Simple Spanish Food

Esperanza's Pan-fried Sea Bass with Garlic, lubina a la plancha con ajitos

When we were in Madrid last May, Esperanza, my mother-in-law, prepared pan-fried sea bass with garlic, lubina a la plancha  con ajitos, for us  and it was out of this world.  It was also extremely simple to make. All she did was sauté some sliced garlic in a little olive oil,  pan fry the sea bass fillets in the same oil, and sprinkle the crisped garlic slices on top. 

Of course the secret to success with this dish is starting with an absolutely fresh fish.  In Madrid, which has the largest seafood markets in the world outside of Tokyo, finding really fresh sea bass--or just about any other kind of fish--is easy. See my post "Scenes from Spanish Fish Markets" for more information.

That said, you can prepare nearly any quality fresh fish in this way, or even previously frozen fish, if it has been frozen correctly.  Try it with the best fish you can find. I've done it with local mahi-mahi and flounder.  Even farm-raised rainbow trout would work well.

Here's how to do it. 

Ingredients:

fish fillets

olive oil

fresh sliced garlic

 salt

You can also use a little flour for dusting the fillets, if you like. This keeps the oil from splattering quite so much.

Sprinkle the fish fillets on both sides with salt. Dust the fish with flour if you like.

In a heavy skillet, fry the garlic slices in the olive oil until just golden. Remove the garlic from the oil with a slotted spoon and reserve.

Pan-fry the fish fillets.  Follow the "10 minutes rule": for every inch of thickness, cook the fish ten minutes.  For example, if your fillets are an inch thick, cook them five minutes per side, for a total of ten minutes.  If your fillets are half an inch thick, cook them two and a half minutes per side, for a total of five minutes.   And so on. 

That said, I think a rich fish like trout benefits from an extra minute or two per side.

When the fish is done, remove it from the pan, sprinkle it with the  fried garlic slices, and serve.

Esperanza paired this dish with a nice white ribeiro from Galicia. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Two Great Spanish Olive Oils: picual de Jaén and hojiblanca

Last May, Esperanza, my mother-in-law, bought two olive oils for us to try. One was a picual from Jaén, and the other was an hojiblanca.

As I mention in my post Rafael's Tips on Choosing Spanish Olive Oils, Ana's uncle Rafael, who worked for decades with the Spanish Department of Agriculture, really knows his olive oils. Picual de Jaén is one of his favorites, along with some blends from his native Córdoba.

Picual olive oil from Jaén is spicy, herby,  peppery, and complex--what I think most people expect when they try a fine olive oil, but even better.   This oil makes a fabulous  salad dressing all on its own, as I describe in my recipe for a  Simple Spanish Salad.  My father-in-law Andrés also thought it was a perfect oil to use with pulpo a la Gallega (Galician-style octopus).

Hojibanca olive oil is quite different.  It's smooth, buttery, and subtle.  Hojiblanca is perfect for almond soup (ajo blanco) and it makes a terrific Spanish-style mayonnaise. (Try an hojiblanca mayonnaise with grilled shrimp or steamed lobster or even a homey Spanish "Russian" Salad, ensaladilla rusa).  Salads of delicate greens, such as lamb's lettuce or mâche (canónigos) can be simply dressed with a drizzle of hojiblanca olive oil and a sprinkle of sea salt--nothing else.  It's almost like a cream-based salad dressing. 

Both of the olives oils we tried were the Coosur brand--a large company based in Sevilla that sells all sorts of Spanish olive oils.  Coosur  is available in the U.S., but I never see it in our area.  The on-line Spanish food store La Tienda does sell a quality brand of both of these types of oil. Click here to see their aceite picual de Jaén and click here to see their hojiblanca.  See La Tienda's olive oil page for many other olive oils from Spain.

 

 

 

 

Spanish Hard Almond Nougat, Turrón Duro, Turrón de Alicante

Many Spanish sweets, such as turrón de guirlache or Spanish bonbons, are truly easy to make, but  others, unfortunately, are not.  Spanish hard almond nougat, alas,  falls into the latter category.    While a turrón de guirlache is so easy to make that I wouldn't bother buying it unless I just happened to be in Madrid walking by Casa Mira, the various types of hard almond nougat (turrón de Alicante, torta imperial de almendras, turrón duro) are best left to the professionals.

