I want to send out a shoutout to all of the cast and crew on this program who do this every weekend. Ill see you next weekend. Good night. At the end of the week, its party time. The girls and i will put on our finest and get totally immersed in a timehonored local tradition. All proving that andalucia is a vast melting pot of cultures, customs, and tastes. I love to come here. This part of spain, weve been coming to our whole entire life. Our mom is from here. We come here every summer. This is home. We are driving to the Perfect Place to begin a visit to andalucia. Well start to explore the regions Unique Culture and see firsthand the kind of influence north africa had on the cooking of presentday spain. Its incredible how close we are to africa. It is incredible. Take a look at the map. At the southwestern end of spain, where europe and africa almost touch. In fact, morocco is less than ten miles away. In the eighth century, the moores crossed these waters to conquer present day spain. They called this region andaluc. This beautiful city was their capital for almost 500 years. Im so excited. You excited . Im excited to go to apdalucia. Look at this city. These walls, yes, outside the walls, there were war. But inside the city, good things were happening. Thats why it was one of the most fascinating places anywhere in the world. Still kind of is. Yeah. You feel it, right . I feel it. The moors were muslims, a mix of arabs from The Middle East and Indigenous People of northwest africa. In the old town, you can really feel their influences. Narrow streets, Shady Courtyards with majestic doorway arches. And of course, this. Look at the mosque. This is probably one of my favorite mosques in the whole world. The famous mosque cathedral. A stunning monument to twowall lnlgs. Remember that many of these monuments in spain, they be built one over the over over the over. An islamic mosque was built here in the late 700s by the moors, but centuries later, when christians recaptured cordova, this Place Of Worship was converted into a cathedral. This is the door or forgiveness. Im going to be asking forgiveness, because im going to be eating so much. I need to ask for that too. Thats because the best way to understand the Moorish Influence on spain is of course through food. Come on hola. This is a tapas bar. This is a great place. And to feel like you can go to bar to bar to bar to bar to bar. You know it. So weve come to this busy place, a traditional tapas bar where the legacy of the moors lives on. Many of the dishes youll find here that are now part of Spanish Culture are based on ingredients the moors brought with them from africa. We walked around so much today. I am so hungry. I really, really, really, really want to eat. First up, a real treat. Wow, wow. Ham and fried eggs. And something unusual. Artichokes. In spanish. Ham and eggs are certainly not moorish, and sure, you may prefer bacon and eggs, but the moors definitely brought artichokes with them to spain. I love artichokes. Look. Where did artichokes come from . Alachofas. Artichoke, thats thistle in arabic, people. Take a look at an artichoke. It is like a flower. Thank you, air rabs for bringing this artichoke. Next, a delectable dish that is both sweet and savory. Crunchy Fried Eggplant with sugar cane syrup. This is what i love. That these this is not honey. Hundred new made out of the sugar cane. I love Fried Eggplant. Honey is always expensive. Arabs introduced sugar cane to andalucia in the eighth century and gave the world this sugary syrup. This is incredible. And this is andalucia. Andalucia is known as the land of cold soups. Its a Tradition Dating Back Thousands of years, when hard, sweaty workers needed to refuel and quench their thirst at the same time. Everyones heard of guessgazpac. But there are other two soups that are very popular. Its called almond soup, brought to spain by the moors more than a thousand years ago. Another is a blend of tomatoes and bread, was created in the 16th century when tomatoes were first brought to spain. White, red. These are the ingredients the arabs brought with them almonds. Tomatoes are here. So post the discovery of the americas. This is something you enjoy more with a spoon. Because its thicker . Zpr pause its thicker. This thick almond soup was once considered a moorish comfort food and was regularly eaten by hardworking everyday people in muslim spain. The crushed almonds are combined with the stale bread, garlic, olive oil, and vinegar, and all blended together to create this smooth, creamy mixture. You know what this reminds me of . Marzipan. Because of the almonds. Now the one thing. Put a spoon in the mouth and try to say youll see what i me mean. I mean, weve grown up eating these tradition spanish dishes, which are spanish. But i think today we learned that theres a lot to be owed to the air arab influences and whe its not spanish at all, its spanish arab. Finally, a dish that smells and tastes of north africa. Always with lamb. Always grilled, and with t spices. These grilled lamb skewers are known as commkabobs around the world. Tender cuts of Lamb Marinating that were brought to andalucia from north africa. This is so good. Im dpbeginning to understand a the influences that the arab world had in spain through the ingredients the spices but with ingredients weve never actually asked ourselves what the origins of these ingredients are. Evolution, baby. You got it mind blown. When you consider all the different cultures haveandalucit is mind blowing. You have influences from east and west, everything that came from The Middle East, everything that came from africa, everything that came from africa, everything that was brought from latin america. Oh, my god, and this is the