Travel like a foodie | thefidgetyfoodie

Why I love Oaxaca – Mexico’s gastronomic heart

Why I heart Oaxaca – Mexico’s gastronomic heart_the fidgety foodie

Oaxaca’s stunning Templo de Santo Domingo

Let’s get the awkwardness out of the way shall we?

I know exactly what you’re thinking. So many vowels in one word. And what does one do with that ‘x’? You could spend hours trying to work out how to pronounce Oaxaca but I’ll spare you. ‘Wahaca’ is the phonetic pronunciation, and by happenstance is also a chain of Mexican restaurants in the UK. Clearly the founder didn’t think ‘Oaxaca’ would cut through on the high street.

All the good stuff and more…

Oaxaca had been sitting in the periphery of my greedy mind for quite some time. I knew from reading food press and listening to general foodie chit chat that Oaxaca was a True. Foodie. Heaven. Up there with San Sebastian. Bangkok. Palermo. How could a city famous for seven moles be anything but?

Piles of the Oaxcan cheese I am so enamoured with

I’d tried to squeeze it into a previous trip to Mexico but knew even then that a few days would not do. I’d argue that my ensuing 10 day trip did not quite cut the mustard either but it was at least enough time to eat an extraordinary amount of delicious and unique dishes, many of which can’t be found elsewhere in Mexico.

Tamales stuffed with Oaxacan cheese and zucchini flowers, made by yours truly

It would take me days, even weeks, to list all the dishes that need to be tried in Oaxaca. Some have travelled over the border well – enchiladas (although vastly different from the Tex Mex version), tamales, tostadas. Others were brand new to me – tlayudas, tetelas, memelitas. There are so many things you can do with a tortilla it made my head spin; Mexicans are true origamists.

Freshly frothed hot chocolate with pan de yema

You’d certainly have to start at one of the incredible markets. Mercado Benito Juárez, Mercado 20 de Noviembre and Central de Abastos are all terrific but for a traditional breakfast it has to be Mercado La Merced. My local friend Oscar introduced me to the delights of frothy hot chocolate with pan de yema and its similarly sweet starchy friends. Dip the carby delights into frothy hot chocolate for a sweet kickstart to your day.

Memelitas and enchiladas – a robust way to start the day

Then move onto something savoury such as memelitas (fried tortillas with tomato, chilli, beans and fresh cheese) and enchiladas – not rolled in Tex Mex style but rather layered like a loose lasagne, doused in a green chilli mole and topped with the stretchy Oaxacan cheese I find so addictive. Plus a side of fried beef short ribs for good luck. Read More

How to eat in Lima

Posted on March 30 by thefidgetyfoodie

Ceviche and pisco sours = a match made in heaven

Lima is a famed culinary hot spot. Boasting three restaurants on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list (on par with New York and Tokyo) and many several celebrity chefs, it’s known as the gastronomic heartland of South America. And it’s true. Almost everything I ate was considered and delicious. But I experienced two very different approaches to Limeño food.

One of many variations on a pisco sour

The Lima that most travellers see revolves around the hip central areas of Miraflores and Barranco and has been finessed to perfection. These areas are clean, sophisticated and importantly safe. Of course that’s where travellers go. That’s exactly where I stayed over several weekends.

A view of Saint Martin de Porres from the gym (which I frequented to work through all those carbs)

But Lima is a city of 9.7 million (30% of Peru’s population) and not everyone can afford these desirable suburbs. The city has sprawled extensively to cope with the population influx and the outskirts of Lima are an entirely different proposition to the centre. I came to appreciate this when I spent weeks volunteering at an NGO school for disadvantaged children in Saint Martin de Porres. It’s a mere 20km from central Lima but the difference in living conditions could not be more stark.

However it was the difference in eating which really fascinated me.

