Global Holiday Gift Guide
Whole Bellota Love - Ibérico de Bellota Ham
F. Martin Ramin
The ham from Ibérico de Bellota—made from acorn-fattened, black-hoofed pigs of southern Spain—is one of the country's great (and wildly expensive) delicacies. Eating Ibérico de Bellota is a rare treat, and cooking with it in its uncured form is almost unheard of. That's what makes the lomo, or loin, sold by importer La Tienda so special. Finely marbled with nutty fat, this cut stays succulent when grilled or roasted. Aljomar Lomo Ibérico de Bellota Pork Loin $45, for about one pound
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F. Martin Ramin
The ham from Ibérico de Bellota—made from acorn-fattened, black-hoofed pigs of southern Spain—is one of the country's great (and wildly expensive) delicacies. Eating Ibérico de Bellota is a rare treat, and cooking with it in its uncured form is almost unheard of. That's what makes the lomo, or loin, sold by importer La Tienda so special. Finely marbled with nutty fat, this cut stays succulent when grilled or roasted. Aljomar Lomo Ibérico de Bellota Pork Loin $45, for about one pound
Restaurants Open Up a Whole New Can of Seafood
Where to find the best selection of conservas, the imported seafood in a tin that tapas bars and pintxo bars specialize in.
Alina Dizik
At Bar Vivant, “a proper tapas bar” in Portland, Ore., a $10 appetizer of scallops in tomato sauce is ready in 30 seconds flat.
A server opens a can behind the bar, places it on a plate and then presents it to the diner, displaying the hand-packed arrangement of delicate mollusks inside. Diners spear them with a fork or a toothpick.
Restaurant owner Cheryl Wakerhauser says she added the dish, known in Spanish as conservas, for the simplicity. “We wanted quality bar food that didn’t need a whole lot of preparation,” she said.
Adventurous diners on the prowl for the next trendy appetizer have discovered conservas, imported seafood like clams, anchovies, oysters, mussels and octopus that are preserved in brine, oil or a tomato-based sauce and often served straight from a vintage-style tin.
Tapas bars and Spanish-inspired chefs find U.S. diners are willing to spend top dollar for the delicacies. Restaurateurs like the zero prep work as well as the expiration dates that are years, not days, away.
The conservas served at Donostia, a Basque-style bar with two New York City locations, include briny razor clams and olive oil-soaked nail sardines—many imported from regions in the north of Spain.
“Canning itself is an art form,” says co-owner Jorge de Yarza, whose menu features some 65 kinds of conservas. Many are displayed like a kaleidoscope and available for retail purchase. This fall, Donostia became the sole U.S. distributor of the Espinaler seafood brand.
Tinned seafood is a specialty of the Basque, Galicia and Cantabria regions in northern Spain, and a popular offering in tapas restaurants, says Joseba Encabo, associate professor of culinary arts at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y. who specializes in Basque cuisine. “Americans are waking up to the potential of delicious food out of a can,” he says.
Depending on how conservas are served, diners don’t always realize that the seafood isn’t fresh. Rajani Tewari, a 54-year-old therapist, says she thought the fish she had ordered on her first few visits to Donostia were “locally sourced ingredients.” “Tinned food was something you did if there was a hurricane,” said Ms. Tewari. She says she enjoys the sharper flavors of the tinned fish, including hard-to- find sardines, paired with a sherry wine.
Some U.S. restaurateurs are starting to run nice side businesses selling the colorful tins at retail. José Andrés, the Washington, D.C., chef, began selling the tins two years ago at his restaurants to fans in the know, and now has partnered with Los Peperetes, a Spanish cannery. The full range is available through an online Spanish food retailer, La Tienda, and in some Whole Foods stores. Mr. Andrés’s line also includes preserved vegetables, such as roasted Piquillo peppers.
“While a fresh clam is delicious, a clam that has been canned has become a different product,” says Mr. Andrés, whose restaurants include The Bazaar by José Andrés in Los Angeles, and Oyamel Cocina Mexicana in Washington D.C.
