Mon 30 May 2011
Joey Doesn’t Share Food!
Posted by Clare under Expats in Dublin, Irish Food Culture, living in Ireland, Recipes
[20] Comments
My friends Janet, Veronica and Giselle at Bottega Louie – one of our favorite restaurants in LA – sharing a pizza and some starters for dinner.
I’ll always remember the first time I went to a tapas restaurant in Ireland with my new-found Irish friends. It was a little place in Drogheda (which is sadly now out of business) and as soon as I opened the menu and saw favorites like garlic mushrooms, chili prawns and spicy potatoes I knew I was in for a treat.
Or so I thought.
“I’m getting the prawns and the salad,” said one friend. “What are you going to get?”
What do you mean what am I going to get? Tapas is all about sharing, I told her. It’s the Spanish culinary tradition of snacks or little bites served on small plates, and the idea is to get a bunch of dishes to share with friends.
“OK, well you can have a bite of my prawns. So what are you going to order?” she deadpanned.
Through further explanation of the beauty of tapas (That way we can all try a lot of dishes on the menu, I reasoned), my friends seemed to grasp the concept and we each chose two dishes on the menu to order. But when the plates were set on the table, each friend quickly grabbed her two orders and tucked right in and offered me a bite of her food before promptly finishing off the rest.
It’s odd that the idea of sharing plates of food seems a bit lost in Irish culinary culture. At Chinese and Indian restaurants in Ireland, patrons order their own dish – which is completely at odds with how Americans eat both cuisines. At a sit-down Chinese or Indian restaurant in the U.S., it’s typical to order a few dishes and a big bowl of steamed rice and share everything; a little chow mein, a little kung-pow chicken and an egg roll with some rice for each person. Here, it’s common for Susan to order a chow mein as her main while Earnan orders the kung-pow chicken for himself. It’s absolutely weird for me to eat an entire plate of what I consider a community-style dish like chow mein, but here it’s perceived as strange to do otherwise.
Remember the famous line from a well-known Friends episode, Joey doesn’t share food!? Sometimes the reaction I get from some Irish friends about dividing up a few plates is hilariously similar. I’m not sure why that is, but Mountaineering Man likes to joke that it has to do with the Great Famine.
“It wasn’t that long ago that people were punching each other over one potato,” he says, with a devilish smirk. “Maybe that’s why we don’t like to share food!”
While sometimes I just want what I want all to myself, most of the time I’d rather share a few plates so that I can try more than one dish. Back in Los Angeles my sister and I would frequently plant ourselves at the bar in a restaurant, order 3-4 appetizers and some wine and nibble all night. It’s a relaxed way to try a few different dishes and just the way I prefer to eat!
Spanish Tortilla
This popular Spanish dish is featured on several tapas menus in LA and showcases Ireland’s most beloved veg, the potato! While my recipe is for a full-sized tortilla, you can make them smaller for a proper tapas dish by cutting the recipe down. It’s really a dish for leftovers; the only required ingredients are potatoes, eggs and onions – the rest is up to you. I’ve had tortilla with tomatoes, cured meats and a variety of veg.
4-7 teaspoons of olive oil (will depend on the size of your pan)
4 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced thinly
1 medium onion, sliced thinly
1/2 green bell pepper, sliced thinly
10 thin slices of chorizo
3 eggs, beaten
Handful of grated cheese – whatever type you like!
Salt and pepper to taste
In a large, heavy-bottomed sauté pan, heat up one teaspoon of olive oil over medium heat. Working in batches, put in one layer of onion, potato and bell pepper and cook for about 5-7 minutes or until they are all tender. Place onto a plate and repeat step one (1 teaspoon of oil, potato, onion, bell pepper) until all the potato and veg are cooked. Set aside.
Heat up another teaspoon of olive oil in the same pan over medium heat. Now place one layer of potato, bell pepper and onion in the pan, followed by a layer of chorizo slices. Repeat until all the potato, veg and chorizo are in the pan. Pour the eggs over the whole lot and cook. Do not mess with it – let the egg cook on the bottom, which should take about 5 minutes or so. There shouldn’t be too much runny egg on the top at this stage, though the top will not be cooked yet.
Now here’s the hard part about making Spanish Tortilla: You need to flip it over! But here’s the easy way. Get a plate as large as your pan. Gently use a spatula to loosen the edges of the egg/potato and slide the whole thing onto the plate – cooked side down so it shouldn’t be too difficult. Now place the pan over the plate and quickly and confidently flip it back into the pan so that the uncooked side is now down in the pan; if you are unsure of how to do it, check out this step-by-step process. Cook for an additional 3-4 minutes and then sprinkle the cheese on top of the tortilla and cook until it melts – about 2 minutes. Slice and serve!
Clare,
I wouldn’t start laughing at MM’s words. He’s right on the money, though there’s many a true word spoken in jest.
The effects of the famine on the Irish psyche haven’t gone away you know. Sociologists like to term them “psychic shock” it’s part of the cultural memory which we carry within us whether we know it or not, and it’s effects are not limited to not sharing tapas!
Some partly ascribe the property boom of the Celtic Tiger to the fact that in famine times many Irish were evicted to starve on the side of the road. So we were always told if you had your own property you would be safe. Now I’m not discounting greed involved in all bubbles, that played it’s part but I’m trying to describe the background elements to what happened.
It’s the same way with food, it’s not about not sharing things . . . . . . I don’t think you’d describe any of your friends as not generous but sharing dishes like you describe has for the most part been forgotten. Well kind of . . . ;o)
Joyce was almost right.
History, and complicated cheque splits, are nightmares from which we’re trying to awake.