Peru’s impressive coastline

Think of Peru and you think ceviche and pisco sours, si? During my time in Saint Martin de Porres I didn’t come close to either. Yet in central Lima you can’t take two steps without tripping over a stylish venue that offers both.
Peru has an enviably long coastline and despite laying claim to just 0.1% of the world’s sea it produces 10% of the world’s seafood. But I found that people in Saint Martin de Porres rarely ate seafood. Partly because of the cost and partly because they are so enamoured with chicken that they have no time for seafood.

The local chicken shop in Saint Martin de Porres

Chicken and carbs are what sustain most Peruvians day in and day out. Rice, potatoes, bread. Heaven help you if you’re celiac. And if you’re a vegetarian it’s huevos for you. One vegetarian volunteer found herself eating rice and eggs three times a day while at the school.

Quinoa and potato stew with rice – for lunch and dinner

I marvelled at how many carbs could be amalgamated into one meal. Quinoa and potato stew with rice was the epitome of this approach. For lunch and dinner. With bread for breakfast. Salad and vegetables did not feature heavily. Or at all.

Peruvians are also extremely religious. They pray before every meal. They don’t really drink. And off topic slightly, because they live at home until marriage there are literally thousands of ‘hostals’ offering rooms by the hour for romantic dalliances that could never happen at home. Read More

Pistachio festival in Bronte, Sicily

Posted on January 13 by thefidgetyfoodie

Me in my pistachio element

Food festivals are my thing. Especially when they are built around an esoteric food item in an obscure place. Like the kurtoshkalacs festival in Budapest. Or the Kytherian wine festival in Mitata. Bring it on.

The famous pistachio pasta

Pistachios are not exactly rare but to me they’ve always sat at the more exotic end of the nut scale. I’ve always associated pistachios with my Sicilian bestie Katia who uses them in a pasta recipe handed down from her nonna. Crushed pistachios envelop pancetta and cream to create a dish that makes grown men weep with pleasure. I’ve actually seen it happen.

Warm faces welcome you to the Expo del Pistacchio

One of my foodie dreams came true last year when I had the opportunity to travel through Sicily with Katia during its iconic pistachio festival, Expo del Pistacchio. I was beyond excited.

Imposing Mt Etna

Pistachios are a big deal in Bronte because they are arguably the best in the world. Why? Because Bronte (which incidentally means ‘thunder’) sits at the base of Mt Etna and the pistachio trees grow out of the volcanic lava rock. The minerals in the lava soil are absorbed by the plants to create a distinctive nut which is sweet and fragrant.

Salame pistacchio

So distinctive in fact that in 2009 they were granted the coveted DOP marque (Protected Designation of Origin), which guarantees locally grown and harvested produce using traditional methods. In the case of Bronte pistachios that means only picking, hulling and drying the pistachios by hand every two years to protect the trees and quality.

2018 was not a harvest year but you’d scarcely have known. Supplies are held back in the year of harvest to ensure there’s enough for the following year, especially for the famous festival.

Ahh the festival. For two weekends in October at the end of harvest, the entire town shuts down to pay homage to this revered nut. Everyone from chubby cheeked babies to nonnas clutching walking frames are littered across the length of the main drag. This is passeggiata (the Italian ritual of strolling through town each evening) on steroids.

Pistachio gelato topped with ground pistachios

How many pistachio flavoured things have you eaten in your life? Pistachio gelato, maybe pistachio amaretti? You’ve basically just been warming up. The Sicilians have mastered the preparation of this deep green and purple nut to perfection. Read More

8 things you probably didn’t know about Champagne

Posted on December 28 by thefidgetyfoodie

There’s one thing I’ve always known about Champagne – I love it. It’s not just the taste. It’s the sense of occasion that comes with the popping of the cork, the bubbles and the instant joie de vivre. Plus I’ve long admired it from a marketing perspective. I can’t think of another category where the branding, merchandising and general fervor created is as slick. Well maybe jewellery (would you like some metal with that Tiffany blue box?).

I knew I’d eventually make my way to the region in question and when I did I was almost more interested in the provenance of the stuff than drinking it. Almost. I learnt a few things that surprised me – and may just surprise you.

