Alcoy, Our Holiday (Part 2). Bocairent, Walks In The Sierra Mariola And Font Roja Natural Parks Plus A Recipe For Vegan “Bajoques Farcides” (Stuffed Red Peppers).

Today I’m going back in time (one month and a few days to be precise), to our much needed and immensely enjoyed holiday in Alcoy. It feels like a dream now, as is often the case with short breaks. We appear in the photos though so we must have been there! And talking of photos, what better way to tell you about our travels than sharing them all with you 😁.

In my first post on Alcoy I mostly waffle on about the town, as well a trip to a wonderful restaurant we had the pleasure of eating in and a couple of walking routes you can venture on without having to get in your car. In this post I’ll tell you about where we went when we did get in our car.

First a beautiful town called Bocairent, around a 30 minute drive away from Alcoy. The old quarter has been declared a historic-artistic site and is well worth visiting. We didn’t arrive until around lunchtime, we’d been on a walk close by that morning (more on that shortly). Unfortunately, because we didn’t go sightseeing until after we had eaten, one of the landmarks we were most eager to see was closed. Typical. Here are a few photos of what we did manage to see in the couple of hours we were there.

As you can see, it’s a quaint little medieval town that is a pleasure to wander around. We were only there for 2 or 3 hours (including lunch) so it was far too brief a visit. We shall return another day with more time and hopefully get to see the Covetes dels Moros, a group of artificial caves set in the side of a rather large rock. You can read a bit about them and see a few pics on the Bocairent website. It’s in English too.

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Now on to a few of the walks we (mostly) completed during our holiday. On the morning of our meander through Bocairent’s narrow, winding streets, we visited the source of the Río (river) Vinalopó, situated in the Sierra Mariola Natural Park. It’s a 20 minute drive away from Bocairent so it’s a good idea to tie the two together.

The walk is apt for all ages and can be done in around 2-3 hours, depending on stops and pace. It’s a very pretty, lineal route which takes you to the “Font de la Coveta”, the only permanent source of the river.

Our main reason for going to Alcoy for our hols was the Font Roja natural park. Pep’s dad always said how beautiful it was, sparking Pep’s curiosity to visit one day. As always, prior to visiting we investigated different trails in the area. The three most well known can be connected and walked on the same day, the Pla de la Mina, El Menejador and the Barranc de l’Infern (not to be confused with the Barranc de l’Infern near the Vall de Laguar!!).

The route is approximately 12 kilometres long and supposedly takes around 5 hours to complete. So we packed a picnic and set out to enjoy a lovely walk surrounded by beautiful nature. The park is full of “carrascas” (holm oak trees), one of Pep’s favourites. Another reason why he wanted to visit.

Unfortunately we didn’t quite understand the directions on the travel blog and we got ever so slightly lost. To return to the road leading to the park we had to make our way through a few kilometres of a protected area. Every 200 metres there were signs stating that what we were doing was extremely illegal and we would be fined if we were caught. I have never walked so fast and quietly in all my life. It took an hour and a half to reach an exit. The relief that washed over me when I realised we had finally made our way out was tremendous. Thanks to our little detour, the last part of the walk, the Barranc de l’Infern, will remain on our to-do list for the future. It’s a good excuse to return though!

The day we were due to come back home we had planned two more short walks. That’s the great thing when holidaying close to where you live, you don’t have to travel for hours and lose a day 😊. Both these walks are part of the Sierra Mariola natural park. The first led us to the Cova Bolumini, a natural cave which 5000 years ago was used as a burial ground for VIPs of the era. It’s not hard to see why, it’s a magical place. They most probably thought it had supernatural powers.

We came across a travel blog which guided us on a route that passed by a few local landmarks, the last one being the Cova Bolumini. And as had become the norm on our holiday, we got lost! We ended up walking through some rather lovely woods but not getting anywhere. We had to retrace our steps to the starting point and take the short route to the cave. Oh well, better luck next time 🤦🏻‍♀️.

After a quick lunch in Bocairent we drove to the start of the following trail, close to Alfafara. This time the purpose of our little stroll was to see the Cova de les Finestres (cave of the windows). The cave is similar, albeit smaller, to the one we weren’t able to see in Bocairent. The cave is manmade, it’s thought its purpose was for storing grain. Personally I think the Smurfs lived in it!

