Pilgrimage across Spain Part III - "Food! A la Riojana"

Fresh tomatoes and Mushrooms the size of a baby's head!
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Dear citizens of the world,

Wine is definitely important in the Rioja region... and the pilgrimage. But it is only part of the balanced diet. Food from this part of Spain is important as well.

We were lucky to see the end of the wine harvest (see last blog), but it was also mushroom season. The hills and forests are infested with mushroom pickers. I don't collect shrooms since I can't tell a delicious boletus edulis from a poisonous Boletus reticulatus! I just enjoy eating them, especially when they are sauteed with olive oil and garlic. Yummy!

"Tortilla" Spanish egg and potato omlette

We did have some Spanish Tortilla - probably the most common cooked dish that you can find all around Spain, but we did try many other local delights:

Blood Sausage from Burgos with bell pepper garnishing

I highly recomend the blood sausage. The variation from Burgos is made with rice. This specific dish lasted just long enough for me to get a picture of it before being devoured.

The "Peppers" garnish is a signature element in Riojana cooking. Many dishes in Spain are "A la Riojana" which often means that there will be a sauce with bell peppers.

The second morning, at sunrise, we found a woman in the village grilling red peppers. She was making huge quantities...by Spanish standards it was probably just enough to compliment lunch for a small familly ;-)

Grilling red bell peppers - a key element in Rioja cooking.

Of course, we had a good excuse to eat so much. We walked 50km in two days, with our houses on our backs. We still have three days of Camino left in the Rioja region... I am looking forward to it... especially after seeing the pictures of the food and wine again...

Que Apraveche!

Parting shot - Last days of harvest in Rioja

The United Statesian