Spanish Language Blog

Ahora que se marchó el calor, me gustaría compartir con vosotros un sencillo y delicioso menú: las migas.  ¡Es un plato tan conocido que hasta existe un grupo flamenco con su nombre! Para hacerlas necesitaremos:
Ajos
Harina (salen más suaves con harina que con sémola, aunque yo prefiero esta última).
Sal
Agua

Y para acompañar:
Panceta frita
Pimientos fritos
Sardinas asadas
Melón, tomate, naranjas, o mi favorita: granada.
Gazpacho de limón

Ponemos los ajos con abundante aceite en una sartén, y cuando estén fritos añadiremos unas cucharadas de harina para tostarla.  A continuación agregamos un litro de agua y sal. Cuando el agua rompa a hervir, y dependiendo de cuanta gente hayáis invitado para almorzar, añadimos medio kilo de harina. Con esto bastará para cuatro personas. No olvidéis remover continuamente con una buena rasera hasta que las migas estén sueltas y doradas. Este proceso puede tardar una hora, pero merece la pena.

En otra sartén se fríen los trocitos de panceta y los pimientos; asamos las sardinas y preparamos el melón cortado en trozos que se puedan comer de un bocado. Si queréis tomate, o naranjas, preparadlas de la misma forma, y desgranad la granada antes de comenzar a comer.

Hoy día las migas se sirven en platos individuales, para que cada uno coma lo que desee. Normalmente mezclamos las migas con los trozos de panceta y los pimientos fritos, mientras que la fruta y las sardinas se cogen de otro plato según queremos comerlas. Pero a mi me encanta comer migas como lo hacíamos en casa: directamente de la sartén, sobre todo si las habíamos cocinado a la lumbre.

Las migas son un plato de pastores, tradicionalmente preparadas con pan. Estos solían cocinar el pan duro ablandándolo y haciendo un plato muy nutritivo con el que afrontar el duro invierno. ¡Esa es la razón por la que no debéis comer demasiado! También es muy saludable gracias al ajo. Si os gustan las migas, deberéis probar un plato típico de Jaén, muy similar a este: la gachamiga. La receta… ¡quizá la próxima vez!

Migas, by aabrilru

Now that the summer heat is gone, I want to share with you a delicious and very simple recipe: “migas” (crumbs). It is such a popular dish that we even have a flamenco group with that name! To make them we will need:
Garlic
Flour, (they turn out softer with flour than with semolina, although I prefer the latter)
Salt
Water

To accompany:
Fried pancetta
Fried peppers
Roasted sardines
Melon, tomato, oranges or my favorite one: pomegranate.
Lemon gazpacho

We put the garlic cloves with abundant oil in a deep frying pan, and when they are fried we will add a few spoonfuls of flour to toast.  After that we add a litre of water and the salt. When the water starts boiling, and depending on how many people you have invited to dinner, add half a kilo of flour. This will be enough for four people. Don’t forget to stir constantly with a good skimmer until the migas are soft and brown. This process will take about an hour, but it is worth it.

In a different frying pan we fry the little pieces of pancetta, and the peppers; we roast the sardines, and cut the melon into bite-size chunks. If you want to have some tomato, or orange, prepare them the same way, and shell the pomegranate before starting to eat.

Nowadays, migas are served in individual plates so you can eat what you want. We usually mix the migas with a bit of pancetta and fried peppers, whereas the fruit and the sardines are taken from another plate as you want to eat them. But I really love to eat migas as we used to at home: directly from the frying pan, specially if they were cooked on the fire.

Migas is a shepherds’ dish traditionally made with bread. They used to cook the hardened bread by softening and turning it into a nourishing dish to help face the hard winters. This is why you can’t eat too much! It is also a very healthy dish because of the garlic. If you like our migas, you’ll have to try a tipical dish from Jaen too, which is very similar to this one: gachamiga. The recipe…  maybe next time!

¡Hola! ¿Cómo estáis?

Hoy vamos a ver cómo preguntar o pedir. We will see how to ask or order. We will compare how this is done in both Spanish and English in the context of a bar or restaurant. Ordering food and drink in a Spanish speaking environment is one of the first opportunities many students have to try out their Spanish and it is a great way to get stuck in and have fun with the language.

Be very careful never to translate literally from English to Spanish when you are asking or ordering as the typical phrases we use in Spanish are quite different to those used in English speaking environments. In English, for example, you might say “Can I have a coffee?”, but if you translated this literally and said ¿Puedo tomar un café?” in a Spanish bar or restaurant it would sound as if you were asking for permission to have a coffee. This is just one example, but there are many other instances where you can run into problems.

Let´s see what Spanish speakers say when we order in a bar or in a restaurant:

1. Sometimes we just say directly what it is that we want, followed by “por favor”. For example: “Una cerveza y un café con leche, por favor”. This is perfectly correct and it doesn´t sound rude at all. Sometimes, we don´t even say “por favor” and nobody gets offended by it.