It’s a pretty easy walk but the last few hundred metres are downhill on an uneven track. We were a bit short on time so we walked to the caves and then returned to our car along the same pathway. If you have a bit more time there is a 9km circular route which starts (and ends) in Alfafara. It should take around 3 hours if I remember correctly.

Well, that more or less sums up the rest of our little vacation in Alcoy. There are loads more walking routes, we will definitely return to venture on a few more, without getting lost hopefully (doubtful though😁).

And now a few paragraphs on food 😊. One of the dishes Alcoy is famous for is “Bajoques Farcides” (that’s “Alcoyano” for stuffed red peppers). I say “Alcoyano” because, although they mostly speak Valenciano in Alcoy, there are a few words solely used in said town. I suppose it’s quite normal in the Valencian Community, rarely do two neighbouring villages speak identical Valenciano. There are usually some differences. Even in different areas of a town you hear different vocabulary (Pinos and Benissa town spring to mind here!).

But back to the “bajoques”. In this area, and in most of the Valencian community, “bajoques” means green beans. So why is it that in Alcoy “bajoca” (singular) means red pepper? I’m afraid I have no idea. “Bajoques Farcides” appears on many an Alcoyano menu. When I first saw it, it conjured up images of little old ladies, glasses perched on the ends of their noses, carefully stuffing green beans with a few grains of rice, 2 minute pieces of pork and a teaspoon of tomato before sewing them up and baking them in the oven. Thankfully for these little old ladies, living in Alcoy makes preparing the dish far easier 😁.

It’s a very simple dish to make. The original dish consists of red peppers, rice, tomato, pork, garlic, oil, salt and sometimes parsley. As usual, I wanted to “veganise” the recipe. It took a couple of attempts to get it right. The first time I had far too much rice mix for the amount of peppers I had. I ended up cooking the leftover rice mix with water to make a sort of risotto style dish which I then used for making something similar to these Arancinis, cooked in the air fryer. They were actually rather tasty.

The second attempt I more or less cracked it. The flavour was much better too. It’s an extremely versatile recipe, you could use all sorts of different veggies. I used “cúdols” (garlic scape) which I’d just picked from our “huerta”. I spoke about “cúdols” in one of my first posts here. But you could use ordinary garlic or “ajos tiernos” (tender garlic). Here’s my method for making vegan “Bajoques Farcides”. The complete recipe is at the bottom of this post.

Sauté the onions for a few minutes with a couple of pinches of salt. Add the garlic scape and the courgette and continue to cook until softened. Add the “tomate triturado” (pureed tomato, not tomato puree. I blitz a small jar of our preserved tomatoes) and stir to combine. Cover and cook over a low heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile toast the seeds and nuts of your choice. I do this in a small, dry frying pan over low heat for a few minutes, tossing every minute or so to avoid burning.

While the veg is cooking prepare the peppers. Cut off the top part of the peppers and remove the seeds. Keep the top, you’ll use it as the lid. Prepare 2 pieces of parchment paper that are big enough to wrap the red peppers in once they’re stuffed. Also prepare two pieces of tin foil, slightly bigger pieces than the parchment paper.

When the veg has simmered for 10 minutes, turn the heat off and add the rice (arroz), turmeric (cúrcuma), oregano (orégano) or whatever herbs you want, nutritional yeast (levadura nutricional), chickpeas (garbanzos), the toasted walnuts (nueces) and pumpkin seeds (pipas de calabaza), ground “ñora” or paprika (pimentón), a pinch of chilli flakes (chile triturado) (optional), freshly ground black pepper (pimienta negra molida) and more salt (sal) to taste. Mix well to combine.

Take each pepper and stuff with the rice mixture until two thirds full. Place the lid back on the pepper. Wrap in the parchment paper and then in the tin foil. Seal the tin foil well. Place in a preheated oven (200º centigrade) and bake for 60-70 minutes, depending on the size of the peppers. I turn them over half way through cooking. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes before removing from the tin foil and baking paper. Serve.

I serve them with a simple salad, they are quite filling. There’s always room for a spot of ice cream after though!