Rather than masking the seafood with heavy sauces, Mr. Andrés serves conservas with just a drizzle of olive oil, a squeeze of lemon, a pinch of paprika or a handful of potato chips—the sort of simple preparations Basque pintxo bars are known for. Even bread is optional, Mr. Andrés says. “You can be climbing Mount Everest and in less than two minutes you are enjoying a high quality snack.”
Seafood becomes tender when preserved in olive oil, a tomato-based sauce or its own brine, chefs say. Small producers in Europe and elsewhere clean and pack the fish at its peak, and the tins can be opened and contents served years later.
Most contain a portion of only several ounces of fish, little enough to eat in one sitting. “The Spanish have always looked at [tinned seafood] as a luxury ingredient,” says Gareth Maccubbin, co-owner of Maiden Lane, a New York cocktail bar that opened two years ago and now offers more than 50 varieties of conservas. In addition to Spanish imports, Mr. Maccubin offers smoked oysters from Ekone Oyster Co., based in Bay Center, Wash., which sell for $15 a can. He says Icelandic cod liver with a “mild” taste is a best-seller at $9 a can.
Four months ago, Matt Wixter opened Wixter Market in Chicago, a seafood shop specializing in flash-frozen fish. Spanish-style canned seafood now makes up 30% of sales, he says. The store might open up an $8, 4-ounce tin of ventresca, or tuna belly, for customers to sample in hopes they will splurge. Last month, he started a distribution company for imported tinned seafood and is working with local restaurants to offer it on their menus.
Many Americans seek out conservas for the first time after a Spanish vacation. Home from a recent trip to Barcelona, Anthony Luzius went online to ordered two cans of razor clams from La Tienda. He found the product can take some getting used to. It “wasn’t the most pleasing thing to look at,” he says, about opening the can. As Mr. Luzius was making dinner with his wife, he served the clams as an appetizer with a glass of wine. Before picking up the long- shaped clam, “she made a face,” he said.
At Aatxe, in San Francisco, chef partner Ryan Pollnow says diners feel “safer” about the idea of conservas when it is local seafood preserved in glass canning jars.
Mr. Pollnow is creating appetizers that he says “mimic the Spanish technique.” He smokes his own albacore tuna, steams clams with a parsley-filled salsa verde and uses paprika to prepare mussels escabeche. In November, he’ll start offering house-prepared mackerel and sardines.
Mr. Pollnow, who opened Aatxe in April, says his $12 jarred mussels appetizer is one of his most popular dishes. “Almost every table was starting their meal with a jar of mussels,” he said. “People were going nuts over it.”
Some retailers promote canned fish as “aged,” a process that makes the fish more tender and mellows out flavors. Two years ago, Zingerman’s Delicatessen, in Ann Arbor, Mich., introduced five-year- old French vintage sardines. Customers are encouraged to taste.
Now, Zingerman’s features a “tin of the month,” says William Marshall, Zingerman’s retail manager. He estimates 20% of sales at the deli now come from tinned seafood, which Zingerman’s sells in the store and online. “We kind of created a little craze for it,” Mr. Marshall says.
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Alina Dizik
At Bar Vivant, “a proper tapas bar” in Portland, Ore., a $10 appetizer of scallops in tomato sauce is ready in 30 seconds flat.
A server opens a can behind the bar, places it on a plate and then presents it to the diner, displaying the hand-packed arrangement of delicate mollusks inside. Diners spear them with a fork or a toothpick.
Restaurant owner Cheryl Wakerhauser says she added the dish, known in Spanish as conservas, for the simplicity. “We wanted quality bar food that didn’t need a whole lot of preparation,” she said.
Adventurous diners on the prowl for the next trendy appetizer have discovered conservas, imported seafood like clams, anchovies, oysters, mussels and octopus that are preserved in brine, oil or a tomato-based sauce and often served straight from a vintage-style tin.
