Rick and Miguel sampling chuletillas

Programme 2 – Rioja, Navarra, Catalonia, the Mediterranean and Lleida

BBC iPlayer – Rick Stein’s Spain: Episode 2

This programme takes Rick across northern Spain (the aficionados call this region ‘Green Spain’ mainly because it rains a lot).

He trundles through Rioja where he samples baby lamb chops called Chuletillas cooked over vine trimmings and accompanied by superb red wine – quite wonderful!

Then onto Navarra where, in a field, next to the mighty Ebro River, Rick tastes the highly popular and yet unfeasibly green vegetable soup they call Minestra. In Pamplona, much loved by the British and Americans, he tastes the dish Hemingway loved so much – Rabo de Torro – bull’s tails cooked in red wine.

Then it’s onwards to Catalonia and the Mediterranean. In a beautiful cove, he’s invited by a bunch of keen cooks and passionate Barcelona supporters, to a fabulous seafood lunch where the main dish is Fideua – a Catalan classic, made with tiny strands of pasta cooked in a rich fish stock and served with a hot, garlicky aioli. Wow! Muy bien!

Finally, in the ancient town of Lleida, Rick, without much prompting, attends the annual snail festival where they have to import tons of the humble molluscs from the world over. There are simply not enough snails in Spain to satisfy the cravings of so many! Music along with copious amounts of wine and snails cooked in a myriad of ways makes another fitting finale for Rick’s second programme discovering the joys of Spain.