Boletín 129 - Croquetas (I tried to make some), Casa Julio and the importance of barrio bars.
Boletín 129 - Croquetas (I tried to make some), Casa Julio and the importance of barrio bars.
+ tier 2/3 vocabulary and links to free downloads
It’s hard to miss it as you walk down Calle de la Madera (Wood Street). Down the single-lane narrow street overlooked by apartments with the typical window bars, a vibrant red facade becomes visible - Casa Julio. A local bar, open for more than a century, serving up highly rated croquetas. But what are croquetas, how did mine turn out and why are local bars so important?
👋Welcome to Boletín, an English-language newsletter covering historical, cultural and topical stories related to the A Level Spanish course. This week:
Edition 129 of Boletín (download the student worksheet here).
Croquetas and Casa Julio
More reviews are in for my new book.
Tier 2 & 3 vocabulary.
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📌Edition 129.
First off, I want to say a big welcome to all those who have subscribed over August, there are a fair few of you! Some of you may have seen my posts on the Learning Spanish Facebook group and some may have got here via the inside sleeve of my book, one of you will even be in my classroom in a few days (I see you!), welcome!
6 months have passed since I took 35 students to Madrid and looking back on some photos the other day, I just knew I had to create an issue dedicated to Casa Julio. They say not to let a resource dictate your lesson planning and in a roundabout way I have let Casa Julio dictate a whole Boletín issue. To complement this newsletter, the student worksheet this week also contains texts about the popularity of croquetas with online delivery services and the importance of Spanish bars.
Linking to the A-Level specification, emphasis is placed on Spanish regional identity under which themes like gastronomy (food), co-official languages, fiestas and traditions can be explored. This 129th issue is an attempt to shed some light on a plato estrella de la comida española and explore how local bars help to keep traditions alive.
By the way, allow me to point you to the about page if you want a little (re)introduction to what Boletín is.
🇪🇸 Casa Julio and Croquetas
Picture this. Forty of us have just arrived in the barrio of Malasaña an hour early for our flamenco workshop, what do we do? Well, I give the students some free time and some rules (namely to meet back at this place at this time and don’t go this way or that way, groups no smaller than two).
I go for a wonder down this quirky street (Calle del Pez) and go into a few shops with fond memories of the night before - we had a tapas tour and I’m not kidding you I ate what was probably one of the best meals of my life. Croquetas, tortilla, bacalao, chorizo.
Okay, stop! What is a croqueta?! I’m not talking about the frozen potato croquettes my mum used to buy from Iceland which I struggled through as a kid but rather soft, creamy croquetas with a crunchy rebozo (batter) that come in a variety of sabores (flavours). They’re a Spanish staple and most likely one of the most popular traditional Spanish dishes you can try, the stats back this up: 2 croquetas were ordered online via Glovo every minute in Spain in 2023.
It’s at this point whilst writing this issue that I realised that I couldn’t hit send without trying to make some of my own, so keep reading!
Here’s a description of what they are from our tapas tour guides over at Madrid Tapas Tour:
Croquettes, made with bechamel, are french in origin. They first appear in Spain during the 1850's and have become more popular in Spain than in France. They contain neither potato nor cheese. The cream instead consists of a Roux made from olive oil or butter + flour + milk, to which is added the main ingredient that gives it its name- the most famous are either Cod or Ham.
Anyway, back to Malasaña which is also a popular filming spot for none other than Pedro Almodóvar - you see, quirky. With croquetas on my mind and two sixth formers asking me to take them somewhere local to get a proper Spanish experience I asked a local where to go. Their answer: Casa Julio, founded in 1921 and one of the most iconic bars in Madrid. There, I was told, I could try some great food and have an authentic experience.
The video below is in Spanish and is advanced but tracks a route through the city towards Casa Julio where the uploader buys croquetas and talks through her experience (up to 3:25). The subtitles appear to be quite accurate so put them on if you need to.
👨🏻🍳 My first attempt making croquetas
Every year I do a Spanish bake-off with my A Level students and we compete on a technical challenge (everybody is given the same recipe and brings in their product for judging) and although we’ve always made a tortilla de patatas, this year I’m going to change it to croquetas. I’ve found this quite decent recipe which I’ve used for my own ones.
