No eggs, no potatoes but ‘a lot of imagination’: how Spain cooked in war’s hunger years
Book recreates recipes from period following end of Spanish civil war when people faced food shortages
TL;DR
- Berta Álvarez Acal's book "Wartime Recipes" compiles dishes from Spain's post-civil war hunger years (1939-1952).
- Ingredients like bread and onion were used to substitute for eggs and potatoes in dishes such as tortilla de patatas.
- "Fried squid without squid" used deep-fried onion rings, and "wartime hake" was salt cod.
- The book was inspired by Álvarez's great-aunt's recipes and research into historical sources like Ignacio Doménech.
- Historical accounts suggest around 200,000 people died of starvation between 1939 and 1942 in Spain.
- Food shortages were severe, particularly in cities like Madrid, Barcelona, and Valencia, with produce fed to livestock sometimes used for human consumption.
- The book is also a homage to the resilient generation that lived through these difficult times.
- Some recreated dishes were surprisingly delicious, while others were less successful.