2. You can also use imperative commands, again without any risk of sounding rude or abrupt. We usually use the verb “Poner” (to put) and say “Pónme…” (informal) / “Póngame…” (formal) (which literally mean “Put to me…”) or “Pónnos…” (informal) / “Pónganos…” (formal) (which mean “Put to us…”). You can also use the verb “Traer” (to bring) and say “Traeme…” (informal) / “Traigame…” (formal): (which mean “Bring to me…”) or “Traenos…” (informal) / “Traiganos…” (formal) (which mean “Bring to us…”)

You might have heard or used the verb “Dar” (to give) in the context of a shop when you wish to look at or buy something and say. However, this verb is not usually used in a bar or restaurant and you should avoid saying, for example: “Dame” or “Deme” (“Give to me…”).

3. You can use questions with the verbs “Poner” and “Traer”. For example: ¿Me pones una cocacola?, ¿Me pone una cocacola?, ¿Me traes un poco de pan? or ¿Me trae un poco de pan?

4. You can also add the verb “Poder” (can) to questions using “Poner” and “Traer”. For example: ¿Me puedes poner una cocacola?, ¿Me puede poner una cocacola?, ¿Me puedes traer un poco de pan? or ¿Me puede traer un poco de pan?

Don´t worry too much if you are not sure if you should use the Spanish informal or formal form of the verb as nobody will get offended if you use one or the other. As a general rule, if the person you are asking or ordering from is young, use the informal. If they are older and there is a less personal and friendly atmosphere you might want to use the formal.

I mentioned earlier that you should not use “Puedo…” (Can I…) when asking or ordering as it sounds like you are asking for permission. You should also avoid using “Me gustaría…” which means “I would like…” in English and is something that you would use a lot in an English speaking bar or restaurant. If you use this in Spanish it sounds like you are making wishes, thinking about hypothetical things that you would like to happen.

Other good tips for managing in a Spanish speaking bar or restaurant are:

1. If you want to get the attention of a member of staff, you can say: “Oye” (informal) or “Oiga” (formal) which more or less translates to “Listen” in English. Again you might think this sounds a little rude or abrupt, but it is absolutely normal in Spanish and you shouldn’t be afraid to use such phrases. You can also use “Perdona” (informal) or “Perdone” (formal) which means “Excuse me”.

2. When you want to pay, you have to say different things depending on whether you are in a bar, café or restaurant. In a bar or café, you should say: “¿Me cobras?” (informal) or “¿Me cobra?” (formal) which roughly means “Can you charge me”. However, in a restaurant you can say “¿Me traes la cuenta? (informal), ¿Me trae la cuenta? (formal) or simply “La cuenta, por favor” to ask for the bill/check.

There are not so many key phrases that you need to know in order to manage in a Spanish speaking bar or restaurant. Once you have used them a few times and got into the different ways that we ask and order in Spanish you will have great fun mixing with native Spanish speakers and they will really appreciate the effort you are making. As I said before, it is really important not to translate typical phrases you would usually use from English to Spanish as they will quite often sound inappropriate or incomprehensible in a Spanish environment.

Don’t be afraid to use phrases that sound strange in your own language, be confident and have fun practicing!

Hasta luego

¡Hola! ¿Cómo les va todo?

Today let’s learn some useful vocabulary: kitchen furniture and objects! Shall we go for it?

cupboard – armario / aparador
mug – jarrita / tarro (México)

Mamá, ¿dónde están las jarritas? – Están el en armario.
Mom, where are the mugs? – They’re in the cupboard.

spoon – cuchara
fork – tenedor

Agárrame las cucharas y los tenedores, por favor.
Can you get me the spoons and forks, please?

glass – vaso
knife – cuchillo
stove – cocina

Ella dejó los vasos y los cuchillos encima de la cocina.
She left the glasses and knives on the stove.

oven – horno
microwave oven – microondas

¿Qué prefieres: asar en el horno o en el microondas?
What do you prefer, to roast things in the oven or the microwave oven?

freezer – congelador
fridge – heladera / nevera (España)

Me compré una heladera nueva porque tenía un congelador más grande.
I bought a new fridge because it had a bigger freezer.

dishwasher – lavaplatos / lavavajillas
sink – fregadero / pileta (Argentina)

Generalmente el lavaplatos está cerca del fregadero.
The dishwasher is usually placed near the sink.

plate – plato
faucet – canilla (Argentina) / grifo (España)

I opened the faucet to wash the dishes.
Abrí la canilla para lavar los platos.

toaster – tostadora
cups – tazas

Necesito ir a la tienda para comprar una tostadora nueva y también unas tazas.
I need to go to the store to buy a new toaster and also some new cups.

ladle – cucharón / cazo
sifter – cernedor

Para hacer esta receta necesito un cucharón y un cernedor; ¿me los puedes prestar?
To make this recipe I need a ladle and a sifter, could I borrow them?