White Bean Stew with Codfish (Potaje de Viernes Santo)

This potaje stew is made for Good Friday since Spain is 95 % Catholic. Friday is a day when we don't eat meat and for this reason in Wisconsin there is the tradition of the Friday fish fry started by German Catholics. On Fridays the restaurants couldn't afford to lose clients so the alternative was fish to attract the Catholic population. 


In Spain, we used to eat fish every Friday but now this tradition is only during lent or just on Good Friday. For centuries, the traditional dish on these days has been a potaje of chickpeas with desalted codfish. I am going to use buttery white beans instead of chickpeas.

Ingredients:


6 pieces desalted codfish
1/2 pound white beans, soaked overnight
1/2 onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, sliced
1/2 green pepper
6 slices of roasted red pepper
2 whole dried cayenne peppers
olive oil


This is a dish you have to plan ahead because of desalting the cod. In a pot with cold water desalt the cod fish fillets at least 24 to 48 hours depending on the thickness. Change the water every 6 hours during the first 24 hours or follow the instructions of the vendor. Dry with kitchen towels or paper towel.


In a quart pan cook the onion, garlic and green  pepper. When the onions are translucent, add the white beans and let them cook on low heat until tender or they melt in your mouth. Set them aside.


To cook the cod I tried a new technique since it has to be cooked at a very low temperature, like a confit, and sometimes this is hard to do with certain stoves. What I did was use the oven at the lowest possible temperature as follows: 


First put oil, three of the sliced garlic cloves, one dried cayenne pepper and a pinch of salt in a large baggy. Then add the pieces of cod, get rid of the air, close the bag tightly, and put it in a pan with water. Them cook in the oven, checking often for doneness. The result has to be a flaky and juicy fish. 


To make the pilpil sauce, remove the cod from the bag. Transfer the oil and a few garlic slivers from the bag to a blender and blend on the lowest speed until creamy.


In a sauce pan with a little oil, cook the remaining slices of garlic and the other dried cayenne pepper. When the garlic turns lightly brown remove it from the pan and set aside.

To serve in individual pasta dishes, put beans and then the cod fish. Add the sauce on top, then the fried garlic, and top with a slice of roasted pepper. 

Chickpea Stew (Cocido de garbanzos)

This stew has different varieties, such as a filling meal called "cocido maragato" from the city of Astorga in Castilla-León which has more than 7 different meats, chickpeas, and cabbage, and is served as 3 different dishes. First the meats, then the chickpeas with the cabbage, and finally a soup with the broth of the cooked chickpeas. For Easter the meats are replaced by desalted and rehydrated cod fish. They are cooked in an earthenware pot called an "olla." 
The dish I made is vegetarian. The garbanzo bean or chickpea is a legume which is rich in vitamin B, fiber and protein.

Ingredients:

1 red onion, finely chopped
1/2 green pepper, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped crosswise
1 leek, finely chopped
1 large potato, cut in small pieces
1/2 tablespoon sweet smoked paprika
salt
1 pound garbanzo beans (soak them overnight)
1 cabbage cut in small wedges

First make a "sofrito" with the onion, leek, pepper, garlic, tomatoes, and carrots, and then add the paprika. Next add the potatoes and the garbanzo beans, cover with water, and add a pinch of salt. Let simmer until tender and if necessary add more warm water. 
In a different pot, put water and boil the cabbage. When the garbanzo beans are done, rectify the seasoning if needed. To serve place the stew in soup bowls or pasta bowls and add the cabbage. You can add fried croutons if you wish. 
If you make this recipe with meats, they need to cook from the beginning and require a longer cooking time. If you are making the dish with desalted and rehydrated cod fish, add it at the end and turn off the burner.

Swiss Chard with Chickpeas (Acelgas con Garbanzos)

This dish is a variation of the typical "acelgas con garbanzos." I use the leaves and the stems of the swiss chard. I fill both the stems and the hardboiled eggs with blood sausage. My kids love this dish, of veggies, legumes, potatoes, eggs and, of course, garlic.

Ingredients:

1 bunch swiss chard (separate the leaves from the stems)
1 head of garlic (half chopped and half sliced)
2 cans chick peas
6 small potatoes
1/4 morcilla de Burgos or 1 regular morcilla (blood sausage), crumbled
2 tablespoons milk
3 hardboiled eggs
olive oil
2 teaspoons flour

Separate the leaves of the swiss chard from the stems. Chop the leaves and place both the stems and the leaves  in a pan with boiling water. Add 6 garlic cloves and salt. When the leaves are tender remove them and let the stems cook longer. When they are done,  remove, set aside, and reserve the liquid. In another deep pan  put the potatoes with the skin on and the eggs and boil them. When the eggs and potatoes are done remove them from the pan.