8 things you may not know about Champagne

Christian Lacuisse from Champagne Lacuisse Freres demonstrates a stage of the méthode champenoise

1. Bubbles in wine were originally a fault (and definitely not a selling point)

Before ‘Champagne’ came along, the Champagne region produced only still wines and nondescript versions at that. Wine with bubbles was the result of an accidental second fermentation in the bottle and more often than not the bottle would explode as a result of the pressure. Even if the bottle didn’t explode, the wine was likely to be undrinkable. At a time when winemakers didn’t understand the science behind fermentation, the sparkling stuff was a liability and certainly not a tempting proposition to drink or sell.

8 things you probably didn't know about Champagne

Pinot noir grapes growing in Sermiers, a town in the Champagne region

2. Champagne is made from three grapes

Think of the iconic wines tethered to a single terroir and often they are a single variety such as Burgundy (100% Pinot Noir grapes), White Burgundy (100% Chardonnay grapes) and Chablis (also 100% Chardonnay grapes). So it may come as a surprise that Champagne is almost always a blend of three grapes – Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay. Yes – two red grapes and one white. So why isn’t Champagne a red wine? Because the grapes are pressed gently during production and there’s no skin contact during fermentation which is what generally gives wine its colour.

Champagne bottles are stored in the underground caves of the Taittinger Cellars in Reims

3. Dom Perignon was NOT the granddaddy of Champagne

Not only did the Dom not invent Champagne, it’s highly unlikely he ever even made sparkling Champagne. Dom Perignon was the cellarmaster of his abbey from 1668 to 1715 when fizzy wines were widely considered faulty – it’s more likely that he spent his time trying to prevent his wines from sparkling. This is in stark contrast to the more modern persona built up around him which romanticises his role in the creation of Champagne. Certainly his still wines were highly regarded at the time, but he did not exclaim to his fellow monks to “come quickly, I am tasting the stars!”. This was in fact exclaimed in a print ad almost two hundred years after his death. But why let the truth get in the way of a compelling brand story?

The Pommery sommeliers take their jobs very seriously

4. The region didn’t initially want to produce wine with bubbles

Champagne was always a still wine region but in the first half of the 18^th century the still wines of the region were not selling due to competition from other French wine regions. The locals were desperate for an edge and had noticed an international interest in sweetened wine with bubbles so begrudgingly and out of economic desperation started to produce more of the sparkling stuff. Read More

7 things you must eat in Hawaii

Posted on April 16, 2018 by thefidgetyfoodie

Poke on the beach is about as Hawaiian as you can get.

‘‘Let’s go to Hawaii!’’ exclaimed my excited bestie Katia.

‘‘Umm… really?’’ was my hesitant response. I travel to eat and apart from poke what’s exciting to eat in Hawaii I thought.

‘Just look at all these cool food tours….’ she continued. Well that got my attention. Food tours are one of my all-time favourite activities when travelling (and a key to being a good foodie). I was in.

Tako or octopus poke

And Hawaii did not disappoint. Sure you can easily eat nothing but fast food the whole time (in fact you can do that anywhere). But with a little research and observation, there’s a treasure trove of foods that represent the indigenous Hawaiian traditions interlaced with all the other cultures that have impacted the remote islands since Western settlement including Portuguese, Japanese and Chinese.

Here are 7 things you MUST track down. Read More

My celebrity cooking class in Brazil

Posted on January 20, 2018 by thefidgetyfoodie

the fidgety foodie_celebrity cooking class in Paraty Brazil

Yara teaches me how to make the iconic Brazilian fish stew, moqueca

One of my favourite experiences in Brazil last year was a cooking class with the Brazilian version of Nigella, Yara Castro Roberts. I was wandering the cobbled streets of Paraty and happened to see the sign for Yara’s school, The Academy of Cooking & Other Pleasures (what a name!) and lucky for me they had a space for that night.

