Simple Spanish Food

Bracito de gitano: A Quick & Delicious Spanish Dessert

In Spain, home cooks use Maria cookies as a base for all sorts of easy, last-minute desserts, including brazo de gitano (which translates to "Gypsy's arm," probably because the swirls or rings inside resemble bracelets) and tronco de chocolate--the Spanish equivalent of the Bûche de Noël.  

The basic idea is always the same: first you dip the Maria cookies in milk or cream to soften them. Then you spread sweet things on them (chocolate, jam, frosting, etc.). Stack them to form layers, and spread yet more good things on top.   In the finished dessert, the Maria cookies take on an  almost crepe-like texture.

For this post I made some extremely simple bracitos de gitano ("little gypsy arms": great for individual servings). They contain nothing but Maria cookies, chocolate, and coconut milk, but you can make them as complicated (or rich) as you like.  Sprinkle chopped nuts between the layers, or alternate the chocolate with whipped cream or raspberry jam.  Or dust them with powdered sugar. There are all sorts of possibilities. 

Keep in mind: all Maria cookies are not created equal (and some brands are quite bad), so it is important to start with good ones. Ana, a connoisseur of  Maria cookies, swears by Cuétara.

Latin supermarkets carry Cuétara. La Tienda also sells Cuétara Maria cookies.

Next you'll need something to dip the cookies in to soften them. I used coconut milk, but feel free to use regular milk, cream, or almond milk. Even cold coffee would work.

Here's how to do it:

Melt a bar of chocolate.

Dip the Maria cookies in the milk or coconut milk.  Just a second or two is usually enough. They will feel crisp but they will continue to soften as you assemble the dessert.

Put the dipped Maria cookie on a piece of waxed paper or parchment. Spread melted chocolate over it. Dip another cookie, place it on top of the first, and spread some more chocolate. Or add layers of other good things in between if you like. (But it's quite good with just chocolate).

Chill the bracito de gitano in the fridge, and serve.

 

The Best Sherry Bar in Madrid? La Venencia

Whenever in Madrid, we make a point of going to the sherry bar La Venencia at least once. We go partly out of tradition (Andrés, my father-in-law, loved La Venencia), partly for the atmosphere (very "old school"), but mainly because the jerez and food are fabulous.  The prices are also very reasonable.  At La Venencia you can enjoy a truly world-class glass of sherry and a tapa for a few euros.

La Venencia is the only place that I know in the city that serves sherry the traditional way--from barrels--and this makes all the difference. Bottled sherry is great, but sherry stored in the barrel is even better.

Keep in mind, the sherry is not drawn directly from the barrel into your glass. It has to be chilled first.  So when the bartender pulls an unmarked bottle from the fridge to serve you, don't worry. He filled it up only a few hours ago from the barrel.

The varieties of sherry at La Venencia include fino  (a tangy light sherry), manzanilla  (an especially delicate type of fino), palo cortado, amontillado,  and--probably my favorite--oloroso (dark, nutty, and complex).   All of these are dry.  (Unfortunately, I have yet to find  in the U.S. any brands of oloroso or amontillado that have not been sweetened for the export market, and I rarely see palo cortado at all--so for these I give no links to sources).

The menu of pinchos or tapas at La Venencia is short and simple, but everything on it goes beautifully with these wines: salt-cured anchovies, anchoas en salazón (see my post "All About Anchovies"), paper-thin slices of smoke cured beef (cecina),  manchego cheese , cured pork loin (lomo), and of course Spanish ham (jamón) .  When you order a glass of sherry, you will receive a  complimentary tapa of aceitunas de Campo Real, probably my all-time favorite olive. 

La Venencia is located in the old city center, Echegaray 7, Madrid

 

 

New York Chefs Embrace Spanish-style Anchovies

“Anchovies were the thing we joked about as kids," says  Seamus Mullen (chef at the restaurant Tertulia) in a recent article in The New York Times. "In Spain, it was completely the opposite. In Spain they were revered as this delicacy.”

“We’ve turned so many people on to anchovies,” Mr. Mullen goes on to say. “Ninety-nine percent of these people will say, ‘Oh, my God, I never knew anchovies could be so good.’ ”

Other New York chefs, such as Renae and Neill Holland at Smorgasburg, are also embracing Spanish-style anchovy preparations, such as fresh fried anchovies or boquerones.

See my post "All About Anchovies" for more information on different  Spanish anchovy preparations.  Another post,  "All About Anchovies II" , focuses on Spanish anchovy fillets packed in olive oil--and just how different they are from the anchovies sold in most U.S. supermarkets.

Click here to see Jeff Gordinier's article "The Lowly Anchovy: Customers Finally Take the Bait" in The New York Times.

 

Wines Under $10: Pinord Clos de Torribas Tempranillo Crianza 2007

As I  pointed out a few months back in my post on a little-known red wine from Spain,  one of the best ways to find a good wine at a low price is to avoid the famous D.O.'s (Rioja, Ribera del Duero, etc) and instead explore wines from lesser known regions, such as Navarra, Castilla y La Mancha, or Tarragona. 

Pinord's Clos de Torribas Tempranillo  Crianza 2007 is another example. It comes from Penedés, a D.O. usually associated with sparkling cava, not red wine. Just a few years ago red wines from Penedés were usually dismissed as ordinary. Now things are changing.  I enjoyed this Penedés more than any Rioja I've had in recent memory (except maybe a nice reserva Esperanza, my mother-in-law, served during our last trip to Spain). The cost? Only $6.99, a fraction of the price of almost any decent Rioja.

Pinord Clos de Torribas Tempranillo Crianza 2007 was selected as one of The Wine Enthusiast's best buys.