Peel the potatoes, cut them in quarters, put them in a pan with non stick foil, and brown them in a 450˚ oven, stirring so they brown on all sides.

In a large frying pan, put 2 tablespoons olive oil, add the sliced garlic and sauté it until golden brown. Remove the garlic from the pan. Add the swiss chard (just the leaves) and chickpeas, then sauté and add some of the boiling water that was reserved.

In another pan cook the morcilla. Add 2 tablespoons milk and 2 teaspoons flour. Put the mix in half the swiss chard stems and close them with the other stems like a sandwich. Dust them with flour, moisten with egg and fry lightly in oil until golden brown.

To assemble the dish, first put the swiss chard and the chickpeas on a serving platter,  add the fried garlic, the potatoes, the stems filled with morcilla, and the hard boiled eggs. 

Squid Filled Pepper (Pintxo de pimiento relleno de txipiron)

What to do with leftover squid in its own ink? I had to disguise them and make a new dish so I made a tapa with peppers. They were fantastic!! I had eaten them once before but they were done with Gernika peppers.

Ingredients:


1 banana pepper per squid
olive oil


Cut the top of the peppers and remove the seeds and veins. Fry them in a pan with about 1/3 cup olive oil. When done fill them with the squid and put the top back. Heat them in the microwave. Lay  them over a piece of bread and put a "pintxo" or spear to hold it together.

Onion Filled with Orange Lentils (Cebollas rellenas de lentejas)

This is the vegetarian version of "cebollas rellenas." For many families in Spain, during and after the  Civil War, onions were one of the few foods they had to eat. I remember watching a movie of the period where the children would eat raw onions as snacks. Even the great poet Miguel Hernandez has a poem about the onion, "Nanas de la cebolla." It is a nursery rhyme for his son that he wrote in jail after learning from his wife that onions were the only food that she had at home to feed their son. The poem includes the words "cebolla y hambre" (onion and hunger.) It is interesting that the great Chilean poet Pablo Neruda also dedicated a poem to tho onion: "Oda a la cebolla." In hard times filling it was better than just a bare onion. Now, like "shepherds crumbs," such onions have become a fancy dish on many menus.

Ingredients:

1 onion per person
1/4 onion chopped 
1 garlic clove chopped
1/4 green pepper chopped
2 mushrooms chopped
1/3 cup diced tomatoes
1/2 tablespoon smoked paprika
2 cups orange lentils (also known as Turkish)
1 cup chicken bouillon
1 cup of the liquid used to boil the onions

Boil the onions in a pan with water until tender. Make the "sofrito" in another pan by cooking the chopped onion, green pepper, garlic and mushrooms until everything is tender Add the paprika and stir, then add the tomatoes and about 3 tablespoons chicken bouillon. Let everything simmer for about 5  minutes, then add the lentils, stir, and add the rest of the cup of bouillon. Simmer for about 40 minutes adding the water from the onions as needed.

Remove the inside of the boiled onions until you only have two outside layers. Fill the onions with the lentils and broil them until they get a light brown color. If you don't have a broiler, just put them in the oven on high heat for a few minutes.

Beans with Clams (Alubias con almejas)

This is a typical dish of northern Spain, especially Asturias and Galicia. My mom also makes it the Mediterranean way, being from Catalonia, with artichokes. The cooking is a little bit different and I like both ways.

Ingredients:

16 little neck clams (in Spain they will use smaller clams)
2 cans great northern white beans 
1/2 onion
1 - 2 garlic cloves chopped
1/4 green pepper
1 ripe tomato cut and peeled
1 tablespoon olive oil
a pinch of saffron
salt and pepper
1 cup water
2 parsley sprigs
the liquid of cooking the clams

In a pan put the olive oil and start making the sofrito by adding the onions, garlic, green pepper, salt and pepper. When the onions become translucent, add the tomato and cook on low heat. In the meantime, put another pan with water, salt, garlic and parsley and add the clams. Cook them until they open, then remove from the pan. Strain the liquid and reserve to add to the beans.

When the sofrito is done, add the beans and  saffron, cover with the liquid of the clams, and cook for about 15 minutes. Add the beans to the clams. Serve in a bowl.

Basque Beans (Alubias)

This dish is very typical all over Spain and especially in the Basque Country. It is one of those weekly dishes that families make where legumes and meats are mixed. One of the greatest activities in the the Basque Country is hiking in the mountains on weekends so it is not uncommon to eat a good "plato de alubias" at the end of the hike in a local "caserio" (farmhouse) that has just two dishes on its menu: Alubias (beans) and Sopa (soup). This dish is rich in protein with the legumes and the meats. Unfortunately it also has fat but you can make it vegetarian if you don't add the meats.

