Food in “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”

(pedro james) #6

SORRY FOLKS FORGOT TO SAY IT COULD BE A STEW…WILL TAKE A LOOK AT THE FILM AGAIN

(Col. Douglas Mortimer) #7

Thanks Pedro, I certainly would like to know what it is.

(Pacificador) #8

That would be great, I love soup!

(pedro james) #9

SOUP OR STEW…
Here,s an information update…I,ve watched and watched again the filming of the two eating sequences with the debate over it being soup or stew…Well I think it is safe to say that it is a stew Andalusian style in particular the provinces of almeria and granada Spain (de estilo guiso andaluz)… I have talked to my neighbours and shown one old fellow the scenes with the eating of that nice looking stew…They all seem to share a view that the stew would normally have chicken or rabbit in it(pollo o conejo) potatoes(patatas) broad beans (habas) spring green sort of thing (acelga) garlic (ajo) onions (cebollas) and turmeric for colour…The only mystery for me is what the long stringy bit was hanging out of TUCOS mouth when in the army camp before he took the beating…I have watched my neighbours and others in small villages cooking traditional food in my 8 years here and can only guess that it could have been a bit of artichoke (alcachofa) or spring onion stalk …(cebolla tierno)
Has anybody got the time and the mod cons to zoom in on this and the stews and see what you come up with…
I found it quite dificult but feel sure the assesment is close to the mark with the older film of th G B U and the newer copy which is in wide screen and only allowed me to see 2/3 of the stew bowls…look forward to your comments :slight_smile:

(pedro james) #10

Also both stews appear to be the same

(Col. Douglas Mortimer) #11

Thanks so much for the info Pedro. I wonder if they hired a cook on set to feed the cast and crew or is it catering? I think that the food is not a “prop” made for the scene but probably something that the cast and crew also ate. I’m also guessing that this is not exactly authentic food for civil war era mexican village or union camp?

(Pacificador) #12

Agreed about the authenticity bit. Pedro, if at all possible could you post a recipe? thanks in advance!!

(pedro james) #13

will sort out a recipe and post asap…guessing this type of food would have been done for the cast and film crew by the locals where they we,re filming…it is not the norm for catering companies to do this food as they would not make enough money out of it…but i,m guessing and guessing only that this sort of food would have been eaten by troops as and when it became available…probably done in a giant “OLLA” on an open fire…winters in the mountains here are quite harsh and cold, so just to get you guys drooling we make the same but add fresh chilli and slurp away with bread…brill on that cold icy day…

(pedro james) #14

Sorry for the delay guys…here,s the recipe some of you wanted for the andalusian stew.
1 kilo chicken breasts,thighs or leg portions–3 large potatoes–0.5 kilo broad beans—3 medium to large size onions—1.5 litres chicken stock—3 teaspoons cumin powder—2 teaspoons turmeric powder—teaspoon of crushed black pepper–4 or 5 cloves garlic crushed…
method…if you are useing chicken breasts flash fry the cubed breast in olive oil with crushed garlic,crushed pepper,cummin seeds just enough to seal the edges of the meat…then put the stock into a large pan and warm gently…add the chicken,cubed potatoes,broad beans,chopped onion,turmeric powder…gently bring to boil,then put on very low heat and let it simmer for approx 2hrs with lid on your pot(stir very gently after an hour)
For those of you useing thighs or leg portions just add the cummin powder,crushed pepper corn and crushed garlic to the stock as you warmed it…EXTRA OPTIONS…according to your tastes…you can add fresh leeks cut into bits,or white cabbage shredded into large bits and added after an hour simmering…also you can spice it up with 2 or 3 fresh hot chilli peppers including the seeds or powder…the secret of this stew is the very slow simmering and don,t keep pulling the lid of the pan every 2 mins…
This is a general recipe used here in almeria,granada provinces,add more water if you need or want it nore like a soup…don,t use extra salt as the stock normally is salty enough unless you chew tabacco and you dont have taste buds left on your tongue…ready made liquid stock from the supermarket is generally the best unless you still live in the wild west with your own supply of chicken bones…

(pedro james) #15

MORE LIKE A SOUP(SORRY HAD NORE WRITTEN IN THE TEXT)

(Pacificador) #16

Thanks Pedro, I will definitely try this one out!

(Turly) #17

I just registred only to answer the main question here.
The dish is undoubtedly a ‘minestronehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minestrone’. The explanation is simple. I was listening to a commentary about the film and the commentator mentionned a little anecdote regarding the first scene when The Bad (Angel Eyes or Sentenza in the original script) is eating. He says Van Cleef reported that Leone’s English wasn’t very good, therefore on the set he was simply yelling ‘eat the minestrone, eat the minestrone’, which Van Cleef didn’t know what it was really about.

(Col. Douglas Mortimer) #18

Thanks Turly. Btw, that picture in the wiki article looks delicious.

(pedro james) #19

Sorry Turly,but we dont have minestrone in Spain this is one dish that we never have in andalucia unless its from a tin

(Col. Douglas Mortimer) #20

I have been making Portuguese chicken on a regular basis for last couple of months now. Its mostly seasoned with tumeric and coconut milk. As you can see from the picture, it looks very similar to the GBU stew.

Also, despite the name it isn’t from portugal. Thats like saying French fries are from france lol. I believe its originated in macau. Gotta love colonialism. Great food comes out of it lol.

(AceHigh) #21

Wow, that looks really good, Colonel!

(Col. Douglas Mortimer) #22

Thanks bro. Btw I didn’t take that picture, its just one that I found on the internet but it looks more or less exactly like the one that I make.

(TucoBenPacJuanMarRamirez) #23

I know there’s always a brother who won’t refuse me a bowl of soup

#24

I guess its has potatoes thick soup and spinach and other veggies…guess no meat added!

#25

[quote=“Turly, post:17, topic:2622”]
the commentator[/quote]

You mean Sir Christopher Frayling?