cricketman

Sorry, I quoted the wrong person, I meant to quote JLFS...

Hmm not sure about this

I think it is difficult to compare, Spanish food tends to have veg or pulses integrated into the dish and not served seperately as in the UK

In the North we eat a lot of berzas and acelgas - and then fabas and lentejas all the time. Plus we'd have salad every meal to share along with the main dish

In the South, in summer there are loads of tomato dishes, gazpacho, salmorejo etc which are a staple and you can have them or varieties of them to start every meal. Even things like tomato con ajo which is so simple but delicious if the tomato is good. There are lots of average places though that get the carrot, asparagos and sweatcorn from a can.

Having spent 5 days near Chiclana in playa borrosa last year I have to say the food was excellent, although I ODd on the amazing seafood and was ill because my uric acid levels got too high

As for clothes, that is about body shape. My OH is a size 6/8 and struggles to get anything to fit in the UK because it is too tight below and too loose above. Spanish women have bigger bottoms and smaller tits and bellies

JLFS

I do know how Spanish people eat,you know.......I used to be a Spanish person myself so did my parents.....

and to me salad is salad, not veg. Pulses are not vegetables, they are pulses.

Carrots and other veggies are sometimes in the dishes, added for flavour to a guiso or such, but usually not that noticible to the naked eye.

You only have to look at the veg section in any supermarket to see how small it is.

You will see there are hughe mounds of fruit, but about a dozen cauliflowers on display.

Ofcourse I expect the usual comments of most people by veg in the smaller fruit shops, but the supermarket display is a good indication of supply and demand.

cricketman

What people eat in Spain depends very much on the region you know that

Salads are definitely veg in my book and it is pretty normal for a salad to accompany almost every meal for Spanish families

No Spaniards dont eat side portions of boiled veg like in the UK, although they may have fried mushrooms, peppers or corgettes. A lot of the dishes in the South are based on tomatos, hardly any in the North are because the frost and rain kills them. Tons of dishes have onion and garlic in, both are vegetables

And they eat tons of pulses which Brits dont eat at all; garbanzos, habas, alubias, fabas, lentejas

In Catalunya they eat lots of setas and calcots, as a main dish or to go with meat. I remember escalavada being big there too

Boiled veg isnt served much in Spain and many Spaniards find it disgusting

JLFS

Garlic is not a veg, and is not treated as a veg it is used as a flavouring, it provides no bulk

Definition: One of the most important ingredients in all of the culinary arts, garlic nevertheless seems to defy, or transcend, attempts to define it in any but the most literal of terms. In that sense, then, garlic is a bulb, which like onions, shallots and chives, is a member of the lily family.

cricketman

So onion is a flavouring too? Or do you call it a lilly?

Next time I'll have to go to the lilly shop for my veg

JLFS

Definition of lily shop : florist.

cricketman

Ok I'll go to the florist for my garlic and onions this week and see what they say. I'll report back!

bxpuser24710519

The fruit and veg counters in the supermarkets around are abound with both. The fruit and veg shops in this village and the one behind me have a good choice of a good variety of both. I was always surprised as to how little veg is served with food here but have had stews with them in. The village I go to in the mountains has good veg vans and the town has everything you could want including parsnips in my Dec visit

Fred James

So do I!

I dread going to most Brit friends for Sunday Lunch - 7 or even more (the record is 11) different vegetables all boiled to death with little seasoning - not even a knob of butter and they all turn up every time irrespective of the main ingredient they are being served with!

I will stick to salads and vegetable dishes in their own right and Spanish cuisine has plenty of such to offer - not to mention all the pulses that are available as CM mentioned.

The only pulses you see in the UK are baked beans and mushy peas! Oh I forgot that great British staple - Hummus - now available in 30 varieties it seems!

British food never recovered from WW2 and rationing.

Still - if that's what you like then fine - but not for me.

agoreira

And there was me thinking kidney beans were an essential ingredient in the great "British" favourite, chile con carne! Personally my favourite is chick peas, easily obtainable in any supermarket, and health food shops, of which there thousands, sell just about every available pulse and lentil under the sun. The Spanish in UK don't seem to have a problem finding them, but I do read of them finding "pippas" harder to come by. (although they are about)

jackytoo

Maybe you should take a peep on some of the online shopping sites Waitrose and Sainsbury's I know have lots of pulses, sure they wouldn't have shelves of them if they didn't sell any. Could be the underclass who eat fast food don't cook with them but they are alive and well amongst normal people!

Many years ago the spanish would eat veg as a starter or side plate eg. green beans, there would be as many on one plate as you would want to eat in a week. There is one chiringuito close to where I lived who did a filete mexicana (well, thats what they called it) It was a sort of casserole with spicy chicken, green beans, peppers and mushrooms. Definately recommend it...Fernandos in Elviria. All the veg was grown in the retired parent's garden. plus their own chickens. I know I lived nearby for a few years.

Personally I can't think of anything worse than a large chunk of meat or fish on a plate without any veg/sauce etc.

cricketman

Actually, these things are called "aspirational products" by UK marketers

They are things people who go to Waitrose would buy if they "werent so busy" or knew how to cook Tbf, Waitrose is a great supermarket

As they also have a long shelf life, you will see these aisles strategically placed in view of more accesible products, like ready meals, rice and pasta that will sell at much higher volumes

Fred James

I'm sure the upmarket supermarkets stock them but my point was that traditionally Brit cooks don't use pulses.

I am sure that is changing in the UK from the influence of various ethnic restaurants but pulses are not traditionally part of British food.

Fred James

Don't forget the patatas fritas - they do qualify as a vegetable!

HBG

Our local Mercadona has a large and varied vegetable section, and although the markets are much cheaper, they don't have the same quality control standards.

We don't boil many of them and prefer to steam them or use a plancha.

It's a known fact that Spanish people live longer precisely because of their diet, although I wonder whether the sun and laid back lifestyle is also a contributory factor. And the wine.

And as most of them smoke, could that make them live longer too?