Not going to win any beauty prize, but it's easy comfort food |
Honey on a razor blade
I like making them! I like eating them!
2024-10-16
Patatas Panaderas: rustic and simple potatoes
2024-09-18
Casual Fideuà: easy, quick, slightly nontraditional
Fideuà is Valencian dish made similarly to Paella but uses short thin noodles instead of rice, and this makes it much quicker to prepare. We've made a number of variations in the US (with Spaghettini) and Barcelona (Ravalistan, Assassina). This version was driven by hunger and a "what's for dinner" moment: it comes together quickly, for an easy weeknight meal. My biggest cheat here is using a non-stick skillet instead of one of my paella pans and it worked fine! It took only 35 minutes to make.
Meatballs aren't traditional but this dish is tasty |
The first time I made this, I rushed and skipped the Sofrito and it lacked flavor. The second time, with Sofrito, was much fuller in flavor, and I used monk fish for the protein; happily, the noodles stood up in the pan when done, a curious effect that seems to mark a well made fideuà. Here, Fideuà is usually made with fish/shellfish, but I'm using what's on hand, even if a bit nontraditional: Irene's mixed stock and her mini meatballs.
Most recipes seem to use 2-to-1 to 4-to-1 ratios of liquid-to-stock (by weight). This one from a chef seems way off, with a 10-to-1 ratio (!), and starts and finishes in the oven -- too fussy. The one from BBC looks pretty good but seems to use an excess of tomatoes in the sofrito. This recipe is quite detailed and looks authentic.
The noodles (Catalan fideus, Spanish fideos) come in a variety of thicknesses, and I prefer a rather thin one, so I'm using our local Bonpreu store brand cabell d'angel (angel hair) which the package says cooks in only 2-4 minutes, so the final step is fast; thicker noodles take longer, of course.
The only tricky bit with this is that you want the pasta barely cooked and all the liquid absorbed: if the pasta is threatening to get too soft, crank the heat all the way up; if the noodles aren't cooked enough, lower the heat and maybe add more stock or water. You want to dry it out to finish to develop a little crusty base similar to socarrat in paella.
It's typically served garnished with lemon wedges and a garlic-y allioli (try my eggless toum or rapidisimo).
Serves 2 for dinner with a side salad
2024-09-17
Kombu Cured Salmon, Cooked Sous Vide
Kombu (kelp) is full of glutamic acid which provides Umami -- the rich savory "6th taste". Chefs are curing fish with it and serving it raw, but we're not convinced of the quality of our store-bought Norwegian salmon so we're going to cook ours gently. We don't want to overpower the flavor from the Kombu, so we'll cook it sous vide with minimal seasoning rather than sauteing or broiling.
If the Salmon has skin, remove it so the Kombu can penetrate.
Soak the Kombu until pliant, and wipe down with a slice of Lemon.
Lightly salt the Salmon and let rest while the Kombu hydrates.
Wrap the Salmon in the Kombu and put in a vacuum bag and seal.
Let cure 1-24 hours.
Cook in a water bath at 50C/122F to 52C/125F for 30 minutes.
I don't have a record of how this turned out, but am posting it anyway in hopes that -- now that I can search for it -- I'll make it again and report back.
2024-08-25
Lamb leg stuffed with Mediterranean flavors, sous vide then grilled
We wanted to repeat something we improvised a while ago that turned out really well: lamb leg stuffed with mediterranean herbs from our window boxes. It was a thick cut so we cooked it low with sous vide to ensure it was fully cooked, then flashed on the grill to brown a little.
Rose-pink meat with green lines from the rosemary paste |
Our local markets (Sant Antoni, Ninot) have proper butchers, about half of which sell lamb (Spanish "cordero", Catalan "xai"). The cut from the front leg is "espalda", the back is "pierna" (Spanish) or "cuixa" (Catalan); the cuixa on display looked like a better shape for stuffing, and was under 12€/Kg. I asked the butcher to remove the bone, and he cut it up so we could use it for soup. Our leg of lamb was 1175g without bones. I opened it up, cut off a piece outside a rough rectangle leaving about 935 g (2 pounds).
We've got a healthy crop of Rosemary and Parsley, and a meager amount of Mint; we figured the salt and umami from Anchovies would go well. All the quantities below are flexible. Basically, flatten the meat, smear with a flavorful paste, roll up, cook long and slow, then sear.
This should serve 4-6.
3 sticks Rosemary, leaves stripped off stem
1 bunch Mint, leaves only
4 cloves Garlic
8 Anchovies (from a jar)
to taste Salt
60 ml Extra Virgin Olive Oil, approx
?? Preserved Lemon, chopped coarse
Cut between the muscles of the Lamb to flatten a bit, being careful not to cut through it.
Slash the meat to provide more surface area for the paste, but don't cut through.
In a mini food processor, whiz Rosemary, Mint, Garlic, Anchovies, Salt, and EVOO; process to a smooth paste, adding more EVOO if needed.