Yara used to have her own Emmy-nominated Brazilian cooking show, and hails from the gastronomic heart of Brazil, Minas Gerais. Along with her American/French husband Richard they operate cooking classes out of their very chic terrace home. But cooking class is really not the right description as we did very little cooking – instead they took us on a historical and cultural journey through the history of Brazil told through food – with plenty of edible reference material along the way. And when I finally left at 1am I had the distinct feeling I’d been dining with friends all evening.

Richard muddles fresh limes for a round of caipirinhas

The night started as many do in Brazil – with caipirinhas. Richard whipped them up on a smart drinks trolley as he started offering background info on Brazilian food. Today’s cuisine is built on three very distinct legs – Indigenous, Portuguese and African. Over time the indigenous ingredients which sustained the native Brazilians have been appropriated by the Portuguese who came to conquer and influenced by the Africans they brought with them to work as slaves.

I didn’t drink all of these caipirinhas, but it was tempting

The key indigenous staple that virtually props up every Brazilian dish is the starchy root manioc – also known as cassava, yucca or tapioca. It’s native to Brazil and has always been essential to the diet. It’s incredibly versatile and can be boiled, baked, steamed, grilled, fried and mashed plus ground into flour and used as a thickening agent. Other popular indigenous ingredients hailing from the Amazon are the superfruit açaí and berry guaraná, used to make energy drinks.

Our entree of farofa-stuffed tomatoes with haloumi

The second leg of Brazilian food comes from the Portuguese, who came to the country looking for gold and never left. They were the first to plant corn which was used to make polenta and introduced a bean concoction which has become the country’s signature dish, feijoada. Not to mention eggy breads and salt cod or bacalao.

Dende is derived from palm trees and used extensively in Brazilian dishes

Yara also talked us through ingredients that came to Brazil via the African slaves, like coconut milk, dende (an extract from the palm tree), palm hearts and okra. These ingredients infiltrate much of the African food that’s still very distinctive in Brazil, especially around Salvador where dishes like acarajé, a fritter made with beans and fried in palm oil, are very popular. Read More

From a Russian cooking class with love

Posted on January 19, 2017 by thefidgetyfoodie

the-fidgety-foodie_russian-cooking-class-in-moscow-9

Carefully hand making each and every pelmeni – a Russian staple

I did lots of cool things when I went to Russia last year – like staring in awe from the front row of the Bolshoi ballet and being battered (in a good way) with birch leaves during a traditional banya.

But my favourite experience was the Taste of Russia cooking class I took in Moscow. Not just because I got to cook (which I love) and eat (which I love even more), but because I spent the day with real Muscovites who let me drill them about their lives, their diets, their family and their future.

The day didn’t start well. Ever tried to take the Moscow subway? It’s ridiculously intense. I’m no stranger to large rail systems – I can navigate the tube with my eyes closed and have never had any issues in cities like New York and Paris (except when my sister and I went through two at a time and were almost arrested by French police but that’s another story).

Moscow is a different beast. The subway is HUGE and there isn’t a single direction in English, nor did anyone I ask for help speak English. I can read a decent amount of Cyrillic thanks to its likeness to the Greek alphabet but on my first full day in Russia, pre-coffee, I struggled. I’m not usually one to give up but I did and left the metro thinking a cab had to be an easier option.

the-fidgety-foodie_russian-cooking-class-in-moscow-6

Flipping syrniki – Russian cottage cheese pancakes

Wrong. The traffic in Moscow is a disaster. It’s all one way so the layout forces cars to go in unnecessary directions. Plus I couldn’t see a cab rank or a single cab for that matter and I had no wifi to book an uber. So it was a deep breath and back down to the metro for me, where I finally worked out where to go and made it to the cooking class meeting point with just a minute to spare. Phew!

I arrived to find I was the only person there. Was everyone else late too?

No, it transpired that I was the only person in the class. That was music to my ears. A private market tour and cooking class to myself, what a score!

the-fidgety-foodie_russian-cooking-class-in-moscow-7

My foodie dream team of Nadia, Milena and Zhukova

Firstly I was escorted to the Dorogomilovo market, one of Moscow’s largest, with ‘the chief’ Zhukova, her daughter Milena and daughter-in-law Nadia. A family affair!