Talking of ice cream, I made a vegan “níspero” (loquat) one the other day with the last of the “nísperos”. I use my basic ice cream base which consists of 125g of raw cashews (soaked previously in boiling water for 15 minutes), 250ml of non-dairy milk (I use rice milk) and a “níspero” compote I made using roughly 30-40 nísperos, 90g of “panela” sugar and a cinnamon stick (the weight of the cooked compote was approximately 600 grams). It’s super creamy and quite scrumptious. A good way to use up a few of the delicious fruit. Cashews also make it extremely nutritious. They’re loaded with healthy fats, protein and a variety of essential minerals and vitamins. What more could you want?!?!

Before I bid you au revoir from rainy Benissa (supposedly summer is on it’s way tomorrow. It better be!) I would like to share a few things I’ve made (or am in the process of making) with my latest “cosecha” of rhubarb. There was quite a lot so I did a spot of investigating online to see what I could find.

I obviously made my rhubarb sorbet, even Pep likes it now (although he prefers the creamy níspero ice cream). I made a vegan upside-down rhubarb cake for my mum who’s on a special diet and can’t eat eggs and butter and the likes. Here’s the link to the recipe. I used wholemeal spelt flour in place of the all-purpose white wheat flour. Mum tells me it’s very tasty.

I also made a rhubarb cordial that I concocted last year too. It’s delicious when topped up with still or sparkling water. Here’s the link to the recipe

The recipe I am in the process of making is also called a cordial but it’s a boozy one, made with gin. It’s still infusing at the mo and won’t be ready till the end of June. I can imagine it will be great for a party. They say it’s delicious with tonic. I’ll keep you informed. Here’s the recipe

And on that merry note I’ll be off, that’s quite enough for one sitting. I shall be back on Valley Fm later on today, between 1pm and 2pm I should think. As always, thanks for reading. Any questions or suggestions please get in touch, we love hearing from you.

If you would like to subscribe to this blog (you’ll receive an email every time I publish a new post) please do so by filling in the subscription thingy at the top right of this page and also at the bottom. If you’re on your phone then the form is at the bottom of this post. You can also like our Facebook page to see future posts. Take care my dears. See you soon. Lots of love, Georgie and Pep xxx

“Bajoques Farcides Veganes” (Vegan stuffed red peppers)

A tasty, vegan recipe for red peppers stuffed with rice, veggies, nuts and seeds

5 from 1 vote

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Course Main Course

Cuisine Gluten free, Mediterranean, Spanish, Vegan

Servings 2 people

Ingredients

  

• 1 medium onion chopped
• 1 good glug olive oil
• 100 grams courgette chopped
• A few "cúdols" (garlic scape), chopped or tender garlic or a couple of cloves of garlic
• 275 grams "tomate tritutarado" (pureed tomato) I just blitz a small jar of our preserved tomatoes
• 30/40 grams mixed raw nuts and seeds I used walnuts and pumpkin seeds
• 2 large red peppers
• 125 grams white, short grain rice
• 50 grams cooked chickpeas
• 2-3 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1-2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp dried turmeric
• 1 tsp ground "ñora" or paprika
• a pinch chilli flakes optional
• freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

 

• Saute the onion in the olive oil and a good pinch of salt over a low to medium heat for a few minutes
• Add the courgette and "cúdols" (or garlic) and continue cooking until softened
• Tip in the "tomate triturado", add another pinch of salt if desired, mix well, cover and cook over a low heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally
• Meanwhile toast the nuts and seeds in a dry frying pan (or just buy toasted nuts and seeds)
• Whilst you're waiting for the veggies to cook prepare the red peppers. Cut the tops off the red peppers. Remove any seeds from the tops and inside the peppers.
• Preheat the oven to 200º centigrade. Prepare two sheets of baking paper and two sheets of tin foil, big enough to wrap the red peppers in.
• When the tomato mixture has finished cooking turn off the heat
• To the pan add the rice, chickpeas, nutritional yeast, herbs and spices and a pinch more salt if needed. Mix well to combine
• Fill the peppers with the rice mixture till they're about two thirds full
• Place the tops back on. Wrap each pepper in a sheet of baking paper, then in a sheet of tin foil, sealing the foil completely
• Place in the preheated oven and cook for 60-70 minutes depending on the size of the peppers (mine were in for 70 minutes). Half way through cooking turn over the peppers
• Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes
• Carefully remove from the foil and baking paper and serve

Keyword Gluten Free,, red peppers,, rice, Vegan