Baked Goat with potatoes (Cabrito al horno con patatas panaderas)

"Cabrito" is another dish that Spaniards eat for Christmas or Easter. We used to eat it around Christmas when the owner of some goats would give us a goat as a present. My family had a piece of land with pine trees and we let him keep his goats there. His goats would eat the brush and this was great for us because then the land was clear. As a token of appreciation he would give us a live baby goat. This was a problem because as kids we would love the cute animal. I found goat meat in a Mexican store in town. They call it "chivo".

Ingredients:


2 1/2 pounds goat, cut in pieces
3 sprigs mint
2 sprigs rosemary
8 garlic cloves
2 sprigs thyme
salt and pepper to taste
2 large onions cut in julienne
3 large potatoes, cross cut
1/2 cup olive oil 
1 large glass white wine
Chicken stock


In a blender mix the mint, rosemary, garlic, and salt and grind everything. Rub the goat pieces with the mixture from the blender and let it rest overnight inside a bag.


The next day, cut the onions and the potatoes. In a pan make a bed with the potatoes and then the onion. Add the wine and the olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and lay the goat over the onions and potatoes. Put uncovered in the oven at the highest temperature for 30 minutes and then lower to 350˚ until tender and the meat is falling from the bone. Once in a while, baste it to make sure that doesn't get dry, If that is the case, add chicken stock.

Veal Scallopini (Escalope de ternera)

I remember that when we were little we ate more veal than beef. One of our favorites was "escalope de ternera." It can be just breaded or with a sauce, like the one we made with lemon and capers (check the recipe for sole with lemon and capers to see how to make the sauce). I like it plain with a good tomato and garlic salad and chips. These tomatoes were from Just Local, an organic store. They were delicious.

Ingredients:


1 veal fillet per person, tenderized 
tomatoes
1 potato per person to make the crinkle chips
white wine
garlic
spices
salt
1 egg
breadcrumbs
olive oil


With a mandolin make the crinkle potatoes. If you don't have one just cross cut the potatoes very thin. Cut the tomatoes in half. Tenderize the meat with a tenderizer or a heavy pan. Marinate the veal with a glass of wine, garlic and olive oil for a couple of hours. After that pat it dry, dip in egg then in breadcrums and repeat this.


Cook the potatoes in a fryer, and the meat in a  pan with hot oil until brown.

Churros con Chocolate

There is nothing more Spanish than "Churros con Chocolate". They make a great "merienda" in the afternoon, a good breakfast after the clubs and pubs close at the wee hours of the morning, or a birthday meal. It is a social act. There is nothing more social than a group of friends sitting around a marble table in one of the old churrerías with their friends. The custom of eating churros is believed to have started with the traveling fairs and has since moved onto the breakfast menu of regular cafes. The chocolate has a much longer history. It comes from the Aztec word Xocolatl and is a product introduced to Europe by the Spaniards. Xocolatl, the gift of the gods.

Ingredients:

To make the churros:

2 cups flour

1 cup hot water boiled with a lemon peel

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 tablespoon olive oil

oil to fry

sugar

Put the flour and the salt in a bowl. When the water with lemon peel starts to boil, pour it into the bowl with the flour and start mixing. Then add the olive oil and keep stirring. It doesn't matter if there are some lumps of flour. They will disappear when frying. Pour the mix in a "churrera" or if you don't have one, use a pastry bag with a star tip. Use a fryer or deep pan with vegetable oil. When the oil is hot pour the mix in pieces about 6 inches long and let them get to a brown color. Remove the churros and let them rest on paper towel to get rid of of any extra oil Then dust the churros with sugar - lots of sugar.

To make the chocolate:

Baker's unsweetened chocolate

Grate the chocolate and place in a double boiler. Let it melt and add milk little by little, stirring and let it thicken to your likeness. 

Catalan Spinach (Espinacas a la catalana)

What a simple and fast dish to cook! If we are looking for a side dish that will not take a lot of time and want a flavorful dish that the kids will eat, this is it.

Ingredients:


1 apple peeled and cut in cubes
1/2 cup raisins (presoaked)
1/2 cup pine nuts
1 bag spinach
Maldon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil


In a sauce pan put the olive oil, add the apple and cook until it is caramelized. Then add the raisins and the pine nuts, give a couple of stirs and add the spinach. It has a high content of water and when it starts to sweat remove them from the pan. It will keep cooking. Serve on a platter and add Maldon salt.

¡Bon profit!

