Simple Spanish Food

Esperanza's Albóndigas: a Simple Spanish Recipe for Meatballs with Saffron Sauce

Albóndigas--meatballs--are one of the first things  Esperanza, my mother-in-law, taught me how to cook.  She always uses equal parts ground pork and ground ternera (veal, which in Spain is simply meat from a young cow).  Here in the States I use straight ground venison or ground bison or ground grass-fed beef.  

Ingredients:

1 lb of ground meat of your choice

1 egg

3/4 cup bread crumbs

a handful of chopped parsley

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

1/2 teaspoon of thyme

1 glass of dry white wine (drinkable, but nothing special)

3/4 cup flour (for dusting)

1/2 cup olive oil

4 cups of water, or chicken stock if you prefer

a pinch of saffron

salt

In a large bowl, combine the meat, egg, parsley, garlic, thyme, breadcrumbs, and a pinch of salt.  Mix well. Let the mixture sit in the fridge at least half an hour.

Now shape the meatballs, about 1 inch or a little less in diameter.

Roll the meatballs in flour until they are well coated.

Heat up a large pot. Working in batches, quickly brown the meatballs on all sides in the olive oil, and set them aside. 

When you have browned all of the meatballs, add the wine, the water or broth, and the  saffron to the pot. Bring the mixture to a boil. Add salt (about a teaspoon if you have used water, little or none if you're using broth).

Add the meatballs and, if necessary, more water so that they are covered with liquid.

Simmer for 25 minutes, and they're ready. Serve the albóndigas with the sauce sauce spooned over them.   

Esperanza always serves albóndigas with patatas fritas--french fries, a green salad, and of course good bread for mopping up the sauce.

A Spicy Spanish Meat Pie: Empanada de Carne Adobada

This is an old-style empanada like the ones Ana used to eat in Galicia (in the Northwest of Spain) as a kid.  It has a flaky, crunchy crust of olive oil pastry, and a filling of caramelized onions and a small amount of chopped meat that has been marinated in an adobo--a sauce of vinegar, olive oil, garlic, a generous amount of smoky pimentón, and other spices.  It's a great way to use left over carne adobada (click here for recipe).

This empanada would typically be made with marinated pork loin, but you could use other meats.  As I explain in my post on cholesterol I don't eat a lot of meat because I'm on a low-cholesterol diet. When I do, I often cook venison, which is healthier and (to me) better tasting.  It's also considered a delicacy in Spain, where an empanada of venison marinated in adobo would be something of a luxury tapa.  If you don't have access to venison, grass-fed beef, free-range pork, or even bison would work well too.

 

Here's how to do it:

First, make an adobo and marinate the meat of your choice.  See my post on a simple Spanish marinade for meats (carne adobada) for the recipe and more information.   Reserve a small amount of uncooked, marinated meat--1/3 of a pound or so--for this empanada.  As you're going to chop the meat, the "odds and ends" are fine. Again, the reserved meat should be raw. (It freezes well, by the way, so you can save the meat until you're ready to make this empanada).

Next, make the crust. See my post on empanada gallega for a recipe for an olive oil pastry crust.

Saute two large, chopped onions in 1/3 cup of olive oil, over medium heat. When they are soft and slightly caramelized, add a small pinch of saffron.

Chop fine about five ounces of the marinated meat. 

Remove the onions from the heat. Allow them to cool. Add the chopped meat and stir.

Now roll out the crust and assemble the empanada as I describe in my post on empanada gallega.

Bake the empanada for 12-15 minutes in a very hot oven (525 degrees) until the crust is golden.  You can also bake this empanada in a kamado or Big Green Egg. The results are even better. See my post on baking empanadas in a kamado or Big Green Egg for details.

Adobo: a Simple Spanish Marinade for Meat

If you've ever spent any time in a Spanish home, you've probably tried some form of carne adobada--a meat marinated in olive oil,  smoky pimentón and other spices. Usually these days it's lomo adobado--pork loin.  Spanish butcher shops sell pork loins already marinaded, so all you have to do is stick it in the oven, or pan-fry a few slices. 

As I explain in my post on cholesterol, I don't often eat meat. When I do, it's usually venison,  so I was very pleased to find a recipe for venison in adobo in Janet Mendel's Cooking from the Heart of Spain: Food of La Mancha. (Ms. Mendel, by the way, has a great Spanish food blog called  My Kitchen in Spain where you'll find authentic Spanish recipes,  in-depth information about Spanish foods, and a list of her excellent books.)  

If you don't like venison, don't worry. This is actually an all-purpose adobo.  It can be used for beef or, more typically, pork loin. I suspect it is also used with wild boar--something I would really like to try.