Making hard almond nougat involves whipping egg whites to soft peaks, boiling honey and sugar to a hard-crack stage, carefully blending the two together over very low heat and whipping them for a long, long time. Make one mistake and you won't have hard almond nougat but a soft, plasticky paste.  If I ever find an easy recipe for turrón duro, I promise I will post it. Until then, I'm buying it. 

The best place I know of to buy turrón duro, as well as any other type of turrón, is the Madrid candy shop, Casa Mira.

Here in the U.S. the Spanish on-line food store La Tienda has a good selection of turrones, including hard, crunchy turrones de Alicante.  Note that the turrón de Jijona, also available at La Tienda, is soft and a very different sort of candy.

These packaged turrones duros are relatively thin, from half an inch to and inch or so thick. As a result, they're easy to eat. You just break off a piece and munch. 

Just so you know:  the thin paper on the outside of many turrones duros  is wafer paper. You're supposed to eat it with the turrón, not peel it off.

The true old-style turrón de Alicante was made in a thick wheel about the size and shape of a whole manchego cheese. Look at the 6-inch slabs on the top shelf (to the right) in Casa Mira's display window:

Thick wheels of turrón de Alicante are delicious, but they can be a bit difficult to eat. This candy is quite hard and very crunchy.  Andrés, my father-in-law, used to chisel it apart with a sturdy table knife and a tiny hammer!

Though it's tricky to make, turrón duro is as simple as candy gets: it should contain nothing but toasted almonds, good honey, some sugar, and egg whites--and nothing else. The flavor and texture is similar to an almond brittle but distinct. And the various types of turrón duro, as well as the products of different stores and brands, are subtly different from each other too.

Turrón duro is tradionally enjoyed during the Christmas holidays and Kings' Day, Día de Reyes, and it is still most popular at that time of year.  Esperanza, my mother-in-law, buys an assortment of turrones and we enjoy them through the whole holiday season. 

 

 

Five Easy Spanish Meals, No Special Ingredients Required

Many of the recipes here at Simple Spanish Food call for special ingredients such as pimentón, Calasparra rice, or ultra high-quality Spanish tinned goods such as  Cantabrian anchovy fillets packed in olive oil.  But you don't have to have special ingredients to cook the Spanish way.  Here are five easy dishes you can make with ingredients you probably already have in your pantry and refrigerator--or at least at the neighborhood grocery.

The first, pictured above, is the Spanish omelet, or tortilla de patata.  All you need to make it are a few eggs, a potato or two, an onion, some olive oil and salt. That's it.  And it really is easy to make.  See my recipe for tortilla de patata for the recipe and flipping technique.

Eggs and tomato sauce, huevos con tomate, is even easier.  If you  have a can of plum tomatoes, a clove or two of garlic, olive oil, a little red pepper, and eggs, you can make huevos con tomate.  See my recipe for huevos con tomate for the recipe.

Empanadas are another one-dish meal or tapa you can make with things you probably already have in the house. Don't let the crust intimidate you. It's the easiest pastry crust ever.  Making an empanada requires only flour, an egg, some olive oil, water, a little salt, and the filling of your choice, almost all of which can be made from readily available ingredients. True, the Galician-style empanada calls for a little saffron. If you don't have any, just leave it out. Your empanada will still be good. See my posts on empanadas for several easy recipes.

Tuna in tomato sauce, or bonito y tomate, is what we make when we've been traveling and come home to an empty refrigerator.  Everything we need is already in the  pantry:  a can of tomatoes, a tin of tuna, a clove or two of garlic, a little hot pepper, olive oil, and rice. True, if you wanted to make a special bonito y tomate, you could use a quality Spanish paella-type rice and bonito del norte, but for an everyday meal, an ordinary short grain rice and a can of quality tuna will do.

 The Spanish "Russian" Salad, or ensaladilla rusa, is another great one-dish meal.  To make one you need only a potato or two, a carrot, a can of tuna (bonito del norte is best, but a decent can of tuna from the grocery will do), eggs, some English peas (frozen are fine) and a few strips of pimiento pepper--and some olive oil to whip up a Spanish-style mayonnaise dressing.

Ensaladilla rusa may be garnished with white asparagus and stuffed olives, but these are not strictly necessary. It's still good without them.   See my post on Spanish Russian Salad for the recipe.

A Modern Way to Prepare Spanish-Style Greens, Grelos

In much of Spain, the main cooking  greens are spinach, chard, and cabbage, but in Galicia, where Ana is from, grelos are also extremely popular.  

