Tiger Nuts

Tiger nuts

We often get questions about the food we eat and what our favorite new foods are. We recently discovered one of my favorites, which they call aiya, but I’m told it’s becoming a popular ingredient in health foods in the US, known as “tiger nuts.” These are small, maybe peanut sized, but have the consistency of carrots and are a little bit sweet. We found them at the harvest time and bought a bunch of dried ones. People here will pound them lightly with a pestle to remove the outer skin, soak them overnight to soften them and then eat them as a nice healthy snack. We also like to eat a kind of large bean when it is in season. It’s called koriga and has a shell like a garbanzo bean, but when that is removed and it’s cooked it makes a good snack that can be eaten like peanuts with a little salt. Another food that helps me survive between meals is dates. These are most commonly eaten at family parties for marriages or baby namings, but that means we can get them easily. They do sometimes have worms in them so you’d better look at it after biting one open. But I’m told that worms only choose the best dates, so they are a sign you have a tasty batch!

Koriga beans

-- El Padre