place of creation, more than any other place, not only in spain, but anywhere around the world. They dont have long menus. Some of them, they dont even write the menu. You know what they have. But what they always have are its their specialty. That is the best. They focus on hearty homecooked fare at affordable prices, sort of the equivalent of Roadside Diners back in the u. S. And this one is my absolute favorite. Were here. Oh, im hungry im hungry, too. So happy to be here. Its a family business. It started back in 1945, when this fella, antonio, the owner, was just 4 years old. His father opened this place as a way to feed the farm workers of the area, with simple highquality local ingredients. Antonio is el jeffe, the boss. His nephew, nono runs the place. And in the kitchen, youll find this lovely lady hard at work. I need to go in and say hello and find out whats cooking. Ive been coming here for decades. They are like family. And i know that everything she makes is delicious. Why . Because she cooks with love. All right. This is possibly one of my favorite restaurants in the whole world. This is dads kind of place. He already knows what theyve got and a he wants, so, i guess we wont be needing the menu. First up, marukas gazpacho, spains gift to the world. Served in the glass, its like a liquid summer salad, people. You remember how thick the mozzarella was. You see how this one is not as thick. This is perfect for the very hot summers. When its hot, you want to drink more than eat, if you know what i mean . These Iconic Andalucian dish is so simple, its ingenious, peppers, olive oil, vinegar, and mint leaves. All blended together. Its a recipe thats as old as these hills. Its not necessarily the name goes back to the romans. The romans would make some kind of a drink with some garlic, green peppers came with the tomatoes from america. All of a sudden, you have the water, the garlic, the bread, the tomatoes, you have the cucumbers, its building politics. Like the history that keeps adding itself into the ingredients of a very humble soup of wear and garlic and bread. You know mom is the one who taught me how to make gazpacho. Mom is the queen of gazpacho. Mom taught you how to make gazpacho. No, no, these are yes, i learned from your mom. Thank you, thank you. Oh, my goodness this is what we came for. The gazpacho is delicious, but this is what i have been dying for since we got to andalucia, broken eggs. Take a look. Runny fried eggs with fried onions and french fries, mixed up with all kinds of pork. Ham, black sausage, catalan sausage, chorizo, delicious. A little bit of everything . And look at the onion. The onion is amazing. Look at this thats amazing i love the egg yolk. Holy mother. Mm mm mm. That is hempb. And its like sweet and salty and creamy and gooey. I actually think i dream about these. Have you ever made a dish . Plenty of them. Invented a new dish that was popular. I invented tomatoes, green peppers. That is the worst question you can ask dad. Hell say he invented everything. Ive been here all my life. Ive been here centuries. Im not rambling anything. Because i think the answer is, he hasnt. Okay, you challenge me to create a dish . Yes. All right. Im going to show these girls how i can create a dish. Ill have to quickly raid the garden. She wont mind. They have a garden back there with everything. Im going to break them like that. I never create a dish in my life. That is so unique. So much style. Now ill get some of the onion i had in my own eggs and put them right on top. But now, we grab a flower. Now the egg yolk is saying, oh, my god, ive never been with something orange before, and teg yolk is getting excited. And you are like, oh, my god, this is so beautiful then some of the red n nasturtium. Now the egg yolk is happy, too. Because happiness happens when you mix different colors and people and places all in one plate. Its a bit like andalucia on a plate. A real mix of colors and ingredients and flavors. Your father right here, right now, can claim that he created this. I am convinced did i create a dish or i didnt create a dish . It looks beautiful. And this is what happens you have a couple of classes of sherry in andalucia. You always live up to the challenge. Dad, this is delicious, but you know what really takes the dish to the next level . The eggs are cooked perfectly. Thanks to the chef inside. The next stop on our road trip through andalucia is a beautiful small fishing village. Dont you smell the sea . I can smell the sea. As we drive along the coastline, we can see the fisherman working. Theyre out there catching the best and most expensive fish in the world. Blue fin tuna. A local treat thats served in Sushi Restaurants around the world. For centuries, going back, maybe before, they would set nets by the beach and the tunas will be caught in this labyrinth of nets. An arabic word meant to fight is an ancient system for atlantic Blue Fin Tuna. Invented more than 3,000 years ago, it was perfected by the moors and is still today used in andalucia. Look at this. Wow, i see the boats. There they are, catching the tuna. The tunas every year as they go into the atlantic ocean, every year, they come into the mediterranean, at the end of april, beginning of may, to come all the way deep into the mediterranean the lay the eggs. And that has been happening for centuries and centuries and thousands of years. The fisherman here that make their living only catching the tunas in may. These guys that catch them during one month and they have a quarter, they can only catch so many tunas, so many thousands of pounds. Should we go try some tuna . The best place to try some tuna is any favorite Seafood Restaurant in all of andalucia, right on the beach. Here