Stuffed Piquillo Peppers with Serrano Ham (Pimientos del Piquillo rellenos de jamón)

Piquillo peppers are from the region of Navarre, especially from Lodosa, and they have what is called a "DO" (denomination of origin). I have to say that the best stuffed peppers I have ever had were in this town in a bar on the main square. I believe they closed some years ago but I do miss them. They were also deep fried. The stuffing for these peppers may vary from cod to chicken to ham.

Ingredients:


1 small jar piquillo peppers
2 spoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
2 cups hot milk
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 pound serrano ham 


Start with a béchamel. In a pan put the butter and as it melts add the flour, stirring for a couple of minutes until it becomes smooth. Then add the hot milk and keep stirring it until it thickens. Lastly,  add the serrano ham and the nutmeg. Let the béchamel cool in the refrigerator so it will be easier to stuff the peppers.


In the meantime, make a very light béchamel but this time mix one pepper with the milk. Pour the pepper béchamel on a plate and add the stuffed peppers.

Chorizo and Manchego Sandwich (Bocata caliente de chorizo con queso)

Something typical in Spain at school or in bars are the "bocadillos." They are sandwiches at 11:00 in the morning during recess or a coffee break. This is one of the traditional ones.

Ingredients:


French baguette or 2 slices of rustic bread
Spanish chorizo (we use Palacios)
Manchego cheese


fruit


Slice the cheese and chorizo, lay them in the bread, put it in a hot pan or a grill and weigh it down. I use a brick wrapped in aluminum foil to use as a press but you could also use a panini maker. Send your kids to school with their new cool lunch: a Spanish sandwich and fruit.

Carnival Basque Toast (Tostadas de crema de carnaval)

This is a traditional Basque dessert for Carnival and Easter. It is made of a custard but sometimes is made with brioche bread, much like a good French toast. 

Ingredients:

4 cups milk (reserve about half a cup)
5 eggs
8 tablespoons sugar
5 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cinnamon stick
1 lemon peel

For the coated batter:

1 cup flour
3 whisked eggs
sugar

To fry:

1 cup oil
lemon peel
lime peel
cinnamon powder
sugar

Put the milk to boil with the lemon peel and cinnamon stick. In the meantime, make a mixture  in a bowl with the sugar, cornstarch, eggs, the half cup milk and blend very well.

When the milk starts boiling add the mixture and let it boil for about 5 minutes to make a custard. Do not stop stirring, especially at the bottom of the pan.

Grease a 3-4 inch deep baking sheet, add the custard and let it cool off. Brush the top with oil. Keep it overnight in the refrigerator.

Cut the custard in 3 by 3 inch squares, dusted with flour and coated with egg. Put on a rack to get rid of any excess egg. In a pan put the oil with the lemon and lime peels on high heat. When they start getting wrinkled, remove the peels and add the custard and cook until golden brown. Remove from the pan and let them rest on paper towel to get rid of any excess oil. Then add cinnamon and sugar. Place them on a platter and garnish with berries and whipped cream.

Mollet Eggs with tomato sauce and Bacon (Huevos mollet con salsa de tomate y bacon)

"Mollet" comes from the French word for "soft." It is a soft-boiled egg, boiled for 5 minutes and then peeled. Like a poached egg, the white is firm and the yolk runny and creamy. The difficulty for the egg not to break is in the  peeling of the shell. 

The best technique I found is to boil the egg for 5 minutes - use a timer. Then remove carefully from the hot water and put in ice water to stop the cooking process. Then in a bowl put 2 parts warm water and 6 parts white vinegar. The effect of the vinegar is to decalcify the shell, creating a very soft membrane that is easy to peel. The point is to make an egg that looks like a hard boiled egg, but when cut the yolk runs, and when peeled it doesn't break. This type of egg, when it doesn't break can be used as garnish, finished in different ways, and even deep fried. It can be served cold or warm. If you want to serve it warm, place in a bowl of warm water. 

Roasted Garlic with Cilantro Pesto (Pesto de ajo con cilantro)

While the name "pesto" is Italian, this dish is similar to the Catalan "picada" that I have used lately in some of the recipes I made. The difference is that if you use "picada" to thicken sauces you will use fried bread, and will not use cheese. Let's try roasted garlic infused with saffron,  pine nuts, olive oil, parmesan cheese and cilantro instead of basil. The roasted garlic can be used as a spread instead of mixing it with the rest of the ingredients.

Ingredients:


1 garlic head
olive oil
saffron
salt


For the pesto: 


1/2 cup pine nuts
1 cup cilantro or basil
1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup shredded parmesan cheese
2 drops lemon juice

To roast a garlic head, cut the top, expose the garlic, add olive oil, salt and saffron, put on  aluminum foil, close tightly and put in a preheated oven at 400 degrees for 35 minutes.


