Simple Spanish Food

Old-School Anchovies, anchoas "a la antigua"

Whenever we're in Spain, Ana tries to pick up a few tins of Ortiz anchoas "a la antigua"--anchovies prepared "the old fashioned way." We have not been able to find a source for these in the U.S., and even in Spain it isn't always easy to find them (the supermarket chain Carrefour sometimes carries them), but they are well worth searching for. Of all the tinned anchovy fillets, these come the closest to the salt-packed anchovies (anchoas en salazón) served in the very best tapas bars.   

You can sometimes find Ortiz's anchoas "a la antigua" in miniature packets, about half the size of the standard 50 gram anchovy tin. These are perfect for when you want to make only one or two tapas. (An open tin of anchovies in olive oil just doesn't keep very well even in the fridge, so it's best to eat them all the day you open the can).

Basically Ortiz anchoas a la antigua are first-class anchovies  (you can still see bits of silvery skin attached to the fillets, just like in a good tapas bar), packed in an excellent virgin olive oil with herbs.   The texture is firm. The flavor, like that of any good anchovy, is not at all fishy. At the same time, these anchovies are  unique because of the quality of the ingredients, the way they are prepared, and the herbs. 

Open a tin of these, serve them with good bread and wine, and you have an instant tapas party.  

While La Tienda doesn't carry anchoas "a la antigua," they do have other quality Spanish anchovies on their anchovy page.

 

Instant Tapa: mejillones de lata, Tinned Mussels from Spain

As I have said in a previous post, tinned seafood from Spain-- Galicia, in particular--is so high in quality it can be even better than fresh. Hard to believe? Think of the way a confit can be better than fresh duck, or how a first-class homemade pickle can beat a plain cucumber. Neither comparison is an exaggeration.The best tinned seafood from Galicia is an artisan product (with a price to match). It has nothing to do with the smoked oysters and canned clams you find on supermarket shelves here in the U.S. 

I love mussels prepared in all different ways (see my posts on mejillones a la marinera and also  arroz con mejillones), but Galician mussels tinned in escabeche have to be my favorite.  Preserving the mussels in the spicy sauce transforms them into something completely new (again think of confit or an excellent homemade pickle).  And nothing could be easier.  Just open the can,  put a mussel or two on a slice of good toast along with a drizzle of the escabeche, and you have a first-class tapa, almost instantly.

For a great (and authentic) tapas party with almost no work, serve mejillones en escabeche along with other ready-to-serve Spanish foods, such as Cantabrian anchovy fillets in olive oil, queso manchego, jamón serrano and of course olives. This is what Spaniards do at home.

Asturian Cider, sidra asturiana

Asturias, the region in the north of Spain, is cider country.  Good Asturian cider is very slightly effervescent, and most of the bubbles come from the way it's poured. The bottle is held high, the glass low.  The cider comes down in a thin stream.  See the above picture.

This is to say, true Asturian cider is not supposed to bubble like beer, much less cava.  Nor is it supposed to be sweet.  It's usually fairly dry. The experience of drinking a good sidra asturiana is much like drinking ribeiro, the slightly fizzy white wine from neighboring Galicia. Asturian cider is in fact an alternative to a simple country wine, and the perfect accompaniment to Asturian foods.

Jeannie, a reader of Simple Spanish Food, recommended to me a great cider bar, sidrería, called El Ñeru. While Ana and I were in Madrid in May, we swung by and had cider and toast smeared with cabrales cheese--the blue cheese from Asturias, one of the best possible tapas to go with Asturian cider.  Thanks for the tip, Jeannie! El Ñeru is at Bordadores 5.

Another good sidrería in Madrid is Casa Mingo, at Paseo de la Florida 34, not far from the chapel San Antonio de La Florida. See Goya's frescoes of Madrileña angels,  and then drink some cider.

The on-line Spanish food store La Tienda sells natural Asturian cider and cider glasses to serve it in. These glasses are not only authentic, they make it easier to pour the cider in a high arc without spilling too much. (Even pro cider pourers in Spain always seem to spill a little).

An Asturian-themed tapas party might include sliced chorizo quick-fried in olive oil, cabrales cheese, hazelnuts packed in Asturian honey, plenty of good bread (see my recipes for easy, no-knead Spanish-style breads), and Asturian cider.

A word of warning: you may come across the inexpensive, sweet, artificially carbonated bottles of Spanish cider. This is a completely different drink. This cider also comes from Asturias, but it is not traditional Asturian cider. It is sometimes used as a dessert wine, like a sweet cava. To be honest, I don't like it.  This type of cider has a plastic champagne cork wired to the top of the bottle.

 

 

 

Three Great Galician Cheeses

Three of my favorite cheeses--queso gallego, tetilla, and San Simón--all come from Galicia, the region in the Northwest of Spain where Ana is from.  In the picture above, the roundish cheeses to the left are queso gallego, the cheese in the middle is the tetilla, and the more conical and golden cheese to the right is San Simón. (And to the far left are some smoky Gallego style chorizos, which make an excellent accompaniment to these cheeses).

If you're throwing a tapas party or putting together a cheese course for a Spanish dinner, any one of these cheeses would make a pleasant change from the usual manchego. Don't get me wrong, I love manchego.  It's just there are so many other types of Spanish cheeses, most of which are fabulous and don't have the recognition they deserve.  The on-line Spanish food store La Tienda has a pretty good selection of Spanish  cheeses in its cheese section. 

Queso gallego, tetilla, and San Simón are all soft, creamy cheeses made of cow's milk. They are the sort of cheeses that even people who aren't usually crazy about cheese will love. At the same time they are unusual--and quite distinct from each other--and totally worthy of a serious cheese person's interest.

To tell you the truth, my favorite of the three is queso gallego, which is, so far as I know, unavailable in the U.S. This cheese is unbelievably creamy and slightly acidic.  

 Tetilla is the closest cheese you're likely to find to queso gallego outside of Spain. Tetilla is also a creamy, soft cheese, but not quite as rich as queso gallego.  It also does not have quite the twang of the acidity.  Many people--even most--consider tetilla to be Galicia's best cheese, and one of the best cheeses in Spain. 

San Simón is much like a tetilla in shape and even flavor, except it is lightly smoked, which gives the rind a deep gold color and the cheese a slightly firmer texture. 

I am usually wary of smoked cheeses because of the excessive (and I suspect artificial) smoke added to many cheeses sold in U.S. supermarkets, but the smoke taste of San Simón is natural, subtle and pleasant. 

When in Spain, we usually eat these and other cheeses as part of the cena--the late evening meal--with bread (see my recipes for easy, no-knead Spanish-style breads), fresh fruit, and paper-thin slices of jamón serrano, and other Spanish cured meats and sausages. 

Here is the U.S. we would have a similar menu for a late evening tapas party, with Spanish wines. If you don't have a good supplier of Spanish wines in your area, check out La Tienda's selection of Spanish reds, whites, and sherries.