Tapas bars and Spanish-inspired chefs find U.S. diners are willing to spend top dollar for the delicacies. Restaurateurs like the zero prep work as well as the expiration dates that are years, not days, away.
The conservas served at Donostia, a Basque-style bar with two New York City locations, include briny razor clams and olive oil-soaked nail sardines—many imported from regions in the north of Spain.
“Canning itself is an art form,” says co-owner Jorge de Yarza, whose menu features some 65 kinds of conservas. Many are displayed like a kaleidoscope and available for retail purchase. This fall, Donostia became the sole U.S. distributor of the Espinaler seafood brand.
Tinned seafood is a specialty of the Basque, Galicia and Cantabria regions in northern Spain, and a popular offering in tapas restaurants, says Joseba Encabo, associate professor of culinary arts at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y. who specializes in Basque cuisine. “Americans are waking up to the potential of delicious food out of a can,” he says.
Depending on how conservas are served, diners don’t always realize that the seafood isn’t fresh. Rajani Tewari, a 54-year-old therapist, says she thought the fish she had ordered on her first few visits to Donostia were “locally sourced ingredients.” “Tinned food was something you did if there was a hurricane,” said Ms. Tewari. She says she enjoys the sharper flavors of the tinned fish, including hard-to- find sardines, paired with a sherry wine.
Some U.S. restaurateurs are starting to run nice side businesses selling the colorful tins at retail. José Andrés, the Washington, D.C., chef, began selling the tins two years ago at his restaurants to fans in the know, and now has partnered with Los Peperetes, a Spanish cannery. The full range is available through an online Spanish food retailer, La Tienda, and in some Whole Foods stores. Mr. Andrés’s line also includes preserved vegetables, such as roasted Piquillo peppers.
“While a fresh clam is delicious, a clam that has been canned has become a different product,” says Mr. Andrés, whose restaurants include The Bazaar by José Andrés in Los Angeles, and Oyamel Cocina Mexicana in Washington D.C.
Rather than masking the seafood with heavy sauces, Mr. Andrés serves conservas with just a drizzle of olive oil, a squeeze of lemon, a pinch of paprika or a handful of potato chips—the sort of simple preparations Basque pintxo bars are known for. Even bread is optional, Mr. Andrés says. “You can be climbing Mount Everest and in less than two minutes you are enjoying a high quality snack.”
Seafood becomes tender when preserved in olive oil, a tomato-based sauce or its own brine, chefs say. Small producers in Europe and elsewhere clean and pack the fish at its peak, and the tins can be opened and contents served years later.
Most contain a portion of only several ounces of fish, little enough to eat in one sitting. “The Spanish have always looked at [tinned seafood] as a luxury ingredient,” says Gareth Maccubbin, co-owner of Maiden Lane, a New York cocktail bar that opened two years ago and now offers more than 50 varieties of conservas. In addition to Spanish imports, Mr. Maccubin offers smoked oysters from Ekone Oyster Co., based in Bay Center, Wash., which sell for $15 a can. He says Icelandic cod liver with a “mild” taste is a best-seller at $9 a can.
Four months ago, Matt Wixter opened Wixter Market in Chicago, a seafood shop specializing in flash-frozen fish. Spanish-style canned seafood now makes up 30% of sales, he says. The store might open up an $8, 4-ounce tin of ventresca, or tuna belly, for customers to sample in hopes they will splurge. Last month, he started a distribution company for imported tinned seafood and is working with local restaurants to offer it on their menus.
Many Americans seek out conservas for the first time after a Spanish vacation. Home from a recent trip to Barcelona, Anthony Luzius went online to ordered two cans of razor clams from La Tienda. He found the product can take some getting used to. It “wasn’t the most pleasing thing to look at,” he says, about opening the can. As Mr. Luzius was making dinner with his wife, he served the clams as an appetizer with a glass of wine. Before picking up the long- shaped clam, “she made a face,” he said.
