Megan Palmer wrote:It looks deliciously rich. How did you cook it? Boiled, steamed/baked?
Ah, this is where I'm afraid I'm going to lose a bit of my permie-street-cred because I followed the instructions that my son was given as closely as possible, which involved tying it up in the plastic bag it came in and boiling it for three hours. The thing was expensive at €15 a kilo, which is way out of our usual price range, and I didn't want to find out the hard way that it would be ruined or fall apart and turn into soup if I didn't follow instructions so I bit the bullet and did as I was told for once in my life. It was too big to fit in my small slow-cooker so I used my ginormous one and gave it four hours, just to be on the safe side. My son came over half an hour before lunch time and the boys cooked up the potatoes and green beans together while I just left them to it, except to take photos.
A load of water had managed to work its way into the tied bag, which we saved and I used to cook up a batch of black eyed peas the next day. I have a feeling that if I'd just boiled it in water without the bag, a load more of the flavour would have escaped into the water. And without any kind of wrapping, I thing the whole thing might have burst. The slow cooker was the only viable option for a boil that long as the rocket mass heater is only run in the afternoons and it doesn't usually run for three hours. Three hours on the gas stove seems excessive to me.
If I were to try it again, I would probably plan it more in advance so that we would use the rocket mass heater, tie the thing up in a piece of cloth to hold it together, and use a pan that was better suited to the size and shape so that there wasn't quite so much water to wash the flavour away into.
The boys had been working on a renovation job in that village. The back streets are so narrow that the truck doesn't reach the house so deliveries end up being carried or barrowed to the job site. On festival day, loads of the houses open up little stalls outside their front door and this
butelo was purchased direct from the couple who made it from a table set up outside the house. The man gave my son very strict instructions on how to cook it and my general policy is to follow instructions the first time I cook something new. I have a feeling that my son will end up knocking on their door one day in the relatively near future to tell them how awesome it was and do they have another one. He likes his food, and both the boys like to cook. I just get to wash the dishes up later.
My son cut the left-overs in half, took one half home with him and left the rest for us. I had my bit cold the next day - it sliced well as it had set into one big lump. Austin fried his bit up and he said that was delicious too. Not sure what my son did with his but I bet it's all gone by now.
I did find this link about the spanish version and how to cook it -
botillo with potatoes and turnip greens
And also this spanish youtube video where she wraps it in cloth. I didn't find this until after I'd cooked mine though...