Mark & MM: Good points. It just occured to me that many of my Irish friends also inhale their food, especially at family dinners. I asked my friend Sinead about this once and she explained that growing up in a family of 7 kids meant that if you didn’t eat fast, you didn’t eat.
Her grandmother was evicted from her home by the English and therefore raised her own kids on stories of people starving, losing their homes, etc. which I think gave them all a sense of urgency when it came to food and shelter. It’s certain fascinating to see how history has affected something as seemingly insignificant as sharing food (as in tapas, not sharing in general – my Irish friends are all incredibly generous!).
I’m nodding my head here at your comments C. My father’s family tells the story that every morning before they left for school they each had to peel the amount of potatoes for dinner that they wanted. They had each spud counted by the time they made them to the plate.
My husband’s family take their plate to the table already filled. That means your meal is already served so there’s no communality to the meal. My family we share from big dishes – maybe it’s living for a while in the Middle East while growing up. Mezze are second nature.
I never really thought of that. The wif and I almost always share a starter and a dessert to not only save money but also to reduce calories and that works out fine between us. I suppose in the US, the portions are always generous so there’s plenty to go around. I’ve also been to one or two restaurants in the US where it’s more like a big sit down dinner and everyone shares what’s on the table. You’d be hard pressed to find a restaurant like that here.
had a lovely meal with Susan, still can’t believe she didn’t share her chow mien with me at all 🙂
You want to eat it, then order it!! Simples. Mine is mine. END OF STORY!!! 🙂
This is a very FRIEND post… your comment “growing up in a family of 7 kids meant that if you didn’t eat fast, you didn’t eat.” also made me remember when Ross tells Chandler that about Monica “If you didn’t eat fast you didn’t eat at all!!!”
I do enjoy sharing food but usually ask my friends or family if they want some before I start eating it… otherwise if I’m already enjoying my food…Gisela doesn’t share food either!! hehe
Wholesome Cook: That is wild about the potatoes, but I’ve heard stories like that from friends here. Interesting too how the food is plated up; at MM’s folks’ house they always serve up our portions (though they always have plenty for seconds and thirds!), which I don’t mind but am not used to.
JJ: I agree, the portions in America are TOO big! But I do miss the community-style restaurants of the US.
Earnan: LOL, I think you usually get Singapore Noodles, no? In any case I’ve never had a bite of it!!
Oisin: Will add that to my “Oisin Notes” for future reference!
Gisela: I’m not fond of sharing food if I’m ordering my own thing, but I like when we all agree to share from the start and order for the whole table. But I agree, nothing’s more annoying than when people pick at your plate!
You know what’s really harmed our national psyche? Banging on about the damn famine for the last 150 years
One other thing this reminded me of…when I was younger, I tended to be a slow eater and I’m only 1 of 2 siblings so I never had to contest with the eat fast or eat nothing rule. The wif is 1 of 4 and when we first started going out, I noticed she was a tad overly aggressive with her food. She put this down more to the fact that she is a residential care worker and eats with her clients, sometimes having to eat quick while looking after them at the same time.
Cormac: I’d say a lot of people would agree with you on that!
JJ: My friend Sinead eats her food so fast she practically burns her mouth, lol. She says she wants to get as much food in before her brain can register her stomach is full, because she enjoys eating so much! BTW she is thin!
One of my first “fights” with Frank was when he came to the States for a visit, we went out for dinner and he ordered a massive dessert that I thought we would share and he was happy to polish off on his own. He, meanwhile, was shocked that I hadn’t ordered my own dessert when I’d been going on about it all through the meal. Sigh. Now I know better and we both order our own! 😉
Maryann: That is hilarious! When MM and I first went to La Pizzeria, I suggested we share the two starters and the two pizzas – like half each of everything – so we could try everything. He said no problem, but when the garlic mushrooms (his order) and caprese salad (mine) came, he ate most of the mushrooms and offered me a bite, lol. I didn’t take it personally but it was a bit of a head-scratching moment!
Now we share a lot unless there’s something he or I really want to ourselves!
Hola Clare, Just catching up on your blog…reminded me of all of the tapas/apps we’d share around LA. Great times!
After many years together (14… holy god), myself & The Hubs have a great strategy – we always order something that the other person will also like & share it : starters, mains & dessert. We do get a few odd looks when people see the forks passing across the table but it works for us!
Sharing is barely encouraged – or even considered – at most Irish eateries mind you.
Asking for extra plates, to share food, is often greeted with a slightly bemused look by staff in my experience.
Totally see where you’re coming from! America has a brilliant “family style” food tradition and it just doesn’t seem to have caught on here.
Tapas are meant to be enjoyed over a couple of hours, with a bottle (or two of Spanish wine) trying bits and bobs here and there. I remember taking my parents out for Tapas not too long ago and sure enough they each ordered one meat dish, one potato dish and one veg dish! TYPICAL! ha!
Steve: I miss our drinks/eats nights out too! Especially the ones at our fave, the bar at Drago Centro! I dream of those little sliders and the mini pizzas, sigh. But soon enough – October is just around the corner!
Babaduck: Good strategy! 🙂
MM: So true. Even at Spice they always give us a funny look when we say we’re sharing, right?
Susan: I can relate! Tapas is all about sharing, lol.
Irish people and their eating habits!
We do eat way too fast..here in Spain they take ages and sometimes that can be cool..however meals that last 3 or 4 hours, no! (no Spanish relatives thankfully!)
the sharing thing!?! a hilarious but very accurate description..the Irish just don´t get the idea of “racciones”..tapas is used in error by most English speakers-a tapa is what you get with your beer..”raccion” is what you get and usually share…some of the ones you mentionned aren´t really considered “racciones” here..pimientos de padron, tortilla,patatas bravas, calamares and croquetas would be the typical ones..pimiento de piquillos would be a typical dish..