It is a fact that many families in Spain make an effort at Christmas time to buy a leg of ham, and not just any ham, but the best ham they can afford. That might seem like a strange concept for my American audience, but most Spaniards would understand it. In Spain you can buy jamón serrano, cured serrano ham, of various qualities, all the way up to the crown jewel, what is considered a luxury product, a leg of Iberian ham.
This recipe, for a bocadillo called brascada in Valencia, where I grew up and went to university, brings back memories. Bocadillo is what we call in Spain any sandwich made with baguette style bread. Baguette style bread, by the way, is the most common type of bread in Spain, and we call it simply pan, bread. Bocadillos are a common fare at all tapas bars and cafés in Spain, and they’re a popular midmorning snack for many. For us, students, bocadillos were an easy and nutritious lunch, or dinner. One of my favorites, brascada, was a typical and frequent meal in the evening (a few times a week) when I studied at the library of the Old University, a majestic building that, in the XVI century, housed Valencia’s University. After a few hours of studying, my friend and I would take a break at a tapas bar on the adjacent square, Plaza del Patriarca, that made the best brascadas in the city. I now make them at home, and my family loves them.
It is a fact that many families in Spain make an effort at Christmas time to buy a leg of ham, and not just any ham, but the best ham they can afford. That might seem like a strange concept for my American audience, but most Spaniards would understand it. In Spain you can buy jamón serrano, cured serrano ham, of various qualities, all the way up to the crown jewel, what is considered a luxury product, a leg of Iberian ham.