The word grelos is usually translated as kale, but in fact grelos produce nabos, a turnip-like root which is eaten separately, while the leaves of grelos most closely resemble those of collard greens.  So what are grelos?  Just think of them as another leafy green in the cabbage family like kale or collards or turnips, but, like the others, distinct. Outside of Spain (and often even Galicia)  grelos are rarely available (I can't even find grelos seed for sale) but collards, turnip greens, and the more tender varieties of kale can be substituted.

By far the best known use of grelos is the caldo gallego. (See my post on vegetarian caldo gallego for a recipe and information). But there are many other ways to prepare grelos. They may be served on their own as a side dish or with salt cod as a main dish. Ana's grandparents used to cook  chorizos and potatoes together with grelos.  

Almost all of the traditional preparations of grelos involve a long, slow cooking, often with pieces of cured, smoked pork.  I must admit that I do enjoy eating grelos cooked this way: there is nothing like a hot cup of rich, smoky caldo (the Galician equivalent of Southern "pot liquor") on a cloudy, drizzly day in Galicia. 

Here in the U.S. I usually prepare grelos-like greens in a more modern way, but with a Spanish twist: I quick-cook them with olive oil, garlic,  and often pimentón de La Vera, which gives them a rich, smoky flavor, much like that of smoked pork.  (See my post on pimentón de La Vera for more information about this spice).  Often I will add a splash of vinegar, which transforms them into grelos adobados.

For quick cooked greens, it is extremely important to select greens with young, tender leaves.   If you start with huge, mature turnip greens, collards, or the thicker varieties of kale, they will need to cook longer. Luckily  small bunches of young, tender green are increasingly available in our local markets.

Here's the recipe

Ingredients

1 small bunch of young, tender greens (kale, collards, or turnip greens)

1/4 cup of olive oil

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon of hot red pepper flakes or 1/2 teaspoon of pimentón de La Vera

a splash of wine vinegar

First wash the greens in several changes of water.  Remove the harder, tougher parts of the stem. (With really tender greens, much of the stem can be eaten: it has a nice crunch).  Chop the greens very coarsely in ribbons.  

In a heavy bottom pot or pan, fry the garlic in the olive oil until fragrant, but not browned. Remove the pan from the heat and let the oil cool some. Add a pinch of salt,  the pepper flakes, or the pimentón de La Vera. Stir. Add the chopped greens, stir them until well coated with oil, and  return the pot to the burner. It's usually not necessary to add any liquid. The water clinging to the leaves is enough.

Cook the greens on medium, stirring until they wilt. Cover the pot and let them steam on low heat until tender. This usually takes 10 minutes but it may take more or less time, depending on the tenderness of the greens. 

When they're done, toss them with a splash of vinegar, if you like.

 

 

 

 

Magosto: A Spanish Celebration of Fall (& Chestnuts)

Nearly everyone knows about  Día de los Muertos, the Day of  the Dead, but have you heard about the magosto?  The magosto is a fall celebration that involves roasting chestnuts and chorizos over open fires.  It's an extremely important holiday in Galicia, especially in Orense, where Ana and her family are from. 

The magosto is always on November 11, the day of San Martín, the patron saint of Orense.  The tradition is to go up into the mountains just outside of town, build bonfires, and roast chestnuts and chorizo, which are served with a young red wine.   Roasted potatoes and empananas are also typical.

Want to try throwing your own magosto party? First, start with good chestnuts. We've been very pleased with the Italian Marroni-type chestnuts sold by Correia Chestnut farm. They taste exactly like the chestnuts we enjoy in Spain. (Most of the American hybrids don't).   See my post on roasting chestnuts for information on how to prepare chestnuts.

Next, you'll need  chorizo.  La Tienda carries a high-quality cooking chorizo. They're perfect for grilling. 

The best young red wine?  A Bierzo, which is right next door to Galicia, and also very serious about the  magosto.  See my post on Bierzo wine for more information.

If you want to go all out, make some Galician-style empanadas. See my recipes for empanadas.

The perfect ending to a magosto celebration would be a queimada--a flaming Galician punch.

You don't have to celebrate the magosto to enjoy chestnuts the Spanish way.  In fall castañeras (the ladies who run the chestnut stands) roast chestnuts over open fires on street corners all over the country.

One of the great pleasures of being in Spain in the fall and winter is eating hot roasted chestnuts from the castañera on a chilly day.  The chestnuts are usually served in a piece of folded newspaper. They keep your hands warm as you walk and eat.  Their flavor is earthy and slightly sweet. There is really nothing like them. 

