Product Description

Get ready for the road trip of a lifetime

From the seaside cliffs of Mallorca to the bustling tapas bars and majestic museums of Barcelona, this is the ultimate road trip across Spain. Academy Award®-winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow, celebrity chef Mario Batali, celebrated author Mark Bittman (How to Cook Everything), and Spanish actress Claudia Bassols embark on a ten-week tour of a country at the forefront of the culinary and cultural worlds. Each episode finds the four in a new locale, from learning how Cava is made in Catalunya to meeting the famed pigs of Salamanca, as they steadily reveal the undiscovered delights of a country brimming with gastronomic and aesthetic treasures.

DVD Features: Deleted Scenes; Filmmaker Audio Commentary; Behind the Scenes

Stills from Spain…on the Road Again (Click for larger image)

Q&A with Mario Batali

• How did the show come about?

Charlie and I have been talking about doing something together for a while and we both love spain intensely. Gwyneth came in as we were closing in on production skeds and it just worked out perfectly.

• How is this more than a cooking show?

It is more about travel and the fun we had along the way than any traditional dump and stir. Some shows we do not even cook, although we always eat.

• What did you enjoy most about this project?

Hanging in Spain with the cooks and winemakers as well as Gwyneth, who is a great eater and lover of culture. The day to day making of tv was simple and relaxed and every night we had a nice dinner and stayed in nice places. It was kind of like a little vacation that happened to be made into a tv show.
 
• How does Spanish cooking differ from Italian?

Your heritage is Italian but you have spent time in Spain. Do you try to incorporate both styles for certain recipes? Both styles of food love olive oil and seasonal produce. Spain has its rice dishes and Italy has pasta. We use all of the Spanish influence at Casa Mono and the rest of my joints are Italian.

• What were some of the differences between each region?

It is all based on the intensity of the sun, as it is in the rest of the world. In the south there are sweeter fruits and more intensely flavored dishes, often fried.... in the north things are cooked longer and slower and the flavors are often more complex but also muted.
 
• For Americans who consider themselves familiar with Spanish cuisine, what would surprise them about food in Spain?

The incredible regional variation is always a surprise for Americans travelling anywhere who had previously considered a national cuisine to exist.

• What surprised you about food in Spain?

I think the shellfish and killer wine of Galicia was the most surprising. I simply had not experienced that corner as much as the rest of the Iberian Peninsula.
 
• If someone goes to Spain, is there one “must try” food?

JAMON, CROQUETAS AND FIDEOS

• Do you have any future shows planned for different countries?

We are working on an Italian show idea and a South American one, too.

• In the show, Gwyneth Paltrow mentioned the possibilities of writing a cookbook. Do you have any plans of future projects with her?

She is in the middle of her first cookbook right now and we are always planning something together - probably the Italy show is our next collaboration that the public will hear about.

• What are you doing now?

I am working on the Mario Batali Foundation which is intended to raise awareness of and money for children’s hunger relief, literacy and children’s disease research to help guarantee that each child is well fed, well read and well cared for. Children are the future and need the opportunity to thrive so that they are prepared for the challenges we are developing for them thru our mistakes now.

Map of Spain…on the Road Again
(courtesy of Quentin Bacon)

Exclusive Recipe from Spain…on the Road Again (courtesy of www.spainontheroadagain.com)
Gypsy Potage (Serves 6)

• Two 14-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1/2 large Spanish onion, cut into small dice
• Scant 1 cup tomato puree
• 2 tablespoons sweet pimentón (Spanish smoked paprika)
• Pinch of saffron threads
• 1 pound baby spinach
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped Italian parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 1/2 pounds skin-on, boneless bacalao (salt cod), soaked in water for 3 days (change the water twice a day)
• 5 cups water

Put the chickpeas into a large heavy pot, add 2 cups cold water, and bring to a simmer. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the garlic cloves and cook until they are just beginning to color. Add 1 garlic clove to the chickpeas, and reserve the other. Add the onions to the skillet and cook until softened and beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Add the tomato puree and pimentón and cook for about 5 minutes, until the tomato puree is slightly reduced. Add the onion mixture to the chickpeas (add a bit of the chickpea liquid to the skillet to help get all the onion and tomato mixture—don't waste a bit!), then add the saffron. Add the spinach, stirring until it wilts. Using a mortar and pestle, mash the reserved garlic clove, the parsley, and cumin to a paste. Add the paste to the soup, along with the bacalao, breaking it into large pieces. Add the remaining 3 cups water, bring to a rolling boil and cook for 10 minutes. Taste for salt and add it if necessary, then turn off the heat, cover, and let stand for about 10 minutes before serving.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4242 in DVD
• Brand: NEW VIDEO GROUP
• Released on: 2009-01-20
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Formats: Box set, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 4
• Running time: 690 minutes