Here’s my attempt. I think they turned out well, they tasted great!
An introduction to Spanish grammar (CEFR A1 - B2)
If you like what I’ve been doing with Boletín for the last four years or like me, you like buying language books then consider checking out the book I released last week. It’s called Spanish grammar workbook: An ambitious, jam-packed introduction to Spanish grammar for complete beginners, intermediate learners and GCSE students. The reviews are currently coming in and I’m delighted with them!
My classroom set arrived today. If you’re a teacher and you want to buy a class set then do get in touch as I can buy them at a discounted rate and pass that on to you!
✒️The three texts.
Casa Julio.1
Casa Julio lleva muchos años siendo un lugar de peregrinaje para los fans de las croquetas. Lo primero que deja claro Luis Torres, su dueño, al ser preguntado por algún truco para hacer sus croquetas es que no hay ninguno. Desmitifica cualquier posible truco y limita todo a la práctica, la observación y la repetición. Fue su madre quien comenzó a hacerlas y él aprendió de ella. En Casa Julio se ofertan hasta 7 tipos de croquetas diferentes: de atún con huevo, de espinacas, pasas y gorgonzola, de jamón, de morcilla con membrillo, de picadillo, de queso azul y de setas con puerros.
Croquetas.2
Los usuarios de Glovo en España pidieron más de 1.000.000 de croquetas durante 2023, lo que equivale a cerca de dos croquetas entregadas por minuto en este periodo. Así, la croqueta se consolida como la receta tradicional más popular en delivery. Por ciudades, Madrid encabeza el ranking con el mayor número de pedidos de croquetas, seguida muy de cerca por Barcelona. Diciembre lidera los meses de 2023 con el mayor número de pedidos de esta receta tradicional. Los sabores más pedidos son los de jamón y pollo, representando el 25% de todos los pedidos de este producto.
Los bares de barrio.3
Entrar en un bar en un barrio cualquiera es como adentrarse en un microcosmos lleno de vida. Desde el momento en que atraviesas la puerta, eres recibido por el bullicio de conversaciones animadas, el tintineo de vasos y el aroma irresistible de tapas recién hechas. Los bares son el lugar donde la vida ocurre: se celebran victorias, se comparten penas y se forjan amistades eternas. Está claro que, sin bar, no hay barrio. Para mucha gente, los bares no son solo parte de su rutina diaria, sino un vínculo tangible con su pasado y una forma de mantener vivas las tradiciones y recuerdos familiares.
🗝️Tier 2/3 vocabulary.
Un peregrinaje (nms) - a pilgrimage
Dejar claro - to make clear
El dueño (nms) - the owner
Desmistificar (vb) - to demystify
La espinaca (nfs) - spinach
Entregar (vb) - to deliver
Un pedido (nms) - an order (in the food sense)
La receta (nfs) - the recipe
Lleno (adj) - full
El tintineo (nms) - clink (the noise that wine glasses make)
La amistad (nfs) - friendship
Un vínculo (nms) - a link
Un recuerdo (nms) - a memory
🔎Grammar search
Now that my book is out, I will refer to page numbers from it to help you locate grammar items from below which appear in this issue of Boletín. If you don’t know the grammar item, then you can learn it from the book and see it in context within the texts. You’ll need to download the student worksheet (for free, here).
So, can you find examples of the following grammar elements within the texts?
Llevar + present participle to describe how long something has been going on (page 98).
Short-form possessive adjectives (page 13)
Any verb in the preterite tense, including irregulars (page 38 onwards)
Past participles as adjectives (page 10)
Superlative structures (page 25)
Definite articles (page 2)
Use of hay (page 35)
Adjectival agreement (page 8/9)
🗞️Student friendly newsletter print out.
Thanks, as ever, for reading,
Ollie
❤️
https://www.20minutos.es/noticia/4117184/0/croquetas-casa-julio-u2/
https://www.revistahosteleria.com/texto-diario/mostrar/4680931/croquetas-espanolas-venden-delivery-de1000000-unidades-toda-espana
https://www.lavanguardia.com/magazine/20240803/9830342/sin-bar-no-hay-barrio-brl.html