they focus on serving the freshest est Blue Fin Tuna monen buy. This is my favorite thing in the whole world. I know, its like a jewelry store. This is like a jewelry store. You may think tuna just comes out of a tin can and its all the same. But let me tell you, they have 15 different tuna dishes on the menu and they use every part of the fish, all caught in the sea, just yards away. Its unbelievable. I mean, you are in the restaurant and you can point and say, i want that one. I want that tuna. They leave the tuna here, like nowhere el in the world. Were here for a treat. Well, thats settled. Dads order ed tuna, lots of tuna. All different parts of the fish prepared my the master chef in several different ways. Take a look at this. I think you can just dive into the ocean from here. Do you know that to put this network of nets almost takes them six to seven months from the beginning, getting them ready to fishing, then taking the nets out. Have you ever gone in to help hello with that physique. Dont i look like a tuna . If i do this, i look like a tuna. You are a tuna. First off, the chefs have prepared some tuna belly for us. Its smoked and sliced super thin. Its like smoked salmon. Its delicious, you see the fattiness, right . Yep. But you understand the simplicity. It comes from the ocean, its slightly salted, and then its slightly smoked. And then its served. How is it . This is like the butter of the ocean. Just completely melts in my mouth. Then two more simple but delicious tuna dishes, both raw, but preferred different ways, cubes of tuna marinated in olive oil, soy sauce, and a secret hot sauce, topped with caviar. So this comes from what they call the loin. Its wider, less fatty. And this one, totally fatty. This one, pure belly, and this one, pure loin. One super red, the other one, as you can see, very whitish. Same fish, two different things. Well eat the japanese way and the spanish way. Ill get the wasabi for the japanese. Perfect. And now, a little bit of soy, like always. Ladies, there you have the tuna honoring the traditions. But this is how i will do it if i was in spain. Lemon, olive oil. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Plaque pepper. Do you want to do the black pepper . One more touch. But you need to do it in the family style. With more high above and more stylish. Like, if you were dancing flamenco. Dad often sounds weird, but the tunas driving him even more crazy than usual. Im sorry. You talk too much. For all the fathers of the world, and you end up with me. Okay, lets dig in. Inez, this to me is the butter of the ocean. This is the butter of the ocean. You slept way too much last night. I have not been drinking. No. You slept too much. Finally, some tuna belly, cut nice and thick and grilled, almost like a steak. I hope they bring it medium rare. Okay, people, if you think by now that we overordered tuna, well, you are right. I am immersing you in a tuna environment. And this lesson calls for something extra, sherry vim dpar to enhance the flavor and the aroma. What is that dad . This is vinegar of manzanillo and st. Lucia. I like this technique. Yeah. Oh, no, no. Okay, okay. Tell me, is this the best bite you have in the last this is so good. And i dont havent have to braise myself for the bill. If we were having this tuna anywhere around the world, we would have to ask for a loan and another loan, and then be bailed out by the one bank. Actually, the price is here because the toounas are caught right there, theyre actually very affordable. We have eaten tuna all our lives, but never quite like this. Whats incredible about the tuna is that you can eat every single part. There is no waste, basically. I dont think i can eat tuna for a while. Im so full. Im so full. If you want to get your fill of the freshest, best Blue Fin Tuna, you must come to andalucia, especially in the months of april, may, and june. Ive been coming here almost 30 years. The same place, the same hour. Every single day in the summer. When people want to know where jose is, jose is here. Its a new day in andalucia. The sun is shining, the sea is sparkling, and we are cruising in our convertible. I think i need my sunglasses. Did you put sunscreen on your head . I put sunscreen on my head. Youre going to burn a little. Look at these beaches we have traveled north along the coast of andalucia. We are heading for san luka, a beachside town for a real treat. I kind of want to walk on the beach, dont you . Okay, lets go finally at the beach everything you see there is the atlantic ocean. So for the record, if we keep swimming this way, well get to america. Look, a fishing boat theres more coming. Oh, theres a whole line. One, two, three. And do you see all of the seagulls around the fish boat . That means they got a good catch. They are bringing their catch into san luka via the river. It travels more than 400 miles inland and is the only major navigable river in spain. This is the ocean, the river conducting the world. Do you understand now what im trying to tell you . Slowly. I think i need to taste it to get it. Are you going to take us to eat . Ladies, follow me a muchloved Crispy Fritter that people go crazy for. To me, the most iconic and difficult tapa of all of spain. Lets go. We are going to a popular tapas bar with tons of great dishes, but one local treat, the tortillitas. Here they make the best ones on earth. People are waiting for the tortillitas this is heaven. This is heaven. I came hungry . During their reign, the moors perfected techniques of deep frying fish. Today, the delicious decadent fried seafood is a staple in andalucia. Have you ever see how they are done . How they are made . No. Lets go to the kitchen. Oh, gosh. All right, were in the kitchen. Its