The best thing I ate in Barcelona: El Quim + La Boqueria

La Boqueria is the bustling market tucked right in the middle of La Rambla, Barcelona's tree lined central boulevard. Most hours of the day La Boqueria (and La Rambla) is overrun with tourists but it's well worth the effort spent braving the crush. Inside is foodie mecca. I spent several of my mornings at the market, including my first and second in the city, splurging on seafood breakfasts, buying souvenirs and gifts, and photographing just about everything.

Thursday morning (day two) I was prepared to fight the crowds to get to El Quim, one of the more popular mini-restaurants sprinkled throughout the market. Despite warnings of long waits, there were plenty of open stools when I visited around 11 am. On the recommendations of too many bloggers to count, I ordered  huevos con chipirones. They were fantastic, probably my favorite meal of the trip.

The thimble sized baby squids are served on top of two perfectly fried eggs. Through gestures, your server will tell you to slash through the eggs to release the yolk, enriching the purple sauce of squid ink. The dish is liberally sprinkled with crisp, flaky sea salt adding seasoning and a subtle crunch. Super tender and just a bit sweet, the squid tasted of the sea, not overly salty in the least. At El Quim I also had my first taste of Spanish coffee. I ordered un cortado, a espresso cut with a little milk. Unsurprisingly, it was excellent. I hear cava is popular too, even in the morning, so feel free to order a little bubbly with your breakfast.

Another must-try: zumos. Sold for 1-2 euros, they're the ultra fresh juices sold at the fruit stalls near the front of the market. I tried multiple flavors over the course of the week; coconut strawberry, strawberry lime, kiwi coconut banana, and mango orange. My favorite was the pretty green kiwi coconut banana, the little kiwi seeds add just enough texture and acid to cut through the creamy coconut and banana.

La Boqueria boasts several fantastic restaurants but its main attraction is the hundreds of stalls stocking every kind of meat, seafood, spice, and produce you could possibly need. Though the market is always stuffed with tourists, plenty of locals patiently brave the crowds to buy their groceries.

Itty bitty chorizos and sausages at one of the many ham stalls. And more salted cod, aka bacalao, than anyone in America would know what to do with.

Oozy razor clams are actually delicious when cooked up on la plancha, a flattop griddle.

Pretty little truffles and turrones (Spanish nougat-like almond candy)  are everywhere. But don't touch! It's rude and totally unhygienic, point out which you want and let the owner serve or package it up for you.

Zumos and fresh fruit! Still kicking myself for not trying out the pitahaya flavor, just for the amazing fuchsia color.

Spiced Citrus Amaretto Peaches with Lemon Mascarpone and Cinnamon Sugar Tortas

I have no air conditioning in my kitchen. I usually don't mind so much, except when it's 90 degrees and humid for two weeks in a row. It makes it hard to summon the energy to cook. Today I knew I needed to make something that didn't require turning on my oven. Thank goodness there's so much gorgeous fruit available right now. These peaches called to me at the co-op, firm and sweet smelling with pretty dappled pink skin. Macerated in a spicy citrus and amaretto mixture, peaches turn golden and syrupy around the edges while keeping their fresh summery flavor.

Lemon and Olive Oil Yogurt Cake with Fresh Blackberry Limoncello Sauce

You know those recipes or ingredients you read about and think, "that sounds awesome, I should try it" but never really get around to them? For me just a few of those things were; a quick yogurt cake, a fresh fruit puree or sauce, olive oil cake, crème fraiche... And, that's how this cake came together, I bought a few ingredients and then all of a sudden I had this fancy cake.

It started at the grocery store, blackberries were on sale for just a dollar per package. I bought two and thought, blackberry sauce! As I browsed the alcohol aisle, checking for sales, I remembered the gorgeous bottle of Limoncello Katy gave me for Christmas. Limoncello blackberry sauce sounded much more interesting than blackberries all by themselves.

Pickled Strawberry Jam

Was it just a few weeks ago that I wrote about making refrigerator pickles? Well, since then I've made all sort of veggie pickles; cucumbers, green beans, carrots, sugar snap peas (recipe coming soon!) And now, Pickled Strawberry Jam. But don't be scared of that "Pickled" in the title. Really the jam just starts out with a little vinegar, a few spices, and lots of sugar but ends up just barely tart with a hint of something extra. Something delicious.