In a blender put the pine nuts, cilantro or basil, olive oil, parmesan cheese and salt. We don't add garlic since we use roasted garlic as a spread.


Spread each bread slice with a garlic clove, add the pesto and place on a platter.

Sole with Lemon Sauce and Capers (Lenguado con salsa de limón y alcaparras)

Sole is a very delicate white fish. It is very common in Spain, as are the lemons and capers featured in this recipe. The Spanish word for caper is of arabic origin: "alcaparra." Spain is the largest producer of capers, a Mediterranean product. This recipe is quick and very simple to make.

Ingredients:

6 sole fillets

For the sauce:

1 1/2 cups plain yogurt
juice from one lemon
1/2 small red onion finely chopped
1/2 tablespoon mustard
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons capers
Salt and pepper

Mix all the sauce ingredients and heat in a double boiler.

In a hot pan put 1 tablespoon olive oil and add the sole fillets. When they are turning a golden color, turn them and cook the other side. Remove from the pan and season, place on a plate and add the sauce.

Apple Roll with Blood Sausage (Pintxo de manzana con morcilla)

I will call this tapa a "pintxo" because it is held together by a toothpick. This is an easy, quick and simple pintxo to make.

Pintxo de manzana con morcilla

Ingredients:

1 Apple

1 half blood sausage

Slice the apple very thin, put in layers and then place in the oven at high heat. In the meantime, open the blood sausage and make little balls and then roll  to make cylinders.  Cook the sausage in a pan until brown. When both are done put the sausage on top of the apple and roll it. Hold the roll with a toothpick.

Homemade Potato Chips and Onion Duo

How about a cold beer or wine with a free tapa of homemade chips and onions? That would be something that you would get if ordering a drink in Granada or Madrid but in other regions of Spain you will have to pay for it.

Ingredients:

3 potatoes finely sliced

3 onions finely sliced

olive oil or vegetable oil

"Maldon" sea salt

If you have a mandolin you can decide how thin you would like to cut your potatoes and onions. Otherwise, you have to work your knife skills.

Fill a deep pan almost half full with olive oil or vegetable oil. When the oil gets really hot, pour the  potatoes in the oil one at a time and stir them, so they don't get stuck to each other. When they get golden brown remove them and put on a paper towel.

Do the same with the onions. Add "Maldon" salt or sea salt. This type of potato, since most  people buy them already made, is called "patatas de churrería," because where they make "churros", they also make chips.

Port Pork tenderloin (Solomillo de cerdo al oporto)

This recipe for pork tenderloin should be done with a sweet wine like a "Pedro Ximenez" or in this case a port with grapes and raisins. 

Ingredients:

2 pork tenderloins

4 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup port

1 cup fresh grape juice

1 cup chicken broth 

1 tablespoon corn starch

1/2 cup raisins presoaked in water

salt and pepper

onion finely sliced and fried to garnish the dish

grapes for garnish

steamed asparagus

for the mashed potatoes:

6 big yukon gold potatoes cut in cubes

1 garlic head

salt

cream

Sear the tenderloins in olive oil on high heat and remove from the pan. Add the port to the pan, the grape juice, add the tenderloins and cook on low heat for about 20 minutes. Then add the corn starch diluted in the cup of chicken broth. Let it reduce about ten minutes and then add the raisins. Remove the tenderloin, and let the sauce reduce more to your likeness. 

Serve on a platter with the sauce, grapes, green asparagus, mashed potatoes, and fried onions.

Veal Fricassee (Fricandó de ternera)

"Fricandó"  is a traditional Catalan fall dish of veal and a sauce made of onions, garlic, carrots, tomatoes and wine, with thyme, rosemary, and fall mushrooms. It is cooked slowly on low heat.

Ingredients:


6  veal steaks
flour
2 onions finely chopped
4 garlic cloves finely chopped
1 large carrot sliced
6 ripe grated tomatoes
1/2 cup red wine
2 boxes shiitake mushrooms (for lack of fall mushrooms)
2 boxes oyster mushrooms (for lack of fall mushrooms)


For the picada:


one handful pine nuts
2 slices of fried bread
1 garlic clove
parsley
salt
2 tablespoons chicken stock


Mix all the picada ingredients in a blender or mortar and reserve.


Flour the steaks and sear them in a pan with hot olive oil. When they are brown, remove them from the pan and reserve. In the same pan make the sofrito add the onion, garlic, and carrots and simmer until the onion turns translucent. Then add the grated tomato and as they start reducing add the wine. Cook everything until the mix is reduced. Put the mix in a blender and pureé.


