Spain is really a fancy country, the Mediterranean sun shining hard to open your eyes, the city is full of orange trees happily covered with fruit, and there are strong and beautiful men and women. The food is also fancy: the paella is served, and there is a big pot of steaming fireworks; at 4 pm, everyone stops to drink hot chocolate; even a glass of red wine must be mixed with oranges, apples, and peaches to make it. Sangri (a Spanish fruit wine). The food of a country more or less has the temperament of that country. Japanese sushi is cold, Indian curry is gorgeous, German elbows are simple and heavy, and Spanish cuisine is like the warm, capricious and carelessness of this country.
The famous writer Hemingway loved Spain very much throughout his life. During World War II, he participated in the defense of Madrid and followed by his third wife. The master embraced the beauties, and at the same time, he appointed Spain as the most suitable country for elopement, and gave a detailed elopement guide: “If you want to go to Spain for a honeymoon or elope with someone, Ronda is the most suitable place. The town is full of romantic scenery as far as you can see…”
Hemingway’s Ronda town is located on the cliffs of the rift valley. The pure white town looks innocent and harmless, but don’t be deceived. It’s a Spanish bullfighting. The birthplace of tradition. The oldest bullring in Spain is still preserved here, and it is hard to find a ticket for the performance season.
Bullfighting is too Spanish. Except for it, no country can give birth to this competitive game of violence and elegance. The Spanish explanation is that the bullfighting was invented because we have the Iberian bull! Yes, in order to compete for the prosperous Iberian Peninsula, North African Moors and Spanish natives fought back and forth for 8 centuries. In the era of brutal warfare, the knights found Iberian wild bulls during hunting. They were surprised to find that this kind of cattle rarely escaped when hunted, but chose to fight and never flinched until they died. This sheer “bull temper” can be called noble and brave.
Since it has become a Spanish tradition, bullfighting has spawned an industrial chain-there is a special bull farm to provide enough bulls for bullfighting performances. These Iberian cattle are free-ranged in pastures and forests and receive the best care. But not all bulls can become bullfighters. Only the strongest and brave bulls can be sent to the bullring after strict selection. 99% of the cattle sent cannot survive. Those who are lucky enough to win the bullfighter can get pardoned, and the bullfighter stabbed to death will be sent to the slaughterhouse, cruel… But it is these bulls that make an exceptionally delicious meal. Cuisine: stewed oxtail.
The ingredients for making stewed oxtail are very simple: fresh oxtail, red wine, and various vegetables. There are no fixed varieties of vegetables. When the stewed oxtail is just out of the pot, the meat is full and it is not hard to chew, and it is more tender than beef. “Paddle” is popular in China’s Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces. Fish swim in the water by the power of the tail, so the Chinese say that this is a piece of “living meat”, the most delicious part of the fish. Compared with the thickness of steak, “live” is also the best compliment for a stewed oxtail. After eating up the oxtail, rubbing the soup on the plate with bread, he lived up to the heroic sacrifice of the cow.
Spain guards the Iberian Peninsula, and its geographical location is really enviable and hateful. The Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea are one on the left and one on the right. Crossing the Pyrenees Mountains is the European continent, and crossing the Strait of Gibraltar is North Africa. Therefore, the Spanish dining table is extremely rich and mixed. And different regions have their own food traditions. Catalonia, led by Barcelona, is plausible: Paella is Catalan, and Paella does not exist! Valencia threw out rabbit risotto, saying what’s so great about paella? Selivia said that when he came to me, he had to eat roast suckling pig and throw a plate; Toledo, who was not far away, disdain, insisting on roasting lamb leg is king. I am afraid that only Iberian ham can unite all regions and unify Spain’s fragmented gourmet territory.
Andalusia, where Ronda is located, has historically struggled between Islam and Christianity for hundreds of years. The Moors came and built a palace and a mosque here; Queen Isabella of Madrid returned to her army again, demolished the mosque and built a church. Arabia’s rule was eventually eliminated, but the Arabian imprints in the daily meals have been retained to this day. For example, the seasoning of this stewed oxtail is derived from the laurel from the Mediterranean and the saffron brought by the Arabs. They are indispensable.
After a hundred years of war, finally shook hands and made peace in a dish. Otherwise, people who love food love peace.
Also, those who believe that Hemingway eloped to Ronda will definitely be blinded by this stewed oxtail, no matter where they can talk about love, just want to eat into a fat man in a mouthful of tallow.
