The vegetarian pilgrim
It's very hard to eat out as a vegetarian in either France or Spain. Both have strongly meat-centered cuisines, and little imagination beyond the omelette/tortilla. But don't despair: it's easy to be a vegetarian if you're prepared to cook for yourself as you go, and it doesn't have to be spaghetti and tomato sauce every night. The markets are splendid and most of the gites d'étapes and the refugios have cooking facilities. Here are a few recipes, all tried out along the way to Santiago. Not haute cuisine, by a long way, but simple - all can be done on a couple of burners on top of the stove, since ovens and grills are rare - cheap, reasonably quick (those that take a long time can all be left to simmer for ages while you visit the town or go to the bar), appetising, and above all nourishing (plenty of carbohydrates for energy) for the hungry pilgrim.
You'll often find basic ingredients left behind by previous pilgrims. Use them, and replace what you finish. And don't carry away that odd half-kilo of rice you've got left over - leave it behind for someone else.
Quantities given are for four hungry people, but be prepared to find others eager to join you. Some of the best times on the pilgrimage happen over impromptu shared meals, shared bottles of wine, and in a welter of languages.
Each recipe should fit on a piece of A5 paper. Print them out and put them in the back of your guide. And any you invent for yourself, please send in !
(And here's a link for the real aficcionado: Scented Nectar's Page of Tastiness.)
A final tip: as all cooks know, if there isn't time to go to the
bar, any dish tastes better for having been cooked with a glass of wine
at your elbow...
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(30 mins) 2 large onions, roughly chopped Slice the garlic and chop the onions: put them with some olive oil in a pan and stew them over a moderate heat. Meanwhile chop the peppers and add them to the pan when the onions are translucent. Stir frequently. Chop the tomatoes, and add them when the peppers begin to soften. Season with salt and pepper. When the tomatoes are cooked, take off the pan, stir in the eggs, and let them scramble in the heat of the vegetables. Serve with brown rice if you can get it, long-grain white rice if not. |
A Basque recipe, of which there are fancier versions, worth trying at home.
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(1 hour) 1 tumber-full of lentils Cut the onion into large slices and fry it with the garlic in olive oil. If you have corriander, add a good dessert-spoonful after the onion has softened - it adds a wonderful warm flavour to the dish. Stir it around for a minute or two, then add the lentils and the rice. When they're coated, pour in plenty of stock made with the vegetable bouillon cube. Bring to the boil, add the cut-up carrots, season with salt and pepper, and leave the whole thing to simmer for about an hour. The lentils and rice shouldn't absorb all the liquid. Add more water if it starts to get dry, and serve it as a very thick soup, with a green salad. (It's perfectly all right without the corriander and using water instead of the stock, but try it again, including them, when you get home.) |
Thanks to Stéfan, who learned this in a pilgrim hostel in India
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(1½ hours) 1 large or 2 medium onions Chop the onion and all the vegetables roughly. Cook the onion with the garlic in plenty of olive oil until it's just beginning to brown, then add the vegetables. Let them brown slightly in the hot oil, turning them frequently (15-20 minutes ?), then add some water and a lot of red wine; season with salt and pepper and simmer for at least an hour. Plenty of time for a visit to the nearest bar. Serve with bread and a green salad ? Pity about the tinned beans, since dried habas are so good, but you won't have time to soak them unless you take a day to rest. |
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(½ the afternoon) 1 large onion Chose the heaviest pan the refugio kitchen has to offer, with a well-fitting lid. Chop the onion roughly and soften it with the garlic in olive oil, stirring occasionally. Chop the aubergine, the peppers, and the courgettes; turn down the heat, and put these in on top of the onions, without stirring. Season with salt, pepper and herbs, cover, and leave on the lowest possible heat for as long as possible - the idea is that the vegetables exude and cook in their own juices. About ½ hour before you're ready to eat, put in the roughly-chopped tomatoes, and cover again. Serve with rice, preferably brown, or new potatoes. |
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(½ hour) 1 large onion Chop the onion and the garlic finely, and stew gently in olive oil till soft. Add the rice and stir in. When it's covered in oil, add a glass of white wine and cook the rice until it's almost absorbed. Then add water (stock made with a vegetable bouillon cube if you can get one) to cover the rice generously, add salt, bring to the boil, then simmer. Keep an eye on it, and add more water if the rice gets dry - the dish should be served pretty moist. Meanwhile chop and stew the mushrooms in oil, and add them to the rice, with their juices, once it's cooked. Season with pepper, stir in some parmesan, and serve. Definitely one for the glass of wine at the elbow, not the bar. |
Try this one again at home when you can get dried porcini mushrooms, which really give it a kick; and you can add a dollop of creme fraiche, added just at the end, with fresh-grated parmesan ...
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(½ hour) 1 large onion Chop the garlic fine, and the onion small, and soften them together in plenty of olive oil. Chop the tomatoes roughly and add to the pan and cook them over a fairly high heat till they're a mush. Add the black olives, and the red wine, and seasoning. Turn down the heat and simmer for as long as you like. Serve with couscous if you can get it; otherwise rice or pasta. |
Thanks to Hugh for this one ...
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(10 mins) Large tub creme fraiche or natas Chop the onion finely and soften it in the oil. Over a low heat add the creme fraiche/natas and the crumbled blue cheese. Stir till the cheese has melted. Season. Meanwhile boil the pasta; drain; mix in the sauce and serve. |
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Coming soon ... |