The market was so fabulous it deserves a post of its own but essentially we picked up all the ingredients for lunch and I got to try tastings of whatever I pointed to. Which was a lot. Quite often I’d point to something and request identification; if Milena, whose English was excellent, didn’t know the word in English she’d whip out her iphone and google translate it for me.

the-fidgety-foodie_russian-cooking-class-in-moscow-5

Zhukova ‘the chief’ runs the kitchen

From the market we drove 20 minutes away to the kitchen, a modest size room filled with a big table and cooking accoutrements. Our menu for the day included Siberian pelmeni (dumplings with a beef filling), borsch and syrniki (cottage cheese pancakes) with apricot ‘jam’. Zhukova put me straight to work – chopping onions, working dough and stewing apricots while I quizzed her on the provenance of the dishes and life in Russia.

the-fidgety-foodie_russian-cooking-class-in-moscow-8

Zhukova shows me how the dough for pelmeni is rolled out

I learnt that pelmeni are the backbone of Russian home cooking and women are scrutinised on their pelmeni style and output. There’s the proper way to make them and the shortcut route but I got the impression that serious Russian cooks knew exactly which path they should follow. Read More

What’s inside a foodie’s pantry?

Posted on November 11, 2015 by thefidgetyfoodie

A snapshot of my pantry

So what does a foodie keep in their pantry anyway?

A great book has just been published called Inside Chefs’ Fridges, which reveals what top international chefs keep in their fridge. A fridge is the window to the soul you know. I’ve always believed this, in fact my retro black Smeg fridge is the most beloved (and expensive) item in my home. Inside is a mix of fresh ingredients and panoply of condiments and sauces, but no pickled marigold flowers or frozen flies which is what turned up in some of the chef’s fridges.

But to me the real action is in the pantry. A quick stocktake of my pantry reveals a strange mix of ingredients from near and far, with bits and bobs from Greece, Croatia, France, Sweden, Finland, Mexico, Canada and Japan.

My prized Skandi ingredients – cloudberries and frukt soup

My love affair with cloudberries is no secret. I would probably devour a jar a week if this prized ingredient wasn’t so rare and expensive. My stocks are low at the moment and this beauty came from my colleague Sally who was in Sweden recently. I’m holding onto it for dear life until I can stock up again. The stuff in the packet is fruit soup from Sweden. My Swedish friend Johan introduced me to the whole concept of sweet soups through his love of blackberry soup and I had to have the supermarket version, in apple and cinnamon flavour.

Just a few of the sweet goodies lurking in my pantry

I have an entire cupboard of sweet-related bits and bobs but these are some of my favourites. The chocolate coated popping candy is from the UK and is yet to pop up in Heston’s range in Australia. The lavender sugar balls were gifted by my beautiful French friend Agathe who instinctively buys anything purple and edible she sees, just for me. I’ve waxed lyrical about the marzipan carrots before, they are one of my ultimate supermarket finds and look awesome atop any carrot cake number.

Mexicans love to flavour their food with lashings of chilli and sugar

I came back with a backpack of food when I went to Mexico – there were just too many tempting treats! My favourite discovery was Miguelito – this stuff is sensational. Part sugar, part salt and a whole lot of chilli, I love it on the rim of cocktails or to dip fruit in. The Mexicans eat it straight from the packet. The chile y limon mix is great for dusting on vegies or anything needing a kick. Read More

My 10 tips for surviving La Tomatina

Posted on August 17, 2015 by thefidgetyfoodie

The blood red action of La Tomatina

It’s coming up to that time of year again.

Backpackers and the Spanish know exactly what I’m talking about.

It’s tomato bloodbath time. Otherwise known as La Tomatina.

La Tomatina is one of those mandatory European travel experiences, up there with the running of the bulls, camping out for Wimbledon tickets and partying on the Greek islands.