Return the steaks to the pan, add the mushrooms, and put the sofrito (the mix from the blender) on top of the steaks. Let it cook for about an hour on low heat with the lid on or until the steaks are very tender to the touch of a fork. If you need more liquid, add chicken stock. To finish, add the picada and cook for another 10 to 15 minutes.

Pears in Red Wine (Peras al vino)

Another two products that are abundant in Spain are fruits and wine. So what is better than to pair the two of them? Fall is a great season to combine them with the picking of ripe pears and the grape harvest. Some years the abundance of grapes and wine in "La Rioja" was so great that with the surplus they celebrated a festival called "la batalla del vino" (the wine battle). On this day groups of young (and not so young) people squirted wine on each other with sprayers. This celebration continues and is held June 29th in Haro, La Rioja, Saint Peter's Day. In this recipe we are going to mix both products.

Ingredients:

6 pears peeled but keep the stem on
1 liter bottle red wine or 4 cups
4 tablespoons sugar
1 cinnamon stick
2 star aniseed


In a deep pan put the pears, sugar, wine, cinnamon stick and star aniseed. Let them cook until the pears are tender and then remove them from the pan. Reduce the wine until it becomes a syrup. Serve the pears with the syrup and vanilla ice cream.

Cauliflower au gratin (Coliflor gratinada)

"Coliflor gratinada" is great as a tapa or as a side dish to complement meats. My family tradition was/is to serve it on Christmas. Children love it because it has the creaminess of the béchamel and the softness of the cauliflower. The only person I know who didn't like it as a child was my older brother, Javier. Well, I hope he likes it now.

Ingredients:

the florets of 1 cauliflower

4 tablespoons butter

4 tablespoons flour

4 cups hot milk

salt

1 teaspoon nutmeg

parmesan cheese (optional)

Boil the cauliflower with a pinch of salt until tender, remove carefully from the water and strain it.

For the béchamel:

In a sauce pan, put the butter to melt. While it's melting, be careful not to burn the butter. Afterwards, add the flour and stir it. When it is mixed, start adding the hot milk little by little, always stirring it. Add the salt and nutmeg, keep stirring until it thickens, or until it is the consistency that you like.

Put the florets on an ovenproof plater, add the béchamel on top of the cauliflower, add a few thin slices of butter, parmesan cheese (optional), and put it into the broiler until it browns.

Talo con Chorizo y Morokil (Corn Porridge)

TALO is like a "tortilla" in México and Central America or "arepas" in Venezuela and Colombia. They say the secret to a good "talo" is in the corn and the flour. During the XVI century many Basque people went to the Americas on expeditions. The Basque Country is mountainous, wet, and humid, with a lot of rain. For those reasons, there was not an area to grow wheat. In the Americas the Basque discovered corn. Bringing it and adapting it to the Basque Country was easy. They started harvesting corn to feed the animals and to grind in mills as flour. The "talo," or Basque bread, helped during winter months because people could avoid going hungry; it is very filling. Another use of the corn flour is to make "morokil," a mix of corn flour and milk to make porridge. The biggest difference with tortillas is the use of hot water. In the Americas they grind the corn by hand with a stone mill. In the Basque Country there are barely any functioning mills left.


This dish reminds me of my "tías" Eulalia and Josefín. I can picture them cooking "talos" and eating "morokil" for supper or breakfast. At school they used to reward us with a medal pinned onto our uniforms. My reward at home was a merienda of "talo" with chorizo, courtesy of "tía" Eulalia for going home with a medal. Sometimes I used to borrow a medal just to get a "talo." Once the daily bread, today it is the "hamaiketako," the eleven o'clock lunch during fairs and festivals, such as the day of "Santo Tomás" or "San Blas." At least we are keeping the tradition alive!

3 cups corn flour (yellow - amarilla)
hot water
salt
chorizo, txistorra, morcilla, bacon, etc...


Put the flour and salt into a bowl and add hot water from a kettle little by little. Stir, until it gets to be a mix like Play-Doh (humid and flexible). Make a ball and then put it on a wood surface. Dust with flour and pat it down, forming a circle. Place the "talos" in a hot pan. When done on both sides, serve with chorizo (boiled in beer or wine,) morcilla or bacon.


MOROKIL


The "morokil" is another traditional Basque dish. It is made with corn flour and hot milk, and it is usually eaten for breakfast or supper.

Ingredients:

1 cup corn flour (yellow-amarilla)

2 cups hot milk boiled with cinnamon and lemon peel

1 tablespoons brown sugar

agave honey or regular honey

wild fruits for toppings

The original dish didn't have cinnamon or fruits. A simple filling dish and an alternative for celiacs. 

