Simple Spanish Food

Piel de Sapo: La Mancha's Famous Melon

When we're in Madrid, Esperanza,  my mother-in-law, serves us at some point a piel de sapo melon, usually for dessert, though I will sometimes eat a slice with jamón serrano for the cena.   

Piel de Sapo melons are a specialty of La Mancha, especially the town called Villaconejos, which supposedly produces the best melons of all. Nowadays you can find piel de sapo melons in supermarkets and fruit stands everywhere, even here in Central Florida.

Piel de Sapo may also be sold under the names "Christmas melons," "Santa Claus melons," "camouflage melons," among other things. If you find a light green, football-shaped melon with a hard rind and dark green spots, it's probably piel de sapo--and definitely worth trying.

Piel de sapo translates literally to "toad skin," but to me these green speckled melons look more like the skin of frogs than toads.  Whatever you call them, the flavor is outstanding: mild and fresh, like a honeydew, but much sweeter. 

Another good thing about piel de sapo melons is that they keep a long time, supposedly into winter (we always eat ours way before then), thanks to their hard rinds.

So if you're looking for a super-easy La Mancha-style dessert for summer (or autumn or even winter), all you have to do is cut open a piel de sapo melon.

 

 

A Canary Island Style Salad (ensalada canaria)

While in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, we had a beautiful salad at the traditional restaurant El Padrino in the mountains overlooking the city.  This salad is easy to make, pretty, and a meal in itself. One thing I like about it is that it is not "tossed": the many ingredients are arranged separately over the bed lettuce so that you can appreciate each one.

We had this with crunchy anise-scented Canary style bread.

Ingredients:

romaine lettuce

sliced tomatoes

sliced sweet onions

sliced red bell peppers

sliced radishes

half an avocado, sliced

florets of steamed cauliflower, tossed with a good olive oil

a good banana (small "apple bananas"  make a good substitute for Canary-style bananas)

sprigs of watercress

grated carrot

a tin of good tuna packed in olive oil

halved boiled eggs

steamed corn

sliced cucumber

tinned white asparagus spears

a good olive oil

salt

Wash and dry the lettuce. Make a large bed of lettuce on a platter, and arrange each of the ingredients separately on top. Place a bottle of good olive oil, vinegar, and salt on the table.  Guests can pick what they like from the salad, and dress it as they like.

Like to try another neat Canary Island salad? Check out my post on a Canary Island salad of avocado and tangerines.

 

 

 

 

Time to Make Guindas al Licor (Cherries in Brandy)

Summer is the season to put cherries in brandy, a tradition in Galicia, in the North of Spain.  After the cherries have macerated a month (or better yet several), they are used in all sorts of Spanish desserts--turrón de guindas is especially good--or eaten as they are. The liqueur makes a pleasant digestif. 

In Galicia the traditional cherries used are sour cherries, guindas, and the brandy is aguardiente de orujo, which is clear and quite unlike brandy sold in U.S. liquor stores.  Here in Florida we can never find sour cherries or Galician aguardiente, but Ana still makes pretty good guindas al licor using regular sweet cherries or cerezas--as many Spaniards these days do--and a pisco brandy, a Peruvian or Chilean version of aguardiente. You could also use grappa. And vodka, though far from Spanish, wouldn't be bad either.

Wash and dry some fresh cherries.  Remove the stems.  Place the cherries in a clean jar (one with a lid) along with a cinnamon stick and sugar. Traditional recipes using sour cherries may call for a good bit of sugar, but for sweet cherries we only use 1/3 cup per pint. If you want a very sweet licor, add more.

 Some gallegos add other spices--a pinch of nutmeg or even a sprig of lemon verbena.

Pour the aguardiente (or whatever liquor you are using) over the cherries, sugar and spice until they are covered.

Put the lid on the jar, and place it in a cool dark place.  Let it sit at least a month before you try it  . Some people like guindas al licor best when the cherries have macerated for several months, by which time the liqueur is quite mild and cherry-flavored--and the cherries taste a lot like aguardiente!

 

 

Esperanza's Cauliflower and Potatoes with Garlic and Pimentón Sauce (coliflor y patatas al ajoarriero)

 

Esperanza, my mother-in-law, often prepares coliflor y patatas al ajoarriero for us when we're in Madrid. It's an easy, authentic, and vegetarian comida (and can easily be made vegan, if you prefer).      

Ingredients:

1 cauliflower

4 or 5 medium potatoes (waxy types are best for this)

several cloves of garlic, coarsely chopped

1/2 cup of olive oil

1 heaping tablespoon of flour

1 teaspoon pimentón

kosher salt

extra virgin olive oil for drizzling

boiled eggs

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. 

While the water is heating, wash the cauliflower and potatoes. Cut the cauliflower into large pieces. Cut the potatoes into large wedges.

Place the cauliflower and potatoes in the pot. Boil them 18 minutes (or a little longer, depending on how tender you like them). Towards the end of the cooking time, test the cauliflower and potatoes with a fork to see if they are done.

While the cauliflower and potatoes are boiling, make the sauce. Fry the garlic in the olive oil until fragrant but not yet taking on color.

Add the flour.

Stir and "fry" the flour-garlic mixture until it takes on a golden color. (Careful not to burn the garlic).

Remove the pan from the heat and let the mixture cool for several minutes. Then add the pimentón.

Give it a stir, and, if you like, add a little water (which, because of the flour, will thicken the sauce).

When the cauliflower and potatoes are done, drain them. Arrange them on a platter or in a cazuela.

Spoon the sauce over the potatoes and cauliflower.

Serve with boiled eggs.   Place a good olive oil on the table for drizzling. 

 

A Simple Pisto

There are many different types of pisto in Spain.  Some, such as my grilled pisto, resemble ratatouille. The pisto I made for this post is more delicate. The vegetables are chopped fairly fine, the squash is peeled, and the tomatoes are strained. This pisto goes well with seafood. 

Ingredients

1/3 cup of olive oil

1 large onion, finely chopped

1 medium red pepper, or half a large one, finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

a handful of parsley, chopped

two medium summer squash or zucchini, peeled and diced

4 medium tomatoes

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste

 

First saute the onion and pepper in the oil.

Cook until the onion turns soft and translucent.

Add the garlic, parsley, and squash.

Because this is a fairly refined pisto, I put the tomatoes through a food mill, which removes the skins and most of the seeds. But you can just chop them if you like.

Add salt. Bring the mixture to a boil.

Simmer for ten to fifteen minutes until the sauce is reduced.

Serve with grilled or pan-fried fish or shrimp. Swordfish a la plancha would go very well.