I got this yummy-lookin’ postcard over Official Postcrossing from Spain! Side note before getting into the good part: I used to never have a wishlist on my PC profile. I still don’t, but I have an idea list, and ever since I included one, I’ve been seeing a bit of an uptick in food/recipe cards. If there ever was a good decision I made in life, it was that. Anyway, what’s displayed here are four typical dishes local to the capital of Spain – Madrid! Madrid is located right in the middle of the country – it’s the highest capital in Europe and home of Real Madrid, which is considered to be one of the most successful football teams in the world. Going left to right, top to bottom, let’s have an informational taste test of these dishes! The first is cocido madrileño, which is a beef and chickpea stew. As you can imagine, this is a chickpea-based stew served with beef and vegetables (typically potatoes and perhaps carrots, cabbage, turnips, etc.) The meat is usually pork. Second on the card is tripe stew. Tripe is the lining of a cow’s, sheep’s, goat’s or deer’s stomach. Before you shudder in disgust, it’s actually pretty mild, and I’ve tried it in a few Vietnamese pho dishes before! And, you can find chickpeas making their cameo in this dish as well (chickpeas are quite a staple in Spain). Then we’ve got… oh dear heavens it’s a fried calamari sandwich! Why have I NOT YET VISITED SPAIN?! Calamari is squid (stop shuddering, it’s good stuff!), and the fried calamari sandwich (also known as a bocadillo de calamares) is a sandwich with exactly that on it! Apparently you can get these for pretty cheap! Full belly, full wallet! Lastly we have – I’m gonna cry in yearning – churros with chocolate! Churros are fried-dough pastries that are long, curvy and ridged – in Madrid, it’s a thing to have a cup of hot chocolate (not the drink – literally, hot, melted chocolate) to dip your churros in. I’ve got drool all over my desk now – over here tryin’ to swim to shore in this drool. Ayúdame! (Help me!) Thank you so much for this incredible postcard, Tatiana!