At Aatxe, in San Francisco, chef partner Ryan Pollnow says diners feel “safer” about the idea of conservas when it is local seafood preserved in glass canning jars.
Mr. Pollnow is creating appetizers that he says “mimic the Spanish technique.” He smokes his own albacore tuna, steams clams with a parsley-filled salsa verde and uses paprika to prepare mussels escabeche. In November, he’ll start offering house-prepared mackerel and sardines.
Mr. Pollnow, who opened Aatxe in April, says his $12 jarred mussels appetizer is one of his most popular dishes. “Almost every table was starting their meal with a jar of mussels,” he said. “People were going nuts over it.”
Some retailers promote canned fish as “aged,” a process that makes the fish more tender and mellows out flavors. Two years ago, Zingerman’s Delicatessen, in Ann Arbor, Mich., introduced five-year- old French vintage sardines. Customers are encouraged to taste.
Now, Zingerman’s features a “tin of the month,” says William Marshall, Zingerman’s retail manager. He estimates 20% of sales at the deli now come from tinned seafood, which Zingerman’s sells in the store and online. “We kind of created a little craze for it,” Mr. Marshall says.
Oprah's Favorite Things 2015
Chips to Flip For
"I discovered these potato chips in Spain this summer. They're dangerous—super crunchy with an intense black truffle taste. Bet you can't eat just one...unless it's one entire bag! Bring them to a holiday open house for a sure hit." — Oprah
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"I discovered these potato chips in Spain this summer. They're dangerous—super crunchy with an intense black truffle taste. Bet you can't eat just one...unless it's one entire bag! Bring them to a holiday open house for a sure hit." — Oprah
Cooking with O.C. Chefs: Schooled on Tapas-style Rellenos
Cathy Thomas
The allure of piquillo peppers is more than just their bright red color and sweet, seductive flavor. Fire-roasted, peeled, seeded and packed in jars or cans, the mild Spanish chilies are convenient ready-to-use wonders. No spicier than a bell pepper, they measure about 2-3 inches from shoulder to tip.
In tapas bars throughout Spain they are everyday fare, stuffed with cheese, meat or seafood. On local turf, I’m partial to Michael Campbell’s piquillos that are filled to the brim with vibrant components. Campbell, executive chef at Pueblo in Costa Mesa, offers his own twist on the pepper-based delicacies at this modern-yet-intimate tapas eatery.
“The piquillos rellenos are one of the most popular dishes on our menu,” he explained when he made a visit to my home kitchen to show me how to prepare them. “They are an interesting blend of my Baltimore roots and my experience working the line in a restaurant in Barcelona. Stuffed piquillos are a very traditional tapa, so at first I wanted to stay away from them (on the Pueblo menu) … initially they didn’t seem creative enough. But then I dreamed up my own version.”
The heart of his filling is Atlantic cod and Spanish Tetilla, a soft and creamy cow’s milk cheese. They bake in a shallow puddle of onion sauce that bubbles up around them as they heat. The garnish includes a crown of relish made of preserved lemon, shallot, Fresno chili and capers. Aleppo pepper, chopped chives, fennel fronds and fennel pollen cap off the dish, adding both color and flavor bling.
Piquillo peppers are sold at specialty markets such as Surfas Culinary District in Costa Mesa. Campbell says that if you want to roast and peel your own, substitute sweet mini peppers, those small mixed-colored (red, orange, yellow) fresh peppers often packaged in cellophane bags.
Although it isn’t exactly the same, an acceptable substitute for Tetilla is havarti. Tetilla cheese is sold at tienda.com or can be ordered from a local cheese shop if they don’t stock it...
Read more
The allure of piquillo peppers is more than just their bright red color and sweet, seductive flavor. Fire-roasted, peeled, seeded and packed in jars or cans, the mild Spanish chilies are convenient ready-to-use wonders. No spicier than a bell pepper, they measure about 2-3 inches from shoulder to tip.
