What new foods have you tried recently?

[dessiato]

Just spent some time in lovely Sevilla eating my face off - mostly the old familiar favourites of tapas made out of cheese, ham, spinach & chickpeas, more ham, fried fish, croquetas, fried aubergines, pickled artichokes, anchovies, more ham etc etc.
But these were new to me and about the most delicious thing I have ever tasted - tortillitas de camarones, small mini-pancakes (more like fritters really) made with tiny miniscule prawns in a very very light, crispy batter. No egg involved - it's just mixed wheat & chickpea flour with water and the mini creatures stirred in, then fried (hard and fast) in olive oil. As long as you're not weirded out by the tiny black eyeballs (just think of them as pepper flecks!) these are like prawn crackers, only gourmet and from heaven. Very salty and prawny. Probably will kill you fast. Want to try making them at home but I don't know where you can get teeny tiny baby prawns here (in Spain you can get them at the supermarket)
View attachment 414952

I love tortillitas. The crunch from the the tiny shrimp, and their flavour is so good.

It's very difficult to get the shrimp shell on in the uk, so I substitute the tiny shell off ones from Aldi or Lidl. Sometimes, at the seaside, you'll find both pink and brown shrimp, but how well they'd travel before cooking is anyone's guess.

 

[trabuquera]

Green chickpeas. As expected: they taste exactly halfway between mature chickpeas (solid, floury) and green peas (sweet, soft, more 'fresh' green in taste). Well who would ever have guessed it.

 

[polly]

Peanut butter filled pretzel sticks. Nice! View attachment 422381

From a big international food shop, went in for olive oil...got distracted by snacks

Omg

 

[Callie]

Omg

Search and destroy!!!! Or failing that I could post you some!

 

[Orang Utan]

Got given some pistachio butter for my birthday - just had some on toast and it’s nice but not a very strong flavour as I expected

 

[polly]

Search and destroy!!!! Or failing that I could post you some!

That's incredibly lovely of you! Don't worry, I will hunt them down

 

[story]

These.

They’re horrible.
Dry, flavourless, disappointing.

 

[nottsgirl]

Battered banana blossom. Almost 100% batter.

 

[RubyToogood]

Battered banana blossom. Almost 100% batter.

Yeah like battered courgette flowers. It's just an excuse for batter.

 

[polly]

Yeah like battered courgette flowers. It's just an excuse for batter.

Sounds awesome

 

[nottsgirl]

Vegan chicken. Very nice.

 

[danski]

Amazing

 

[hash tag]

Cheeseburger pasta, I tried it while on the go at work last night, so you don't have to. A creamy cheesy pasta with tiny meatballs in it

 

[hash tag]

Omelette anyone?

 

[hash tag]

I had a stovie today with Scottish Oatcakes and pickled beetroot. The stovie was slow cooked potato with beef. Almost a type of stew. Great flavour, bloody lovely.

 

[Orang Utan]

Really want to try these but it seems you can only get them in the US:

 

[dessiato]

Drinking champagne from Lidl and eating birthday cake.

‘ I drink my Champagne when I’m happy and when I’m sad. Sometimes I drink it when I’m alone. When I have company I consider it obligatory. I trifle with it when I’m not hungry and drink it when I am. Otherwise I never touch it – unless I’m thirsty.‘

 

[UnderOpenSky]

Oysters. I'd never normally order something like that, but they were there and I felt I should. Not bad with hot sauce, not sure I'd pay the price for them with my own money.

 

[Epona]

Oysters. I'd never normally order something like that, but they were there and I felt I should. Not bad with hot sauce, not sure I'd pay the price for them with my own money.

I only like them grilled, can't be doing with uncooked seafood or fish at all

 

[Chz]

Oysters, raw or cooked (mmm, oyster po'boy) are very much on a short list of things that are "I like it well enough, but I ain't paying that for it". See also fois gras.

 

[polly]

I can see how you'd get really in to oysters. I make myself try new foods three times before I decide I don't like them (apart from lampreys but then I don't think they even qualify as food), and the first two times I had oysters I thought they were disgusting. The third time I suddenly got it and now I like them more every time I eat them. I haven't got as far as chewing, though.

 

[Wolveryeti]

There's nothing like a fresh chilled oyster with a squirt of lemon. Sadly what with what I know to be being pumped into our seas I am not taking the risk with our UK specimens...

 

[polly]

There's nothing like a fresh chilled oyster with a squirt of lemon. Sadly what with what I know to be being pumped into our seas I am not taking the risk with our UK specimens...

This is a very good point

 

[danski]

Not new food as I eat tons of this already but I am having more often with cheese in place of pickle. You would never have the same quantity as a pickle as your face will melt but just a smear and you get that lovely pickley tang with smoke...then heat
Try it!

 

[Callie]

Just spent some time in lovely Sevilla eating my face off - mostly the old familiar favourites of tapas made out of cheese, ham, spinach & chickpeas, more ham, fried fish, croquetas, fried aubergines, pickled artichokes, anchovies, more ham etc etc.
But these were new to me and about the most delicious thing I have ever tasted - tortillitas de camarones, small mini-pancakes (more like fritters really) made with tiny miniscule prawns in a very very light, crispy batter. No egg involved - it's just mixed wheat & chickpea flour with water and the mini creatures stirred in, then fried (hard and fast) in olive oil. As long as you're not weirded out by the tiny black eyeballs (just think of them as pepper flecks!) these are like prawn crackers, only gourmet and from heaven. Very salty and prawny. Probably will kill you fast. Want to try making them at home but I don't know where you can get teeny tiny baby prawns here (in Spain you can get them at the supermarket)
View attachment 414952

Lidl have frozen versions of these in at the moment. I suspect this version isn't as delicious as the fresh equivalent eaten in Spain! Need to try them fresh

 

[Epona]

Lidl have frozen versions of these in at the moment. I suspect this version isn't as delicious as the fresh equivalent eaten in Spain! Need to try them fresh

I saw these when I was in there trying (and failing, none on the shelf, not surprising at £1.49 a kg) to pick up some paella rice - but freezer was full so didn't get any and have no idea what they're like.

 

[Callie]

The Lidl frozen ones are fine but I think probably no comparison for the real thing. A little greasy and the prawn flavour is hella strong... More like squiddy which might just reflect my lack of tiny prawn experience?

 

[Epona]

The Lidl frozen ones are fine but I think probably no comparison for the real thing. A little greasy and the prawn flavour is hella strong... More like squiddy which might just reflect my lack of tiny prawn experience?

I think some things freeze excellently - peas for example, it's by far the best way to store them longterm.
Batter is fairly low down the list.
It works well enough in terms of making it suitable to bake in the oven from frozen rather than quickly fry from a wet drippy fresh batter mess, but I think you're right, it's not going to be in the same ballpark as a fresh prawn fritter deep fried and served up there and then.

 

[Callie]

I want to go to Spain and eat all the prawn things

 

[nottsgirl]

I just had a mayonnaise ice cream. I wouldn’t have it again, and I’m a big mayonnaise fan.