natalie and Hannah, exploring the sister cities of Baeza, and Úbeda made for an incredible and memorable weekend.

As soon as I stepped off of the bus in Baeza I could smell the olives in the air. There are over 40 million olive trees covering the province of Jaén. Baeza is no exception; it is literally surrounded by seemingly endless hills of neatly lined olive groves. From the top of Baeza you can see and smell the pungent smoke coming from the olive mills in the valleys below, pressing and filtering olive oil.

Production season has just come to a close, but early on Friday morning I was able to catch a distant glance of the farmers spreading nets beneath trees and beating the last of the branches to collect olives.

I was pleasantly surprised to learn that in the entire province of Jaén, whenever you order a drink (whether a Coke, a beer or wine,) you are served free tapas. Not only does this make for a cheap evening out, it is an excellent excuse to order beer after beer just to see what will come out of the kitchen next. We spent Thursday night hopping from bar to bar to take advantage of this inspired custom.

Hannah and Natalie both share my obsession for Nutella, so on Friday morning, we got off on the right foot, fueling up on Nutella on toast.

Baeza although a bit chilly, is absolutely beautiful, filled with charming plazas, and very friendly people.

Paseo de la Constitucion, the buildings are adorned with writing on the walls in bulls blood

Oldest renaissance cathedral in all of Andalucia

plaza de los leones

Hanging out with the poet Antonio Machado

After a quick pastry at the well known Martinez Café, we took a bus to Úbeda, a town recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site to see more views of the mountainous olive groves. We indulged in a midday wine, and savored the handcrafted food at La Tulipa, a very cute and intimate restaurant were we ordered the menu del dia (a 3 course meal where you choose the components.)

Garlic Soup

Hand rolled mushroom croquettes

Moorish tiles surrounding the restaurant walls

Úbeda

Úbeda

Úbeda

Úbeda

Pottery with green glaze Úbeda is famous for

From Ubeda, we headed to the capital of Jaén. We spent the night ordering rounds of beers, tasting more free tapas, and dancing early into the morning at a bar with a live band, singing 80’s music in English.

We awoke early on Sunday morning to hike up to the highest point in the city of Jaén, Castilla de Santa Catalina, an old castle that is now renovated into a fancy hotel called the Parador. 

We comically found our own way up, that was definitely not the marked trail. At the top were stunning views not only of the city of Jaén and its dominant Renaissance cathedral below, but you can see well beyond the city to the mountains of the Sierra Mágina, “Mystic Range”

A bit of light stretching

Not only was I in good company all weekend long, but it was also a great treat to see a change of scenery from the flat landscape of Sevilla. I come back with the realization that I am am truly an outdoors person, and thanks to the wise words of Natalie “I am not a tourist, I am a traveler.”

I <3 Nutella cup that Hannah and Natalie gave me and a bottle of Baeza olive oil (the dark glass doesn't allow light to penetrate, making it better quality.)

 

Tortilla Española 101

I don’t think that there is anything more Spanish than la tortilla española, (Spanish potato omelet.) It is the centerpiece on the table at Spanish gatherings, in which everyone congregates around to make conversation. Learning how to craft the perfect tortilla is a tradition passed down verbally from one generation to the next.

It is a seemingly simple tapa to make, but for some reason the tortilla Española has eluded me….until now!

Since arriving in Spain, I have been on a mission to formulate the ultimate creamy, and delicate omelet with a slightly runny center. I was lucky enough to serve as sous chef to my amigo Sevillano Ari, who was willing to teach me the tools of the tortilla making trade. I should mention that Ari doesn’t speak a lick of English, which resulted in a lot of comical miscommunication.

Ari’s Golden Rules: (hope he doesn't mind me sharing his recipe secrets, although I guess he will never know, since he will not understand this post)

1.)You must be heavy handed with the oil- this has been my tortilla Española downfall; I had been skimping on the oil to try and reduce the fat content. I was also adding vegetables to my tortilla mixture to add nutrients. I have found that the flavor combination of the potatoes and onions simply cannot be beat; veggies can be consumed on the side if needed.

2.) Be confident with your flip

3.) Always cook low and slow. You want your heat on low to avoid burning the bottom of the tortilla and creating a raw center.

Ingredients:

·      2 pounds Patatas para freir- potatoes for frying. I am guessing in the US this is the equivalent to russet potatoes.

·      6-8 large eggs (depending on the amount of potatoes you use)

·      1 onion (if desired, this is a controversial ingredient among Spaniards)

·      Girasol oil (In the US this would be sunflower oil, according to Ari this is the oil you must use when making a tortilla, but I have also head of using EVOO.)

Instructions:

1. Peel the potatoes and rinse them under cold water
2. Cut the potatoes into thin slices
3. Pat the potato slices dry, sprinkle with salt and pepper
4. Heat about ½ inch oil in a sauce pan
5. Fry the potatoes until golden brown (about 20 minutes) and remove them with a slotted spoon to preserve the excess oil.
6. When the potatoes are done, add an onion (thinly sliced) to the remaining oil, and cook until caramelized, remembering to stir often so they don’t stick.
7. Beat eggs in a large bowl and season with some salt and pepper.
8. Allow the potatoes to cool for a few minutes before stirring them to the egg mixture
9. Let the mixture soak for 5-10 minutes
10. Add the potato and egg mixture back into the pan with the remaining oil.
11. Over a low heat, cook for about 8-10 minutes.
12. Every few minutes push the potato mixture away from the sides of the pan to ensure they will not stick for the flip.
13. When you are confident the bottom is thoroughly cooked take a large plate and put it over the pan, Flip the pan over onto the plate firmly, and QUICKLY! (some egg is bound to slip out, so be prepared for a slight mess)
14. Cook 6-8 minutes
15. Slide the finished product onto a serving plate, let stand for a few minutes and enjoy!