See my other chestnut recipes to learn about other things you can do with chestnuts. You can coat them with chocolate:

Or make them into a cake:

 

 

Spanish Ceramics, Cerámica de España

Spain has  a rich tradition of ceramic arts.  The most famous example is  probably the beautiful tile used on walls all over the country:

But nearly every region of Spain produces its own style of ceramic plates and bowls (both for tableware and hanging on the wall), along with trays, vases, jars, and scores of other things.

Whenever we're in Madrid in May, we go to the Feria de la Chacharrería where vendors sell ceramics from different regions, often at bargain prices. 

 When traveling to other cities and towns in the country, we make sure to stop by the local ceramic shops. There is nearly always something interesting to see. We found this  plate for instance in Córdoba:

Here in the U.S., La Tienda has a good selection of Spanish ceramics and Spanish earthenware cazuelas. See my post on Spanish earthenware (cerámica de barro) for more information about cazuelas.

Some of most beautiful (and expensive) Spanish plates come from Talavera:

The ceramics from Granada typically have a blue and green coloring.

This is a bowl done in the style of old Toledo ceramics:

This jar for cooling wine is from Huelva:

Here's a fruit bowl, also from Huelva, that lets you see the pattern better:

Not all Spanish ceramics are traditional. One of our favorite contemporary ceramics artists is Eusebio, who works in a modern style:

And then there is the cerámica popular,  pan-Spanish styles that can be found just about anywhere in the country, often with echoes of a particular region. This plate, for instance, is  cerámica popular with a strong Galician influence:

The uses for Spanish ceramics in the kitchen and at the table are nearly endless.

There are ceramic sponge holders for beside the sink:

There are ceramic garlic jars:

Soap dishes:

This piece is designed especially for pizcos, the bits of chopped pepper, onion, boiled egg and croutons typically sprinkled on top of gazpacho:

Shellfish are extremely popular in Spain, so there are ceramic jars to put the shells in as you eat:

We use Spanish ceramics almost in a Japanese way. Rather than going for matching sets, we choose individual pieces that will complement certain dishes or meals.   So during any given meal  we will use an array of Spanish ceramics.

 

 

An Easy Recipe for Spanish Almond Brittle, turrón de guirlache o torta de guirlache

Guirlache--a dark almond brittle--is an old-fashioned Spanish candy traditionally enjoyed around Christmas and Día de Reyes, King's Day, along with many other holiday sweets and cookies,  such as bombones de chocolate o divinos, chocolate pralines (pralinés de chocolate), and cookies such as mantecados and polvorones .  See La Tienda's dessert page for a large selection of Spanish Holiday sweets.  

Andrés, my father-in-law, loved guirlache, and I do too. It's one of my all-time favorite candies. What makes guirlache so special is that the sugar and nuts are toasted deep brown until they take on  spicy, almost piquant flavors. 

If you are in Madrid, a great place to buy artisanal guirlache is the famous old candy and pastry shop, Casa Mira.

Also, mass-produced guirlaches are now available in supermarkets all over the country. These are good, though they lack the super-high quality of artisanal guirlache.

Here in the U.S.  the Spanish on-line food store La Tienda carries a good brand of turrón de guirlache.

A turrón de guirlache is one of the easiest Spanish candies to make at home. Nothing could be simpler.  It's just almonds and sugar.   The key is all in the timing. You want to deeply toast  the sugar and almonds without burning them.  This can be done by eye. No candy thermometer necessary.   

You can also experiment with different types of sugar for flavor variations.  For this post I used a demerara type natural brown sugar.

Here's the recipe

Ingredients

1 cup of sugar

1 cup of raw almonds

First, peel the almonds. This is easy. Just bring a pot of water to a boil. Throw in the almonds. Let them boil 30 seconds. Drain them and rinse them off until they're cool enough to handle. Now they will be easy to peel.

Now cook the sugar over medium heat in a heavy bottom pot.

When it melts, stir in the almonds.

Cook the almonds and sugar until deeply toasted. The color of most guirlaches is between amber brown and chocolate brown.

Place a piece of lightly oil parchment on a cutting board, a baking sheet, a piece of marble, or anything else flat that can take heat. Pour the almonds and sugar onto the parchement. With wooden spoons or spatulas, give it the shape you like. Circles (tortas) and rectangles (turrón) are typical.

The candy will begin to harden. Before it becomes completely hard, cut it into pieces with a knife.

Let the guirlache cool completely, and there you have it.