31 March 2010 Calentita

For the last day of March and the last day of our Gibraltar studies, we made Gibraltar’s national dish: calentita. It was a good recipe for a 4 year old to handle. There are just four ingredients–chick pea flour, water, salt & pepper. Mix that up (250 grams of flour to 1 liter of water) and pour in a pan coated with warm olive oil. Pop it in the oven for about an hour until the middle has set. It has the consistency of a Yorkshire pudding and one is supposed to eat it warm, not hot, hence the name. (I’ve seen calentita translated as “little bit warm” and “warmish.”)

I thought it was quite tasty, which is a good thing because I’ll be eating all the rest of it. Sam and AC were both eager to try it, but less eager to keep eating it. More for me!

And the exciting news is that in May I should be able to eat even more calentita: AC has a business trip to Gib, and Sam & I are going to accompany him. I’m thrilled that our first country club country will include a field trip… to a warmer climate. The UK was battered by storms today (snow in Scotland, sideways rain in Brighton) and it was cold and bitter enough that we wore our long underwear.

I’d like to put in an order for some calentita weather. I understand that I’m living in the British isles, but could it get just a little bit warmer, warmish… please?