Paella, y Tortilla, y Tarta, Oh My!

Over the last three weeks all four of our Language and Culture in Madrid groups attended a traditional Spanish cooking class! This has been our yummiest excursion yet! During the cooking class we learned how to make Seafood Paella, Tortilla Española (Spanish omelet), and a dessert called the Tarta de Santiago. We were put to work as soon as we stepped through the door and put on our aprons. 

We started off our cooking workshop by preparing the ingredients for our dishes. The students assembled at their workstations where they found their ingredients to prepare. We chopped green and red bell peppers, cut chicken, cut calamari (squid), and peeled shrimp for the paella. While some students were preparing ingredients for the paella, others were preparing ingredients for the tortilla and the tarta. We had to chop potatoes, onions, and beat eggs for the Tortilla Española. 

Finally, we made a simple traditional Spanish dessert called the Tarta de Santiago. This is a dessert from the North-West part of Spain, called Galicia. It is made out of three simple ingredients which are almond flour, sugar, and eggs. After baking the cake it is decorated with the Cruz de Santiago (the cross of Santiago) and powdered sugar. 

While the Tarta de Santiago was baking, the students were chefing it up at the paella station. Our student chefs cooked the vegetables, chicken and seafood in an authentic paella pan, which is how the dish gets its name! Then they added the rice and seafood stock and finished simmering the paella. While the paella was cooking we had another group of students working on the Tortilla Española. The eggs, potatoes and onions cook together until it’s time to flip the tortilla! Look through the pictures to see the grand finale flip. This was hands down our yummiest excursion, and we ended the activity by enjoying the taste of our hard work! 

Once your children return home, ask them to make you one of these traditional Spanish recipes!