I have altered the recipe slightly. The  flavor of this adobo is much like the very best you'll find in Spain.  It is essential to use authentic  pimentón de La Vera though.  See my post on pimentón de La Vera for more information.

 Here's how to do it:

Ingredients:

2 lbs venison ham, bone removed, or pork loin

for deglazing the pan: 1/2 cup of white wine

For the marinade:

6-7 garlic cloves, peeled and minced.

2 tablespoons pimentón de La Vera  (I like picante).

2 teaspoons thyme

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

1 tablespoon kosher  salt

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1/4 cup of virgin olive oil

a few whole black peppercorns

2 bay leaves

First mix the ingredients for the marinade in a large glass or ceramic bowl.

Put  the meat in the marinade and turn it over a few times until well-coated.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the meat marinade a couple of days in the fridge. Every day, give the meat a turn. Slice the meat thin, about 1/4 inch thick, across the grain. 

Heat up a heavy skillet. Put a little olive oil in the pan and cook the meat slices  quickly--1 minute per side, two minutes total.  (Be careful not to overcook the meat or it will be dry out).  Don't crowd the pan. Work in small batches, adding more oil when necessary. When all of the slices are cooked, deglaze the pan with a half cup of white wine. Reduce it slightly, pour it over the meat, and serve.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Grilled loin of venison (lomo de venado): a Spanish delicacy

Game is highly prized in Spain. Open a good Spanish cookbook, such as Penelope Casas'  La Cocina de Mama: The Great Home Cooking of Spain, and you will find more recipes for partridge, quail, or rabbit than for chicken.   Wild boar and venison are also treasured, but not so often listed in English-language cookbooks on Spanish food, which is a shame, because both deer and boar are plentiful here in the U.S. (The latter, in fact, is an invasive species).

As I explain in my post on cholesterol, I don't often eat red meat, but when I do, I try to make it venison.  It's much healthier than beef, and when it's prepared well, I prefer venison's taste and texture.

As well I should: venison, and especially loin of venison, is true luxury food. Just look at what a nice restaurant charges for it if you have any doubts.  I'm very lucky that my father and his friends are avid deer hunters.

The red deer of Spain is a much larger species than the white-tailed deer of the U.S., and Spanish hunters tend to go for the stag or hart just as American hunters go for the buck.  Because of this, Spanish recipes for venison, even for tender cuts like the loin, often involve lengthy marinating and long, slow cooking.   If you have venison from a larger, older deer, these traditional recipes are probably best.  The same is true if you like your venison well done.  Today, however,  I'll focus on a simple, easy way to quick- grill loin of venison from a younger deer.

Please note: this recipe is best for those who like  rare or at most medium-rare venison.  Because venison is so lean, it dries out quickly, especially on the grill.  In the future I'll post a recipe involving a marinade and slow cooking which is better for well-done venison.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pound of loin of venison (if it's frozen, allow it to thaw in the fridge a couple of days)

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon of thyme

kosher salt

1/3 cup olive oil

Sprinkle the venison with salt and pepper. Whisk the garlic and thyme with the olive oil. Rub this mixture over the meat.

Fire up the grill.  You want the coals quite hot.  (I let my kamado, Big Green Egg, get up to 600+ degrees).  I also use a heavy cast iron grate, which holds heat and is great for searing.

While the grill's heating up, find a watch with a second hand:  you'll be quick-cooking, and timing here is important. You'll also want a big set of tongs or a long-handled fork.

The grilling times listed below are for a loin 1 1/2  inches thick at the thickest point.  If the loin you're cooking is thicker, you may want to up the times very slighty, by 20-30 seconds per side. If the loin you're cooking is thinner, reduce the cooking time 20 seconds or so.  If in doubt, under cook the venison. You can always quickly saute the slices if they're too rare for you. If you overcook them, however, they'll be dry.

There will be four turns total during the grilling.  In other words,  you'll be cooking the loin twice on each side. The venison is then allowed to rest for 10 minutes before slicing.  See Jacques Pepin's piece on grilling pork chops (very nearly as lean as venison these days) in  Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home for more information on this grilling technique.

Place the loin on the hot  grill.  It should sizzle and flare up.   Cook it over high heat for 90 seconds (a little less if the loin is thin).

Flip the loin over.  Allow it to cook 90 seconds.

Turn the loin over again. Let it cook ninety seconds.

Turn the  loin one last time. Allow it to cook ninety seconds.

Now remove the loin from the grill, place it in a warmed cazuela or casserole dish, cover it with foil, and let it rest for 10 minutes.  (This 10 minute rest is essential: the meat is still cooking, and you're allowing the meat to decontract, so don't skip the 10 minute rest).  Slice the loin and serve.

Again, this is luxury food, so serve loin of venison with a nice wine. This is a time for a good rioja reserva if there ever was one.