I intended to coarsely chop some Preserved Lemons that Irene made based on the Modernist Cuisine tomes, but forgot until after I'd tied everything up -- next time!
Spread the paste over the meat, pressing into the slashes.
Roll up as a spiral.
Tie snugly with butcher's string.
I wrapped this in plastic film to prevent Oil being sucked out by the vaccuum sealer but this may not have been necessary.
Put in a sous vide bag and seal on the "liquid" setting to avoid pulling out the oil from the paste.
Cook 3.5 hours at 57C/135F which I took from Serious Eats, hoping for some pink but not floppy rare; he says that 2 hours should be enough, but I wanted to be safe: the rolled meat is thick, so it will take a while for the heat to penetrate.
When done, remove from bag and catch any juices.
Brown over a hot BBQ fire, like these folks do, about 5 minutes a side.
Seared on the barbecue |
Slice with strings still attached for neater cuts, and serve.
Next Time...
2024-07-21
Allioli Rapidísimo: quick and pungent -- using milk!
While I was researching recipes for sepia croquetas I came across a TV video which included a "allioli rapidísimo". Interestingly, it used milk as a base, which is something I've never heard of, and I've been working on various Spanish alliolis like toum for a while. As the name implies, it takes just a few minutes to make using a stick blender. It has a fiery burn from the raw garlic which mellows after a night in the fridge.
Croquetas de Sepia y su Tinta: crunchy and rich
Croquetas are little fried balls of bechamel containing something like jamón, chicken, bacalao, cheese and nuts, or in this case, squid with its ink. Almost every little café serves them as a tapa, but usually not the squid ink variety. This is my favorite flavor: the ink gives it a rich "earthiness" (which seems like the wrong word for a sea creature). The proteins are usually diced very small, to provide some texture without poking through the crunchy crust.
Croquetas topped with "allioli rapidísimo" |
Sepia and Choco refer to the same species (cuttlefish), while Calamar (squid) is a different beast; both work fine. Many recipes add onions, cooked eggs, wine, nutmeg, etc, but I think those additions would be distracting. This video recipe is quite detailed, but he's using squid already cooked in its ink. Another video makes the bechamel with oil (no butter), and that seems very Spanish to me, I'll do that too. We get squid and separate frozen packets of ink (4 for 0,69€), and we'll cook the squid then its ink in the bechamel's oil. The bechamel is equal parts by weight of fat (oil, butter, or a mix) and flour. The ratio of milk to fat+oil is about 2.5-2.8. I used Squid, an amount I had on hand.
These are easy enough to make, although the shaping/coating can be a little fussy so having a friend speeds the process.
One of my source recipes made an "allioli rapidísimo" which I made, and it turned out well, so I've written that up separately.
Makes about 24, and a tapa-sized serving is probably 3 per person. After cooking and cooling, extras freeze and reheat surprisingly well, baked.
1 clove Garlic, minced
2 packets Squid Ink ("tinta")
100 g Flour
to taste Salt
Flour
Panko Bread Crumbs
How it turned out, next time...
2024-07-07
Ajoarriero Aragonés: bacalao, potato, and egg -- cool and smooth
We had this at Tasca Angel in Valencia and it felt like comfort food for the dog days of summer: a cool mashed potato or brandade-like texture that was fine on its own or smeared on bread. This version from Aragon is different from the one with the same name from Navarra which is a stew that adds tomatoes and peppers. The recipe originated with mule drivers (arrieros) who could carry potatoes and dried salt cod on their overland journeys, and is very similar to "atascaburras" ("something that blocks a donkey's way") from Castilla-La Mancha.
Garnished with parsley, served with toast |
Unsurprisingly, there are wide variations. Many recipes make this with chopped eggs, some with chunky potatoes; others add onion or bread crumbs. In this video for "atascaburras o ajoarriero", Chef Teresa Carrascosa whips a LOT of olive oil into the cooked potatoes then mixes the shredded bacalao by hand. It's frequently garnished with quartered boiled eggs, walnuts, and/or parsley.
Recipes range from 4:1 potatoes to bacalao to about 1:1 by weight; we'll start with 2:1. Here, I'm looking for a smooth texture and minimal ingredients. I've got a potato ricer which makes a really smooth mash, but we can't pass bacalao through it; if you've got a potato masher, you can mash them both together.
Makes 600 ml, 555 g, and serves 4 as a hearty first course but you'll probably want some later.
A few simple ingredients |
If needed, desalt the Bacalao in multiple changes of water for two days, or use ready-to-cook "al punt de sal" without hydrating.
200 g Bacalao (desalted)Add the Bacalao and combine.
Drizzle in the rest of the Oil and mix to a smooth consistency like loose mashed potatoes; if it seems too thick, add a bit of the reserved water and more Oil.
Adjust Salt if needed but the Bacalao will probably bring enough of its own.
Allow to cool to room temperature then cover and cool.
Serve cold, cool, or room temperature, garnished with parsley; spread on bread or toast.