This unassuming town goes mental on one day of the year

For the uninitiated, La Tomatina is a festival held in the tiny Spanish town of Buñol, about an hour from Valencia. It started in 1945 as an innocent food fight and grew to the point where the town of 9,000 inhabitants was being overrun by 50,000 crazies on the last Wednesday of August each year to get caught in the cross fire of a bloody food fight.

It got so ridiculously big that the town had to introduce a ticketing system to scale it right back down to a more reasonable 20,000 people.

Locals get prepared for action

So you can’t just rock up like I did with my friend Anna many years ago; have the privilege of being crushed against the side of the road as the tomato-laden truck passes by; practically become blinded by the acid in the tomatoes; and lose almost every piece of clothing in the process. Well you can but you have to be selected first.

For anyone that makes the cut, well done you! Here are my ten tips for surviving La Tomatina.

Moments before the tomato avalanche begins

Bunol are you ready??!!

1. Don’t take a camera. At least don’t take a camera you want to be sure you’ll take home in working condition. I’m still glad I did take a camera (yes this was back in the day when people had actual cameras rather than just using smart phones) because it captured these shots that are priceless to me. However the second people saw me with a camera I became an instant target and everyone wanted to take the camera (and me) down.

This is how is starts

In retrospect I should have kept it in a plastic bag for protection. By some miracle, the camera survived although I did find random pieces of dried tomato wedged in its crevices for months to come.

The food fight has well and truly begun!

Goggles are definitely an advantage at this stage

My 9 most random supermarket finds

Posted on June 22, 2015 by thefidgetyfoodie

Stocking up on frappé sachets in Greece

One of my favourite things to do in a new city or town is explore the local supermarket.

For me it’s the heart and soul of a country, culture and cuisine. What could be more insightful than a look at what people eat every day? That’s why it was a no brainer for my list of 6 steps to scoping out a city like a true foodie.

Bear in mind that this is written by someone who gets a thrill from visiting even her own local supermarket. From a young age, mum would always take me on her weekly Thursday night shopping trips and I LOVED to pour over the shelves, suggest new products (sometimes even helpfully throwing items straight in the trolley) and help her unpack.

The best part about foreign supermarkets is the potential for quirky and unusual items that I may never have seen or been able to get my hands on before.

I pick up a packet of marzipan carrots whenever I’m in Switzerland

This is how I discovered some of my favourite supermarket finds, like mini marzipan carrots from Switzerland (perfect for decorating carrot cakes) and frappé sachets from Greece (because real Greek frappés must have Greek Nescafé in them).

Then there are the items that stop me in my tracks and have me asking how, or ever why?

blk. That’s black water to you and I.

1. Like the black water I came across in Mexico City. Otherwise known as ‘Alkaline Fulvic Trace Mineral Infused Water’ and supposedly containing superior minerals to assist better hydration than normal water. I’m not sure how water can become more hydrating but ten points to the manufacturers for being attention grabbing.

What a load of crap

2. I’ve already told you about my discovery of crap in Romania but it surely deserves another mention. I don’t think anything else has ever stopped me in my tracks quite as quickly as this towering collection – holy crap I thought! Even though I now know that crap means carp in Romanian, it still makes me smile.

Clever Romanians eat Big Ben it seems

3. Another thing I noticed in Romanian supermarkets is how they love to use English names to brand everyday products. This is how I came across chocolate called ‘Big Ben’, ‘Laura’ and ‘Clever’. It was a marketing ploy that worked on me – I bought one of each.

Swiss eggs for Swiss National Day

4. When it comes to clever branding, the Swiss are ahead of the game. What other country would brand eggs with their national flag? I discovered these around Swiss National Day on the 1^st August which celebrates the foundation of the Swiss Confederacy. Around this date practically everything is coated in red and the distinctive white equilateral cross – eggs included.

Spam flavoured macadamias, what are the Hawaiians thinking?

5. Branded red eggs I have no problem eating. Spam flavoured macadamia nuts? Not a chance. Spam is massive in Hawaii, with a yearly festival devoted to the stuff (called the Spam Jam, of course). Obama even orders it when he goes home. I guess it’s the Aussie equivalent to chicken salt. Read More