In tapas bars throughout Spain they are everyday fare, stuffed with cheese, meat or seafood. On local turf, I’m partial to Michael Campbell’s piquillos that are filled to the brim with vibrant components. Campbell, executive chef at Pueblo in Costa Mesa, offers his own twist on the pepper-based delicacies at this modern-yet-intimate tapas eatery.
“The piquillos rellenos are one of the most popular dishes on our menu,” he explained when he made a visit to my home kitchen to show me how to prepare them. “They are an interesting blend of my Baltimore roots and my experience working the line in a restaurant in Barcelona. Stuffed piquillos are a very traditional tapa, so at first I wanted to stay away from them (on the Pueblo menu) … initially they didn’t seem creative enough. But then I dreamed up my own version.”
The heart of his filling is Atlantic cod and Spanish Tetilla, a soft and creamy cow’s milk cheese. They bake in a shallow puddle of onion sauce that bubbles up around them as they heat. The garnish includes a crown of relish made of preserved lemon, shallot, Fresno chili and capers. Aleppo pepper, chopped chives, fennel fronds and fennel pollen cap off the dish, adding both color and flavor bling.
Piquillo peppers are sold at specialty markets such as Surfas Culinary District in Costa Mesa. Campbell says that if you want to roast and peel your own, substitute sweet mini peppers, those small mixed-colored (red, orange, yellow) fresh peppers often packaged in cellophane bags.
Although it isn’t exactly the same, an acceptable substitute for Tetilla is havarti. Tetilla cheese is sold at tienda.com or can be ordered from a local cheese shop if they don’t stock it...
Ibérico Ham Is Slowly Making Its Way Stateside
Megy Karydes
It’s a beloved taste throughout Spain, yet one of the world’s finest and most expensive delicacies is not easily accessible in the United States: Iberico ham. Once prohibited from being imported into the country, 100% Iberico jamon now can be found only in select gourmet retailers and a handful of fine restaurants.
FERMIN Iberico ham first brought it to the U.S. market in 2007, quickly followed by Cinco Jotas. La Tienda offers a range of Iberico jamon online and this 14.5 pound piece will run you $1,148.95, on sale including shipping, but it doesn’t come with the holder.
To appreciate why Iberico jamon is so valued, one must understand the conditions in which it’s produced. First, it is nearly impossible to recreate the complex weather conditions found in Jabugo, where the ancient breed of black pig, found only in Spain, roams wild on two to four acres each. An herbivore, it only feeds on herbs, vegetables and primarily acorn. Lots of acorn. In fact, the pig’s acorn-rich diet is what makes Iberico ham stand out from other types of ham and helps give it its unique and nutty flavor.
Then there is the time-consuming process to make it into the final product. The ham is laid in sea salt for several days, removed, cleaned off and cured before it’s placed into an underground cave for two and a half to three and a half years. It’s not done yet. The maestro jamonero comes in for quality control and to give the final approval that it’s ready for market.
The fact that Iberico ham is so rare and takes so much time to prepare is part of the reason that its cost rivals that of other delicacies like caviar. The other reason was that import regulations restricted it from making its way across the pond and into the United States until 2007.
Being from Portugal, ATRIO Executive Chef Antonio Cardoso was no stranger to Iberico ham so he was especially excited when the opportunity presented itself to introduce Cinco Jotas 100% Iberico ham to his guests as an off-the-menu option. At ATRIO, Conrad New York hotel’s on-property restaurant, Cardoso personally comes out to carve and serve the Iberico ham right at his guests’ table.
“We are serving it plain, with grilled Tuscan bread, or as a complement to some of our current spring dishes, for example, our Local Burrata,” says Cardoso. “ATRIO is the perfect restaurant to feature Cinco Jotas as we are not only able to complement it with some of our great wines but it blends very well with the Mediterranean cuisine.”
He recommends pairing Iberico ham with a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon.
