Food and drink play an integral part of the Spanish culture,  just as they do in most countries.  The Spanish love nothing more than meeting in large groups at restaurants and cafés to pick over a wide array of tapas dishes and talk (loudly).  

The home cooked meal is also still a large part of family life in Spain, and during the summer months it is not uncommon to see ten or fifteen people sitting outside a house enjoying a family get together that will last well into the early hours of the morning.

I love to see this.  It comforts me that while the rest of the Western world's idea of a family meal is KFC in front of the television, there are still places where families and freinds enjoy home cooked food and each other's company.  The meetings can be raucous, with everyone talking over one another in the typical Spanish way, but they certainly don't seem to be pining for the canned laughter or thirty minute drama of television.

The only time I find myself detesting these mass gatherings is when I am stuck behind a Spanish matriarch on her summer food shopping.   As the designated cook, these ladies can spend hours selecting groceries for the family meals,  and the freshness and quality of every item must be inspected thoroughly.

I ended up in the line at the fish counter this morning behind one such lady.   A tiny lady (Spanish mother figures only seem to come in two sizes- miniscule or majestic), she was shouting instructions and orders at the lady behind the counter,  frequently glancing at the shopping list she had clutched in her hand to make sure she didn't forget anything.  I knew I could be in for a long wait, and listened and watched as she went down the row of fresh sea food.  

Like me, she was buying prawns. She asked for the smaller sized langoustines, because they have more flavour than the larger ones.  Next on the list was eel.  I watched in awe as the serving lady lifted the long, fat creature and draped it onto the scale.  After weighing it,  she stripped the skin off in long ribbons and began slicing it into chunks.  At this point a French lady who was also in line, asked the Spanish women how she intended to cook it.

"Oh, it's really easy.  You just rub some garlic, salt, and cayenne pepper on the surface and then fry it on the plancha (flat grill) for two minutes on each side.  But you should put the head and the tail in a pot with some water and herbs to make a great soup."   The French lady thanked her, and turning to me said, "It is a great way to learn to cook new things,  asking people when they are buying." I nodded in agreement, wondering if I would ever pluck up the courage to try eel.  "I have a friend who has been here for six years, and she will cook anything!  She has even managed octopus, although when I tried it came out very tough."

Hearing this the Spanish woman turned back to us. “Of course!  The first few times you cook it is will be very chewy.  You need to practice cooking things like that.”  Obviously deciding that we both needed a decent culinary education,  she was in her stride now, and managed to simultaneously bark orders at the lady at the fish counter, while sharing more cooking tips with us novices.  "Of course,  for the best soup,  you want to use the head of a Rape (monkfish),  that makes a really rich, excellent soup!"  I couldn't help but glance at the monkfish on the counter.  If you have never seen a monkfish anywhere other than cooked on your plate in a restaurant then I will save you the nightmares and not describe it.  Suffice to say it looks rather vicious, and I can't imagine eating any soup that has had those eyes staring back at me from the broth.  Still, I made the resolution to follow the French lady’s example, and ask for cooking tips from the locals the next time I see them buying something unfamiliar.

Half an hour later,  I finally got served,  but I didn't mind the wait,  as I had picked up several new recipes and cooking tips.   I admit,  I did buy just the prawns though.  My foray into cooking unfamiliar seafood will need to wait for another day when I am feeling a little more native.