Decapitating fish, frying milk, and stuffing bread

Yesterday, I had a great day of Spanish cultural eating.

I've seen these giant fish in the markets that are sold with the skin and heads, etc. still on. They look so interesting, and Mercedes bought some for lunch. To prepare them, she just covered them with sea salt and put them in the oven. Then she cut off the head and pulled out the bones, which I watched. It tasted like a typical white fish -- very yummy.

This is what the fish looked like when Mercedes took it out of the oven. They have surprisingly little meat once you take out the bones and head, but that was not a problem as they were served with potatoes and bread on the side, of course.

For dessert, we got to have one of Mercedes's favorite treats -- "leche frita" or "fried milk." I scored it by accompanying her to the bakery to buy bread. At first I was a little sketched out by the title, but it was delicious. It is made by mixing flour, sugar, egg yolk, and milk, then frying it. It is then sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar. Nom nom nom. Her grandmother used to make the dessert when she was young, and it's a common dish during this time of year.

Fried milk was actually almost as good as a fried goo-goo cluster, official food of the Tennessee State Fair. 

To top it all off, we had a tuna empanada for dinner. Empanadas are another very typical Spanish dish.  The word "empanar" means to coat with bread, so naturally, empanadas are made by folding dough around some sort of filling.  The filling can vary, but the most common type is to mix either tuna, chicken, or chorizo with tomato puree, garlic, and onions. The empanadas can either be baked in the oven, which is how Mercedes does it, or fried in olive oil. They are super good!

This empanada had red peppers in it too! I think red peppers are some of my favorite foods because I absolutely love every dish that includes them.