Snapshots: Slazburg, Vienna, and Prague

Here are some snapshots to give you a taste of the rest of my travels over winter break.

For the second leg of our trip we went from Salzburg to Vienna Austria to waltz in the New Year. I had to get to Vienna to try the elusive sacre torte, and hand crafted apple strudel.

We missed out first train from Munich to Salzburg due to my indecisiveness in picking out a postcard, but eventually we made it to the land of Mozart and The Sound of Music. Despite never having seen the Sound of Music I enjoyed our sing-along bus tour through the snow blanketed country side where the movie was filmed.

Mozart Bridge

Town of St. Gilgen

Sound of Music Gazebo: "I am Sixteen going on seventeen"

Sound of Music: church from the wedding scene in the town of Mondsee

Mirabell Gardens

The Bus

Castle atop of Salzburg

So long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Goodbye- off to Vienna by train

Authentic Italian restaurant with only a verbal menu with 3 options. There was no room in the dining room, so the chefs who were also the waiters and hostesses created a space for us to eat in the kitchen- dream come true!

Zaunerkipferl- croissant with nuts and cinnamon, toasted and served with butter and jelly

Viennse square noodles

Cream of red cabbage soup with breadcrumb dumplings

Apfelstrudel mit Vanilla Sauce

St.Stephens Cathedral

Buchtel- Melt in your mouth dough with plum marmalade

Sacre Torte at Demel Café

Pulling dough to make strudel

New Years dresses

Cant believe it! In love with the apartment we stayed at photo.

Vienna’s café’s definitely lived up to the hype; beautifully adorned ceilings, large chandeliers and a grand piano with live music. I felt like royalty stepping back in time. We even experienced the notorious arrogance of the café waiters first hand. When splitting the check 7 ways, coins were inevitably involved. Our neglectful and inattentive waiter refused our money, saying, “This is for the birds. You can take this to McDonald’s.” After arguing with him that money is money, he threw the coins back at us and we left.

Other sightseeing in Vienna included the office where Freud came up with his theories, walking the Ringstarsse (loop of parliament, the library, opera house and museums.) We window shopped at the cute boutiques on Nuebergasse street, saw the white stallions in the world famous Spanish riding school and lastly toured the Schonbrunn Palace.

Parliment

Building on the Ringstarsse

National Library

Some other highlights of Vienna included an interrogation by the police and almost getting arrested for writing our names on a building wall that had been lined with paper for drawing.

Just minutes before our bus left from Vienna to Prague on New Years Day one of my worst European fears came true. I was locked in a bathroom in a deserted subway station. After working myself up to tears, and profusely hyperventilating I heaved my body into the door repeatedly until I was able to unlatch the hook. With only minutes to spare before the bus departed for Prague I sprinted back to the bus station just in time...pheww!

PRAGUE

Prague also know as the “Paris of the East,” definitely exceeded my expectations.

The first night that we arrived we randomly stumbled into a quaint restaurant on a side street called Lokal. I indulged in a large, frothy beer (brewed at Lokal of course,) bread dumplings, sweet steamed cabbage, hand crafted rye bread, and mashed potatoes with friend onions. The large portions we received were created with such simple ingredients, yet packed with flavor. The sweet cabbage literally melted in my mouth. I mixed all the food together and was dunking the dumplings into various sauces to soak up all the flavors. I also sampled banana, and black cherry beer.

After dinner we went for a walk to digest when we caught a glimpse of a gleaming Christmas tree in the distance. We all liked arms like in The Wizard of Oz and skipped towards the Christmas market. After our disappointment that the markets were closed in Germany, we couldn’t contain ourselves. There were stalls filled with workers drilling potatoes to fry, grilling meats, churning nuts in sugar, flipping crepes and rolling out Trdelnik (a sweet pastry native of Hungry.)

Trdelnik twirling over charcoal flames

Kebobs

Drilling potatoes

Stalls

Christmas Lights

Trdelnik filled with Nutella and rolled in nuts and sugar

Over the next few days we went on a walking tour to learn the vast history of the Czeck Republic, and the great city of Prague. We viewed the astronomical clock, walked the Charles Bridge, hiked up to the Prague castle, wrote on the Lennon Wall, toured the Jewish quarter, and saw “The Barber of Sevilla” at the National Opera house.

Astronomical Clock

Jewish Cemetary

Writing in my journal

Charles Bridge

Prague Castle

Rooftops

Lennon Wall

Dancing House

The opera house

Very confusing currency

Overall, our journey went pretty smoothly, mainly due to all the advice I was given by my trusted friend, the world traveler Rick Steves (I like to pretend I know him personally, since I spend so much time reading his books and watching his series.)  I am really fortunate to have had the incredible opportunity to travel through 3 countries with good company and create lifelong memories.

I was thankful to get back to Sevilla, for a good night (snore free) of sleep in my own bed.  We made it back just in time to witness the cabagata (parade) for the Reyes Magos on Three Kings Day, where I was repeatedly pegged in the head with hard candies being thrown from the floats passing by, and practically trampled down by packs of horses.