Beans with Basque hot peppers "guindillas"

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 Pound "Tolosa" Beans
1 Cipollini Onion per person (whole)
2 Leeks cut in 1 inch pieces
1 Head of Garlic 
2 Tablespoons Smoked Paprika
Chicken Stock to cover the alubias (beans)
1/4 Pound Salt Pork
2 Chorizos
Morcilla

Put the beans in water the day before you are going to cook them. Place the garlic, onions, and leeks in a deep pan, sauté them, add the paprika, and stir for about a minute. Add the chicken stock, beans and salt pork and cook until tender. Add the chorizo and morcilla at the end and cook for another 10 to 15 minutes.

Fabada Asturiana

The other day we got the first snow of the season, just a little dust but It felt like eating something hearty. I felt like eating a plate of "alubias" (beans) but I just have "faves" or "fabas." Another type of legume, this dish will fill you. Is is the pride of Asturias Spain, this bean is longer than the average and has a delightful buttery and creamy taste.

Cazuelita de fabada asturiana

Ingredients:


1 Pound dry Faba beans
10-12 Saffron Threads
1/2 Spoon Smoke Paprika
2 Morcilla sausages
2 Chorizo Links
1/2 a pound Salty Pork Belly
1 Ham bone


Put the beans in soaking water the night before. In a quart pan or earthwear pan put the "fabas" with soaking water until it boils, then add the smoke paprika, the saffron mix previously with the juices of the fabas, let it cook for about 15 minutes, and add the meats. Cook it for 2 hours, "scaring" the beans twice, meaning adding cold water a couple of times to avoid the breaking of the beans. Let it rest for another hour and if you let it rest for a day it taste better. Take the meats out of the pan, cut into pieces, serve the beans and then add those meat pieces. The result is amazing.

Black Bean Soup ( Sopa de Alubias/Frijoles Negros)

The fríjol is another product of Mexico and Guatemala, Phaseolus Vulgaris and it was spread quickly through Europe by Spanish soldiers and merchants. It belongs to the family of legumes and  its name comes from the language of Asturias and León (Asturleonés), Fréxol, that was adapted in the Americas as frijól. In Spain is called alubia from the Arabic Al-lubiia. This is a  great substitute for other proteins if you are a vegetarian.

Ingredients:


1 lb Dry Black Beans
2 Quarts Water
2-3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
3 Medium Size Onions finely chopped
2 Green Peppers finely chopped
4 Cloves Garlic minced
1/4 teaspoon Cumin
2 Bay leaves
1 teaspoon Oregano
Salt to taste
Freshly Ground Pepper


To Garnish:


Sour Cream with lemon Zest
Avocado


Soak beans overnight in 2 quarts of water. Boil beans in the soaking water and add 10 more cups of water, salt and pepper. Cook uncovered over medium heat with one green pepper until beans are tender.


In a pan, sauté onions, the remaining pepper, garlic, bay leaves, cumin, and oregano until the onion and peppers are translucent. Add this mixture to the beans and continue cooking partially covered over low heat for another hour. Taste the soup and add more salt and pepper if needed.


Serve in a bowl and top with sour cream and lemon zest. Add avocado.

Lentils

When my niece was here spending a year studying, quite often she missed her dad's lentils the most. So in an attempt to bring her dad's cooking here, and use a lot of veggie's as leftovers, I tried lentils for the first time, and soon after I had the seal of approval. When she went back home one of her favorite memories was Nuria's lentils. Over Christmas I made some for my mom and she was happy and impressed. Mom's love? that was good enough for me. In any case, we would like to share this vegetarian recipe with you.

Lentils with cipollini onion

The lentil belongs to the family of legumes, like beans and garbanzo beans which are rich in fiber, protein and iron.


1/2 Onion finely chopped
1 Leek finely chopped
1 Green Bell Pepper finely chopped
1 Red Pepper finely chopped
1 Tomato finely chopped
1 Carrot finely chopped
1 Potato finely chopped
1 Container Mushrooms finely chopped
3 Tablespoon Garlic
3 Cups Chicken Bouillon
1 Tablespoon Smoke Spanish Paprika
1 Pound of Lentils (previously soaked in water)
1 Cipollini Onion Whole, per person
Water 
Salt and pepper to taste


I start with the "sofrito" a vegetable base of onions, garlic, leeks, green pepper, and tomatoes. Then you add the rest of the veggies, there is no reason not to add others. When the vegetables are soft, add the paprika and cook for a couple of minutes, then add the lentils, the chicken bouillon and simmer for 2-21/2 hours. Again, the timing varies from stove to stove and the type of lentils.


Always taste your food and correct as necessary.




*** If you need to add liquid, make sure it is warm to hot water or chicken bouillon, otherwise you will cut the cooking process with the cold water. When making "fabada" in Asturias they use this process of stopping the cooking process with cold water they call this "asustar a las favas" or to scare the beans.