Grilled Figs with Blue Cheese and Honey (Higos a la plancha con queso azul y miel)

This is a recipe that my friend Mary Pat sent me and it has been very successful. I made it a couple of times and never got to take a picture because they disappeared so fast. July, August and September is the season for figs and what a great opportunity to eat them fresh. When I was growing up we had 4 fig trees and we used to climb the thick branches and eat them from the trees, only to pay for such indulgence with a stomach ache. Today, every time I travel by train to Barcelona I see fig trees along the train tracks and into the artichoke fields and they bring me memories of my childhood.

Ingredients:

1 dozen fresh figs cut in halves
blue cheese, crumbled
honey

Cut the figs in halves. Put them in a hot pan or on a grill until they get caramelized. Remove the figs from the pan/grill, add the crumbled blue cheese and top with honey. Buen Provecho!!!

The "San Viçens" Omelet (Tortilla San Viçens)

In the Sarria neighborhood of Barcelona there is a little Plaza called Plaça San Viçens where there used to be a really classic coffeshop named after the plaza, San Viçens. With its wicker chairs, marble coffee tables, and old Catalan tile, it was a very charming place that was popular with university students, bohemians, and the neighborhood crowd. The specialty tapa was a three layer omelet. Sadly, the coffeshop was demolished and a new building is in its place. The San Viçens might be gone but the memories of sitting with friends and devouring the three layer omelet with rustic bread is still very much alive. 

The three layer omelet was one omelet on top of the other. The first one was made with potato, the second layer was made with zucchini or spinach but I made it with portabella mushrooms, which I find more meaty, and the last layer was a shrimp omelet topped with a pink sauce.

Ingredients for the potato omelet:

5 eggs

4 medium potatoes

olive oil

salt

I add to mine:

1/2 onion

1/2 leek

1/2 green pepper

Peel and cut into small pieces: the potatoes, onions, leek, and pepper. Put the onions, leeks, and peppers into a pan with enough olive oil to cover the potatoes. When the onion starts changing color, add the potatoes and cook on medium to low heat until the potatoes are done. Whisk the eggs in a bowl and add everything except for the oil. Add salt and stir well (you can be generous with the salt because the potatoes absorb it). In a non-stick pan, heat about a tablespoon of olive oil and add the egg and potato mixture. Let it cook on one side. Then take a plate, put it on top of the pan, and turn it upside down, or 180˚. Return the omelet from the plate to the pan to cook the other side. When done, place it on a platter.

Ingredients for the portabella omelet:

2 portabella mushrooms, cut in cubes

1/2 onion, finely chopped

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

salt

4 eggs, whisked well

In a pan with olive oil, sauté the mushrooms with the onion and garlic and then add salt. When the mushrooms are done, remove everything from the pan except the olive oil and add to the eggs. Repeat the same process as with the potato omelet.

Ingredients for the shrimp omelet:

18 to 24 medium size shrimp, finely chopped

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

salt

4 eggs, whisked very well

In a pan, sauté the  shrimp with the garlic in olive oil and add salt. Remove from the pan, add to the eggs, and repeat the same process as in the previous omelets.

For the pink sauce:

2 tablespoons mayonaise 
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon brandy

Mix all ingredients well. 

Stack the omelets on top of each other with the potato omelet on the bottom and the shrimp omelet on top. Add the pink sauce to decorate. 

"Amatxu" Style Rabbit (Conejo estilo "amatxu")

Chicken, pork, veal, beef, lamb, goat, and rabbit are some of the meats consumed in Spain. I will go a little bit further and say that rabbit is the equivalent of turkey in the United States in terms of popularity. Every meat store carries rabbit that is young, lean, and tender. I call this recipe "amatxu" style rabbit because it is the way my mom makes it ("ama" is "mom" in Basque and the suffix "txu" is "dear" so "amatxu" means "dear mom"). Cardiologists in Spain recommend rabbit to their patients because of its lean meat.

Ingredients: Marinate overnight or for a minimum of 12 hours

2 pounds rabbit, cut in pieces 
5 garlic cloves, crushed
1 onion
1/2 cup olive oil
1 cup white wine
salt
freshly ground black pepper

Ingredients:

flour for dusting
1/2 green pepper, finely chopped
1/2 red pepper, finely chopped
3 carrots, cut
3 onions, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 tablespoons tomato sauce
chicken broth (if needed)
2 potatoes, chopped
12 artichoke hearts
1 cup peas

Strain the rabbit from the marinade, saving the marinade for later. Dust the rabbit in flour and lightly fry it in a pan. Lay the pieces on a paper towel and save for later.

In a pot, put the onion and garlic and let them cook slowly on a medium to low burner until the onion becomes translucent.  Add the carrots and peppers. When everything is soft, add the tomato and the liquid used to marinate and cook for another 15 minutes. Then remove the mix from the pot and put it in a chinoise, strainer, or blender.  Add the rabbit to the pot and pour the mixed sauce over the rabbit. If the sauce is too thick, add chicken broth. Cook the rabbit for 20 to 30 minutes or until tender. While the rabbit is cooking, fry the cubed potatoes and the artichokes dusted in flour. Add the potatoes, artichokes, and peas and cook for five minutes. ¡Buen provecho!

Seafood Salad (Salpicón de marisco)

"Salpicón de marisco" is a cold salad from Andalusia and there are as many recipes as cooks. However, the main ingredients are always green pepper, red pepper, tomato, onion, octopus, and prawns. Other people add cucumbers, mussels, shrimp, etc. and a simple vinaigrette of sherry or red wine and Spanish extra virgin olive oil. It is not a ceviche because the seafood is boiled, instead of cooked in lime juice. The "salpicón" is one more addition to the cold and refreshing summer dishes of Andalusian gastronomy, like gazpacho, garlic soup, salmorejo, and picadillo. In taverns and bars, salpicón de marisco is served in small dishes as a complementary tapa and in restaurants it is served as a salad.

Ingredients:

1/2 green bell pepper finely chopped

1/2 red pepper finely chopped

1 ripe tomato finely chopped

1/2 red or white onion finely chopped

1 octopus leg cooked (see entry on how to cook octopus "Pulpo a Feira")

12 prawns, boiled (add the prawns to boiling water and remove them 5 minutes after the water starts boiling again)

1 part sherry or  red wine vinegar to 3 parts extra virgin olive oil.

Salt

Cross cut the octopus and prawns in slices of 1/4 inch. and mix well with the rest of the ingredients. Make a vinaigrette with extra olive oil and vinegar and add to the mix 30 minutes before serving. To finish sprinkle with salt.