Spanish Cuisine #1: Tostada with Sobresada

I must confess that I really like eating, both when I am at home, where I can enjoy one of the best cuisines in the world, and when I have the possibility to try new things. Therefore, the period I am spending in Spain is also a very good opportunity to taste typical Spanish food. Moreover, it is not just a mere matter of filling the stomach: in my opinion, indeed, food and the preparation of the dishes are very important features of the culture of a country.

To start with, I thought it was a good idea to illustrate the preparation of a recipe which despite its very simple preparation was about to cause me a cultural shock: namely, the sobresada, a very popular Spanish cold meat. Attracted by the name, I thought it surely was the Spanish equivalent to the Italian "soppressa/soppressata" (a delicious kind of cold meat). The two names actually sound very alike, so I may say my colossal mistake could be at least partly excused.

Anyway, my purpose was to prepare a quick and handy sandwich, but when once back home I opened full of hope the package containing the precious sobresada, I gaped at its content for some seconds realizing that something had gone wrong. The sobresada, indeed, looked quite different from any other kind of cold meats which were known to me. At least, it was quite clear that I could not just put it in a sandwich to eat it, as it was cut in quite thick slices (about 1 cm) and it had all the makings of a piece of raw meat.

I was still staring at it wondering what to do, when my Catalan flat-mate fortunately came to my rescue. She patiently explained to me that, being quite an exception among the cold meats, sobresada needed to be cooked for a while before you could eat it. Then she went on to explain that it was cut in thick slices because you had to spread it on the bread.

Quite reluctant, I had no option but to follow her advice, and patiently spread the sobresada on my baguette after cutting it in two halves. Having topped it with some thin slices of cheese (I opted for Emmenthal, and at least I was right in not choosing a cured one), I finally put it in the microwave oven. Needless to say, I was still quite doubtful about the result, and I am sure you will agree with me looking at the picture below.

As a matter of fact, it turned out to be a real success: after being for 1 minute in the microwave at a 800°C temperature, the sobresada had changed completely, turning the whole lot from an awful-looking sandwich to a really inviting tostada (which is the Spanish word for toasted bread). I really enjoyed eating it, also due to the fact that both the sobresada and the cheese melt with cooking, then contributing to make the bread even more tasty by soaking it with gravy.

One possible drawback of this delicious dish is that sobresada contains a bit of paprika, so I must warn those who do not like spicy food to avoid it (or at least be careful with the balance between cold meat and cheese). Upon the whole, I definitely recommend this peculiar kind of cold meat, which as far as I know is typical of the Balearic Island (especially Mallorca), but nowadays is very popular throughout Spain.

• Ingredients: Sobresada, Cheese, Bread (baguette-like).
• Time for preparation: 10 minutes.
• Difficulty: Easy.
• Cooking: 1 minute in the microwave oven (800°C).

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