Amazon.com
If you've ever considered traveling to Spain, or have been to certain spots but not everywhere, this is the DVD set for you. The set includes 13 one-hour episodes as well as plenty of sensual extras, especially for the home gourmet. The series follows master chef Mario Batali, New York Times food writer Mark Bittman, Spanish actress Claudia Bassols, and actress Gwyneth Paltrow on a real road trip around Spain, sampling its fantastic cuisine, fancy and plain, and tasting more varieties of wine than your local wine store could ever stock. And the foursome takes in some of the country's most impressive sights and attractions, including much of the countryside that's often overlooked in travel guidebooks. In the group of episodes called "Basking in the Basque Country," for instance, Paltrow and Batali (longtime friends before this series was shot) try organic goat yogurt, a perfectly cooked 65-degree soft-boiled country egg, strong café au lait, and an assortment of freshly baked goodies, all at one breakfast. (Expect to become extremely hungry as you watch.) The group travels to cities, vineyards, tiny towns (where one vegetable farmer treats them to a fabulous meal of freshly picked, then grilled veggies cooked right on the fire, finished with some salt and olive oil--"heaven!" declares Paltrow), and everywhere in between, seeking out the best food and drink and other amenities Spain has to offer.

Batali is an old hand on camera; Bittman surprisingly telegenic and self-deprecating, and Bassols a very knowledgeable and companionable guide to her own country. Paltrow she seems to be here largely for her star power, though her Spanish is acceptable and she's very appreciative of the experiences she's privy to. Sometimes Paltrow's waxings can seem a little over the top; of architect Frank Gehry, whose buildings in Bilbao the group visits, she says, "Frank Gehry has to be a good guy, because his buildings are so innovative, and yet so sensitive." (Clearly Paltrow hasn't yet visited the Experience Music Project in Seattle.) But the series' pluses are enormous, and happily the focus on great food (try not to salivate while you watch Bittman and Bassols down tapas made of grilled anchovies and button mushrooms), stunning countryside, and lovely people of Spain. Buen apetito! --A.T. Hurley

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Customer Reviews

Spain: Not Just Tapas, People!
I'm nearly going blind watching this show as our antenna does not pick up PBS very well, but I am still addicted! Don't be fooled by the title "Spain". Yes, this takes place in Spain, but it is very much in the format of Mark Bittman's culinary explorations around the world, also aired on PBS. Bittman is a brilliant, self-abasing, mildly abusive food critic for the New York Times, & he is one of the four travelers on this sorta wacky foodie expedition across Spain. No, it's not an insider's Spanish travel guide (though a Spanish actress does join them & offer some bizarre dieting advice), but you're never meant to think it is. They do take some side trips away from food & mussels eaten straight out of the ocean (& wine, so much wine) to do interesting things one can only do in Spain. But mostly it's about eating in Spain & talking about eating in Spain. It might remind you of a college road trip, only with far more fascinating people & a better car (a convertible Mercedes, whereas mine was a Ford Tempo constantly on the verge of dying). Also the food is much better than your college road trips, but the conversation just as meandering & nonsensical & fun. I cannot wait until this comes out on DVD so I can actually see the food & the countryside! Pathetic, yes, I know. I didn't even like Gwyneth Paltrow before I saw this show, & now I think she's just charming & would love to scarf down a paella pan & a plate of french fries with her. We would also need some of that fantastic Spanish wine they keep raving about, & Mark Bittman to make dry assertions, Mario to wax poetic about EVERYTHING, & Claudia to tell us that olive oil cannot possibly make us fat.

Sheer Perfection
I am not sure if it is the players, the setting, the food (or all three) but this series resonated deeply. It is, without a doubt, one of the best documentaries ever filmed, a masterwork of editing. First and foremost is Mario - chef, critic, story teller, flirt and gadabout. Gwyneth ("GP") offers insight and humor as well as a good appetite. Mark, the reporter, is the perfect foil to Batali and Claudia is the gorgeous dressing on the salad.

Two distinctive elements stand out: First, they do more than run around gobbling food. They visit sites, investigate history and lore, talk culture and politics and religion AND - the perfect touch - family and kids. Second, the fantastic meals are not at five star restaurants but in mountain shacks, on the beach, in a smoky underground cooker, over an open fire in a vineyard. We are introduced to the cuisine of Spain in a unique and mouthwatering way.

The humor is infectious, like when the gals go to the spa and the guys insist they are going to "work out at the gym". Gwyneth thinks the idea is hilariously preposterous and swears she will run through the vineyard naked if they are exercising. The camera switches from the girls to scenes of Mark and Mario eating, laughing, drinking at one establishment after another. Both offer running commmentary on the food and the trip as the girls undergo beauty treatments. Hilarious!

My grade: A+

Don't listen to the one star guy.....
This series is a travelouge not a documentry. It's primary aim is to entertain and explore, albeit on a cursory level, some of the fine cuisine Spain has to offer. I think the guy who gave this series one star should tune into National Geographic. There he can get just the facts.

I suggest purchasing this series if you enjoy a more casual, entertaining and relaxed way of learning a few things Spain.