RICHARD FRISBIE :: Migas in Zaragoza

    OR - What to eat at Expo 2008

WATER TOWER designed by Enrique de Teresa


I suppose that first I should tell you where Zaragoza (pronounced Saragossa) is, since, when I went to JFK to fly there, even the lady at Iberia’s check-in desk didn’t know. Zaragoza is a true crossroads city on the banks of Spain’s longest river, the Ebro, halfway between Madrid and Barcelona, and Bilbao and Valencia, in the Aragon region. It is also Spain’s oldest settlement, with origins dating from 24 BC. Still doesn’t ring any bells? Well, Zaragoza’s centuries of anonymity will soon be over. Next summer the 2008 International Expo, with a theme of “Water and Sustainable Development”,  will focus the world’s attention on Zaragoza, Spain’s fifth largest city. (My article: “Belchite” was written about a village near there.)

    I was there the week before Thanksgiving to tour the Expo site and get a feel for the place, and I loved it. Even though this wasn’t a food trip, I still had to eat and drink. Besides some exciting Expo architectural designs, Zaragoza has regional foods and wines to rival anyplace in Spain. There were a number of exemplary meals, and some delicious and interesting dishes that I’ll be showing you and telling you about over the next few weeks, but to start I’m going to tell you about Migas.

    Migas is a popular peasant dish throughout Spain, with each region having its own variation. It’s simply fried bread crumbs and odd bits of ham and cheese, or fish, vegetables, whatever. Migas was created by Spanish shepherds who used stale bread and foraged wild herbs for this staple of their diet. They would cook up huge batches over an open fire in a giant shallow pan similar to one a paella could be cooked in. Today, migas is a staple in every Spaniard’s diet. It is also a great-tasting way to clean up any leftovers.

    That is, when you are in Spain. When you are in Texas or Mexico, migas is made with broken corn tortillas and eggs, fried primarily as a breakfast dish. But then, in Spain, a tortilla is basically an egg and potato omelet. Go figure! That’s why it can be confusing when I try to tell you the recipes of some of the great dishes I‘ve been served in Spain. Migas, Zaragoza style, is a perfect example.

Enough for 3 or 4 servings

    3-4 cups stale bread (day old baguette)
    ¼ lb bacon
    ¼ lb Chorizo or ham, chopped
    1 large red pepper cored and diced
    1 medium onion, diced
    ¼ tsp Paprika (twice as much if not using Chorizo)
    2 cloves of garlic crushed and finely chopped
    4 Tbs olive oil
    Salt & pepper to taste
  
    Chop the bread into tiny pieces (or crush - see photo with rolling pin)  and sprinkle with water, (to lightly dampen) season with salt and pepper. Cover the bread crumbs with a dish towel, let stand from one to twelve hours. (this was the most difficult to reproduce. It’s one thing to read about it, but questions like “How much water? How damp?” kept  worrying me. I crushed the bread in a plastic bag and added water a little at a time, fluffing the bread crumbs until they felt right.) They should be moist but still crumbly, not caked.
    Saute the onions, peppers and garlic in olive oil, set aside.
    Fry the diced bacon in the same oil, adding the chorizo or ham when the bacon is nearly done, set aside.
    Reserve all but 1 tablespoonful of oil and fry the bread for two minutes, adding reserved oil as needed (less is better)
    Return meat to the pan and fry gently until the bread is golden, stirring constantly.
Add onions, garlic and peppers, continue stirring another few minutes.

    There you have it! Migas makes a whole meal (with a salad or some borage*) or, with less meat,  it is the starch accompaniment to beef, game or pork. It is a very versatile dish. I like it served with poached eggs on top, the yolks still runny so all the tastes come together in my mouth. (With the yolks firm for the food scientist health nut sitting across the table scowling at my eating habits!) Traditionally, nothing was measured and whatever was at hand was thrown in the pan, so now that you know how to do it right - you can make Migas any way you want. Basically, you are adding as much grease as the bread crumbs can absorb without becoming greasy, and any bits of food too little to save, but too good to throw away. It is that simple!

    Besides the big news about the 2008 Expo and delicious food, Zaragoza offers another important attraction. Nearby Cariñena produces some of the best wines in Aragon, some say in all of Spain. Excellent, full-bodied tinto’s are produced from such grape varieties as Garnacha, Tempranillo and Cariñena. When planning to serve Migas, pair it with a hearty red wine to cut the grease and compliment the complex flavors. Any Cariñena tinto (I liked the 2004 Agles, and Terra V) would be perfect.

*borage - the stalks of the herb - was served with almost every meal - sauteed, in tempura, chopped - anyway you can imagine. Borage is a plant I didn’t know was edible, and the citizens of Aragon eat it every day!

below: Future Pot Roast for Slow Cooker
        BONUS TIME SAVING TIP :: I always brown my food when using a slow cooker. Since Migas is all about flavors being absorbed by bread crumbs, I first browned the next evening’s chuck roast and sauteed the onions in the pan I was going to cook Migas in. Those ingredients cooled while I continued cooking dinner, and were refrigerated for “popping” into the slow cooker before I went to work the next morning. By doing that I get a better flavor for both dinners, and save time and energy by washing the pan only once.

www.zaragozaturismo.es for more information on Zaragoza and the Aragon region.

Hotel Silken Zentro – Zaragoza’s newest boutique hotel has a historic Modernist façade.
85-95 Euros

Iberia Airlines  Convenient flights to Spain

Restaurante Aragonia Paradis (WINNER Best Zaragoza Restaurant Award) at the Hotel Palafox

Richard Frisbie, FOOD Correspondent:

RICHARD FRISBIE is published twice a month to Gather Essentials: Food 
It is a food junkie's take on growing, raising, preparing and - above all else - eating food. Together we’ll explore the trends, addictions, equipment and regional specialties that make up the sometimes mundane and sometimes sublime cooking and dining experience. You can keep up with my other postings and Gather activity by joining my Gather network -- just click the orange “Connect” button on the upper left-hand side of this page --- I look forward to hearing from you.

BIO - Richard has been writing culinary travel articles for more than five years as a columnist for his local newspapers, and as a regular contributor to the many Hudson Valley, Catskill Mountain and other regional New York publications. His most recent addition to that list is a wine column called “Fruit of the Vine” for Life in the Finger Lakes magazine. Online, he writes frequent articles for EDGE publications and Travel Lady, as well as Gather.

VIDEO - Join my Food Videos Forum and see some of the kitchens and techniques you read about here at Gather

You can read all of Richard's articles  http://rfrisbie.gather.com/
or find him with the other Food Correspondents, plus celebrity chef content and plenty of other Foodies at  http://foodtalk.gather.com