This is a little bit of us, what we used to get up to when we lived down in Cuevas Del Campo and then after that, in Freila. From the Tapas Friday day out to the pig skin stew and Reggie Box, all is revealed here.
If you are ever in Granada City, then I suggest you do an Organised Tapas Trail Guided Walk, trust me you’ll enjoy it.
The Origins Of Tapas Friday
When we first moved down to Granada we loved the little village we were in. Every person was super friendly, and everyone spoke to everyone. Soph and I used to pop out too into surrounding villages, often just to try out a bar or restaurant that was new to us. Because we seemed to be busy during the week, this gravitated to becoming a Sunday ritual. However, we found that a lot of eateries were often fully booked for the big family lunches and a lot of places were either very crowded and busy or totally at capacity and nowhere to sit.
We then decided that Friday would be our chosen day and we would go out on a Friday afternoon to sample the local bars and try their tapas. This is where Tapas Friday came about and we had friends who would actually ask us if we were doing Tapas Friday when they were across visiting, as it sounded so much fun.
Tapas And More Tapas.
Now what on paper and in my mind, sounded a simplistic plan, which was leave the house around 12.30 and pop into the village, have 3 or 4 beers then come home, soon went out of the window.
We’d often start in Jose’s bar, or to give it the correct name Bar La Botica, where I’d often have 3 bottles of Galicia beer and the tapas that came with these. Depending on the time of year this would differ. So cooler months it would usually be Carne en Salsa – Meat in sauce, which could be pork, beef, or chicken in a flavorful gravy to start. The second would be Albóndigas en Salsa de Tomate – Meatballs in tomato sauce or Arroz ( think a pealla-type rice dish, with meat added, often rabbit, chicken or pork but sometimes fish as it was a Friday ).
The next would be one of these three; Calamares a la Romana – Battered and fried squid rings, or Habas con Jamón – Broad beans with ham or sometimes Migas – Fried breadcrumbs with chorizo and peppers.
There were a couple of traditional dishes that were served, in the winter months that to be honest, just didn’t do it for us.
Pig Skin Stew
This is just as it sounds, a rich and flavoursome stew that contained a small amount of pork but plenty of the skin which was soft and full of bristles. I can eat happily pork scratchings, but this was soft, chewy and not that nice. The veg and broth though were really tasty and filling, as this was served with bread so we could eat the bits we liked, mop up the gravy with the bread and the remains went to the Reggie Box.
Trotters
Yes you read this correctly. There was no messing about here, it was a dish with part of a pigs trotter, with zero meat on it, in a small amount of gravy. Obviously, we left the bone and didn’t use the Reggie Box for this. I’m sure eyebrows would have been raised had we left empty plates after this one.
Summer months were often Giant prawns to start, the second would be Boquerones en Vinagre – Fresh anchovies marinated in vinegar. The third was sometimes Berenjenas con Miel – Fried eggplant with honey or it would be the dreaded Russian Salad ( Ensaladilla Rusa – Spanish potato salad but packed usually with cold boiled egg ).
We’d then pop up the road and on the left our next stop would be Bar Zambra, or as we called it Claudio and Rosas, named after the owners. here we kind of knew the order of the tapas as it came out with the drinks and it started off first of all with lomo. This was a small piece of bread with a piece of seasoned, very tender lomo on it with a small quails egg on top of that. The second tapas here was usually Spanish sausage on bread. We’d leave here after a couple because 90% of the time it was Russian Salad next.
Our third place we visited was the Hunters Bar as we locals called it. The name came unsurprisingly from the fact it was where the local hunters used to meet early mornings for a quick short or 2 and a bite to eat before heading odd, hunting. The name changed when Manolo bought the bar and refurbished it fully, but we still called it The Hunters, although I think the correct name is La Verja bar.
This was a great bar, the tapas here was good and they had an informal tradition that if you bought 5 rounds, your 6th was free. Even better here was the sixth one also came with a free tapas!
Some of the wonderful plates we’ve had here include:
Pipirrana – A type of salad with tomato, cucumber, and peppers in a salsa sauce.
Espetos – Sardines skewered and grilled.
Pinchos de Pollo – Chicken skewers, often marinated in herbs and spices
Salchichas al Vino – Sausages cooked in wine, a simple yet delicious tapa.
As they also owned the supermarket across the street, and they also had an upright kebab / shawarma grill and they would from time to time bring across a joint of meat and slow cook this on the grill.
What was so great about this was as well as the mouth watering aroma as you went into the bar was the meat was ever so succulent and you got a big plateful.
One thing though was after 4pm then the kitchen would close, so usually the tapas was cold, such as Jamón Serrano & Manchego cheese – Serrano ham with Manchego. Or even just Aceitunas Aliñadas – Marinated olives, but after 10-12 beers and a tapa with each, this was just nice to sit back and nibble on with the last drink.
Olla Gitana
The Spanish dish I was referring to as pig skin stew above, which is like a soup or stew containing pork and pork skin, is known as Olla Gitana. This dish, also called Gipsy stew, is a hearty and flavorful meal that represents the southern part of Spain and includes a variety of ingredients such as legumes, vegetables, and different cuts of pork, including pork skin. It’s a traditional and rustic dish that combines all the rich flavors of the region into one comforting bowl
The origins of this hearty Spanish pork stew trace back to Andalusia’s eastern regions, where it stands as one of the nation’s most time-honored culinary treasures.
As generations passed, the stew evolved, consistently featuring a base of legumes, a variety of meats, an assortment of vegetables, and a rich blend of herbs.
The true roots of its name remain shrouded in mystery—some speculate it’s derived from a compendium of gypsy culinary secrets, while others believe it reflects the nomadic lifestyle of using readily available provisions.
Regardless of its name’s origin, one thing remains indisputable: This beloved stew has captured the affection of Spaniards nationwide, with each household adding a personal touch to create a distinctive rendition of this classic dish. It is an acquired taste if you are an expat, shall we say.
The History Of The Reggie Box
At the time of living down here, we had 3 dogs, we had brought one across with us from the UK and we then took on a stray street dog and we called him Reggie. Reg is one of these dogs with the constitution of an ox, he can eat anything and give him his due, he would try to eat anything and everthing.
As I’m a Yorkshireman, I hate waste. One thing I used to really hate though was when a tapas was brought out and it was something we didn’t like, or didn’t enjoy such as pig-skin stew or Russian Salad.
Instead of just leaving these dishes or refusing them, which I though would appear to be insulting or disrespectful, we decided that in Sophs handbag, she’d bring a plastic container with a lid. We could then try to very discreetly, spoon these dishes into the Reggie Box to take home to the three dogs.
Why Reggie Box?
Quite simply the other two dogs, would from time to time turn their noses up at the offering and eat little, where Reg on the other hand would wolf the lot down without ever giving it a second thought.
Despite the name, we didn’t just allow him to enjoy these freebies, he did share with the others or he had this spread out over a couple of days and was often a partial substitute for his food at mealtimes.
As I have said before to many people, we loved living down in Cuevas and also Freila. Our cave house was great but lacked the land for the dogs to be able to have a run around and chase each other. Freila we had the land, but the winters sadly were too cold. Yes, we miss the stunning views over Lake Negratin and the delicious tapas and hospitality we enjoyed down there and also our Tapas Friday sessions.
