I recently saw an episode of Floyd in Spain in which he used a paste
called Picada in a vegetable stew recipe. He said the Spanish can't
cook without it. The ingredients are almonds, fried bread, garlic,
vinegar, olive oil, saffron and paprika which is crushed in a mortar to
create a thick paste about the consistency of marzipan.

While in Spain I bought several cookbooks and none mention picada nor
could I find a recipe on the internet. It looks/sounds as if it could
give an interesting flavor to soups or stews and I'd like to try it.
Does anyone have a recipe.

The stew he made consisted of pears, green beans, pumpkin, chickpeas,
tomatoes and onions which also sounds interesting. I refuse to buy a
book for one recipe.

--
Hexe
Buccholz DE

try this link. Picada catalana


i think it will translate it.

I did a search for picada and came up with it.

Tim


"Hexe" > wrote in message
oups.com...
>I recently saw an episode of Floyd in Spain in which he used a paste
> called Picada in a vegetable stew recipe. He said the Spanish can't
> cook without it. The ingredients are almonds, fried bread, garlic,
> vinegar, olive oil, saffron and paprika which is crushed in a mortar to
> create a thick paste about the consistency of marzipan.
>
> While in Spain I bought several cookbooks and none mention picada nor
> could I find a recipe on the internet. It looks/sounds as if it could
> give an interesting flavor to soups or stews and I'd like to try it.
> Does anyone have a recipe.
>
> The stew he made consisted of pears, green beans, pumpkin, chickpeas,
> tomatoes and onions which also sounds interesting. I refuse to buy a
> book for one recipe.
>
> --
> Hexe
> Buccholz DE
>

What link? I googled Picada catalan and the first hit was:
http://eltorito.users.netlink.co.uk/bca.html which I visited. Like
most recipes, I suppose there are hundreds of variations for Picada.
The one Floyd used was probably his own take.

I read through the recipes on the page and the recipe for Gypsies' Hot
Pot -Olla Gitana seems to be very similar to the stew he made on the
program. It sounds quite interesting. The recipe calls for almonds,
etc. I guess this would be similar to using Picada.

Thanks.

--
Hexe
Buchholz DE

I found this one on Emeril's site off the Food Network.

2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

¼ cup blanched almonds, roasted
1/4 cup blanched hazelnuts, roasted
1 slice fried bread
1 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley leaves
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

Using a mortar and pestle or a spice mill or a food processor, grind the
garlic, nuts and bread together. Add the parsley and mash until
incorporated. Add in enough oil to the mixture to form a thick paste, about
1/4 cup. Season with salt and pepper.


He made some reference to using in a fish stew.


Also found a reference to picada being a simple meal of Hors d'oeuvres, this
is from Argentina.

Tim







"Hexe" > wrote in message
oups.com...
>I recently saw an episode of Floyd in Spain in which he used a paste
> called Picada in a vegetable stew recipe. He said the Spanish can't
> cook without it. The ingredients are almonds, fried bread, garlic,
> vinegar, olive oil, saffron and paprika which is crushed in a mortar to
> create a thick paste about the consistency of marzipan.
>
> While in Spain I bought several cookbooks and none mention picada nor
> could I find a recipe on the internet. It looks/sounds as if it could
> give an interesting flavor to soups or stews and I'd like to try it.
> Does anyone have a recipe.
>
> The stew he made consisted of pears, green beans, pumpkin, chickpeas,
> tomatoes and onions which also sounds interesting. I refuse to buy a
> book for one recipe.
>
> --
> Hexe
> Buccholz DE
>