Pigs Feet (Manitas o patitas de cerdo)

This is another traditional Spanish dish and in every region it is made in a different way. I made the pigs feet "Catalan style." I call this dish Catalan style because it is done with the famous "picada," which is a mix of a couple of slices of fried bread, garlic, almonds, pine nuts, a couple tablespoons of chicken broth and salt to help mash all the ingredients in a mortar.

During times when food was not abundant, when there were not large stores or supermarkets, and  before the industrial revolution that created work in factories, many people were farmers and they had to use everything or most parts of the animals they slaughtered in order to survive the winter months. This dish is one such example.

Ingredients:

2 lbs. pigs feet
2 red onions finely chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
5 ripe grated tomatoes 
2 large carrots sliced thin
1 dried cayenne pepper

1/2 glass white wine
3 cups chicken stock (low in sodium)
12 toasted marcona almonds
1/2 cup pine nuts
2 slices fried bread
5 garlic cloves
a pinch of saffron
salt and pepper
2 potatoes cut in cubes

In a deep 2 quart pan put the pig's feet to boil. After an hour remove them from the pan and discard the boiling water. Add clean water to the pan and then the pigs feet and boil them on  medium heat for three hours or until tender.

While the pigs feet are cooking, start the sofrito in a pan by cooking the onions, cayenne pepper and carrots in olive oil until the onions turn translucent. Then add the tomato and cook until the sauce starts thickening and the carrots are tender. Remove from the pan, put in a blender and puré. 

Put the pig's feet in the same pan that you used to cook the sofrito. Pour the puré over the pig's feet, add the wine, and cook for about 5 minutes. Then add the chicken stock and let it reduce. 

While it is cooking, make the picada. The original picada was done in a mortar but I use a blender to puré the marcona almonds, pine nuts, fried bread, garlic, a pinch of saffron, about 1/2 cup chicken stock, salt and pepper. Pour the picada over the pig's feet and let it cook on low heat for about 30 minutes until the sauce starts thickening. Fry the potatoes and add to the pig's feet. They are just delicious!

Lime Soup (Sopa de lima)

We love to travel and two of our favorite destinations are Guatemala and the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. A year ago we discovered the beautiful Mexican state of Campeche and enjoyed this soup, very similar to one we had as we traveled from Guatemala City to Lake Atitlán.

Ingredients:

4 corn tortillas
1 can diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
8 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3-4 fresh serrano or jalapeño peppers, sliced
4 cups chicken broth
2 boneless chicken breasts, cooked and diced
1 bay leaf
juice of 3-4 limes, fresh squezzed
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
salt and pepper to taste

Toast the tortillas in the oven until crisp. Then cut in slices and set aside. Sauté the tomatoes, onion, garlic and peppers in olive oil until done.  Add the broth, chicken and bay leaf. As the soup heats, add the lime juice, cilantro, salt and pepper. Then add the tortilla slices and stir well. Remove the bay leaf and serve with additional lime wedges.

Apple Torte (Pastel de Manzana)

Sunday's lunch is the time reserved for sweet desserts; otherwise, a variety of fruits is the custom. This recipe, with other cakes, tortes, and sweets, is reserved for Sundays and holidays. 

Ingredients:


1 sheet puff pastry
3 apples
sugar
peach marmalade


Leave the puff pastry to defrost. Then, roll it with a rolling pin from the center to the edges. Peal the apple and cut it in small wedges. Sprinkle granulated sugar over it. Put it on a tray and into a preheated oven at 325˚F. The baking time will depend on the type of apple and the its thickness. When it turns brown, remove from the oven and add the peach jam. Serve with some strawberries, wild fruits, and cream.

Ham Sandwich with Colored Pepper Vinaigrette (Bocata de jamón dulce con vinagreta de pimientos)

This is a very simple sandwich to make but full of flavor, from the smokiness of the ham and the acidity of the vinaigrette to the buttery texture of the lettuce.

Ingredients:

1/4 green pepper finely chopped or cut in julienne

1/4 yellow pepper finely chopped or cut in julienne

1/4 red pepper finely chopped or cut in julienne

1/2 red onion finely chopped

1 teaspoon mustard (optional)

olive oil

wine or sherry vinegar 

smoked ham slices

butter lettuce

baguette

Mix the peppers, onion, vinegar and olive oil in a bowl.  If you like you can add a teaspoon of mustard.

Make the vinaigrette a couple of hours before you use it and keep in the refrigerator. Open the bread and layer the sandwich with vinaigrette, lettuce, ham and more vinaigrette.