the only place in the world i know that they have one, two, three, four, five, almost six pots dedicated only for the tortillitas. For me, this is one of the most difficult tapas to make. Theyre tiny that are collected in the river, exactly where we were just a while ago. So they make these fresh, nonstop. But what happens is, everybodys ordering them. So they need to make them nonstop. Nonstop. [ speaking nonenglish ] hes been doing it for 12 years how he makes it, water, salt, onion and a little bit of garlic. Thats a nice handful. And then its the flour. Its quick mix. And very liquidy. Thats why the end result is so light, so fluffy. Look at this. Look at that. It doesnt look very appetizing now, but wait until you see the end product. Thats what happens with the flour. The water evaporates. And the flour is barely holding this and creates this amazing its like an art piece. Its an art piece. Dad is wimping out. And refuses to make some. But hes volunteering me to give it a try. How hard can it be, right . Hes telling me im doing it too soft. I need to do it harder. Just go for it. Youre going to burn it, i know it. You see the other one . Wow z. Inez y, you burned it. No, i didnt. He would know. Time to find a seat outside. Look at this, perfect and enjoy the signature dish, the temple. Oh, my god. Oh, my god. Oh, my gosh, its so crispy. When you see light through a fritter, it means that this is an astonishing tapa. Take a look. I can see the sun through them. This is truly incredible. This is a surf and turf. The surf is, the turf is the wheat. The onion and parsley together, they achieve an amazing perfection. You know im very proud of you. I was afraid to try to make the tortillitas and you went for it. It works okay, our final destination is one of the most iconic cities in andalucia. The annual fair known as a fete is happening this week and there is so much to see. And so much to celebrate. Im so nervous. Which one do you like . Its my first fete. I know. The one thing i do know from pictures is its going to be so colorful. Dresses of every color. And hot. And hot. Inez and i are getting ready for the festival. A weeklong celebration of andalucia food, drink, and culture. And yes, of course, we need to look the part. Thank you. Its my first time. You look beautiful. I love your colors. I like it. And this is famous for music and dance. Its a whole culture that first came to spain in the ninth century, and performed do you think dad will dance with us . Dad better know how to dance. Besides flamingo, its also known for wild horses. Forget about the wild west. Here in spain is where you can still find real cowboys. Look at all the horses. This festival began way back in medieval times, when farmers were buying and selling animals, mainly beautiful horses, and then they will drink, dance and celebrate the great deals they got. This is a horse race. What . We have four horses, and they only have one and they are beating us. What is going on here . Dad, its because we are taking our time, taking in everything. I dont like to lose. The village was first open in 1903, and on both sides of the street are little bars and restaurants. Its unbelievable. This looks like a city, and all of these casitas are. You have not told us how pretty we are . You look spectacular. Look how well dressed they are. You can learn a thing or two. I am well dressed. I dont want to put the tie on. In the summer, you will find tp festivals its neverending. Everywhere you look, people are drinking, eating, having fun. Dancing. Papa, you better look before you go. If you are not careful here, you will rollover a horse a horse . Watch out . You can stop and have a little look inside to find out what is going on . I love how the people are dancing, and the friends, and everybody celebrating. Amazing. This is probably one of the nicest celebrations anywhere, anywhere. Of course, dad thinks hes an expert about everything, and even dancing flamingo, but i am not so sure. Dad, its not about rhythm. Its a technical dance. Look, be like the palm trees and the wind, and yeah, but dad look at the palm trees. They are in the air. Thats what you have to do. Finally, we find casita, and that means its full of family friends. This is magnificent. We are in the best place in the world right now. Theres nowhere else. At long last, its time to cool off. I am hungry. We are in a very popular place. Tomato, olive oil, garlic, and vinegar oh, my god. A little fried fish, and stew, and, wow, it just keeps coming. This is the best fastfood place in the history of mankind. Tomatoes, this is the best but its not really about food. Its about family and friends and, of course, moving like the giant graceful palm trees. We tried it. We did something, then. Honestly, i knew to expect Something Like this, but this totally surpassed any expectations i have had. We were born and raised in the u. S. And never lived in spain before, but its definitely a place i want to come and live. Who doesnt want to live here . You have the beach right next to us. You have the sun, the mountains, the food, the great people. I feel i am an immigrant all my life, and even in spain. I feel i never belong anywhere, and at the same time i belong everywhere. For me being here, even if i was born far away, i feel at home here, ladies. Whenever in spain wherever we go, we have Friends And Family everywhere. So dad, where are we heading next . To the capital, madrid. Home to spanish royalty, and iconic foods. I can eat a whole lamb myself. Oh, come on, dad. Ready . Is ukraine going to win this war . Its very exciting to be back in rome again. At every turn, theres something of historical significance. Look at that, its literally like youre living inside a museum