ATRIO joins the ranks of L’Atelier Joel Robuchon in Paris, Da Dong Roast Duck in Beijing and La Marée in Moscow now offering Spain’s national treasure but be sure to ask for it since you won’t find it on the menu. And, like wine is best after you open the bottle, Iberica ham tastes best when enjoyed as soon as it’s sliced.
Front Burner
To Drizzle: The Olive Oil Is Just a Start
Florence Fabricant
The opaque blue glass bottle with a chunky wood stopper is a draw. Finish the excellent organic olive oil it contains, soak off the labels, and you have a serve-worthy vessel for more oil or your own vinaigrette. But first the oil itself: Bright chartreuse, viscous, fresh and floral with a subtle bite, it’s mostly from nevadillo blanco fruit that’s estate-grown in the hills above Córdoba in southern Spain. The family that farms the land has been at it since 1875; the importer, Culinary Collective, donates its profits so the family can eventually purchase the property: Olivar de la Luna, $38.95 for 17.5 ounces from tienda.com.
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Florence Fabricant
The opaque blue glass bottle with a chunky wood stopper is a draw. Finish the excellent organic olive oil it contains, soak off the labels, and you have a serve-worthy vessel for more oil or your own vinaigrette. But first the oil itself: Bright chartreuse, viscous, fresh and floral with a subtle bite, it’s mostly from nevadillo blanco fruit that’s estate-grown in the hills above Córdoba in southern Spain. The family that farms the land has been at it since 1875; the importer, Culinary Collective, donates its profits so the family can eventually purchase the property: Olivar de la Luna, $38.95 for 17.5 ounces from tienda.com.
Four Wines to Try This Week
Dave McIntyre
Trossos del Priorat Lo Petit de la Casa 2011
? ? 1/2
Priorat, Spain, $20
Priorat, near Barcelona, became fashionable for its brooding, brawny wines with high alcohol that resemble a furnace, a style I don’t particularly care for. The Lo Petit is made from this winery’s younger vines, so it emphasizes more fruit flavors than Priorat tends to display. The alcohol is not shy by any means, but it is well-balanced. This wine is a nice partner to hearty meat dishes. ABV: 14.5 percent.
The Spanish Wine Importers: Available in the District at Ace Beverage, Cordial Fine Wine & Spirits; on the list at Bodega, Estadio. Available online from www.tienda.com. Available in Virginia at Arrowine and Cheese and Twisted Vines Bottleshop in Arlington; Cheesetique (Alexandria, Arlington); Classic Wines in Great Falls; Clifton Wine Shop; Grapevine in Warrenton; Market Street Wineshop and Wine Warehouse in Charlottesville; Planet Wine & Gourmet in Alexandria; Swirl & Sip in Fairfax; Union Market in Richmond; the Vineyard in McLean; the Wine Outlet in Vienna; WineStyles (Montclair).
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Trossos del Priorat Lo Petit de la Casa 2011
? ? 1/2
Priorat, Spain, $20
Priorat, near Barcelona, became fashionable for its brooding, brawny wines with high alcohol that resemble a furnace, a style I don’t particularly care for. The Lo Petit is made from this winery’s younger vines, so it emphasizes more fruit flavors than Priorat tends to display. The alcohol is not shy by any means, but it is well-balanced. This wine is a nice partner to hearty meat dishes. ABV: 14.5 percent.
The Spanish Wine Importers: Available in the District at Ace Beverage, Cordial Fine Wine & Spirits; on the list at Bodega, Estadio. Available online from www.tienda.com. Available in Virginia at Arrowine and Cheese and Twisted Vines Bottleshop in Arlington; Cheesetique (Alexandria, Arlington); Classic Wines in Great Falls; Clifton Wine Shop; Grapevine in Warrenton; Market Street Wineshop and Wine Warehouse in Charlottesville; Planet Wine & Gourmet in Alexandria; Swirl & Sip in Fairfax; Union Market in Richmond; the Vineyard in McLean; the Wine Outlet in Vienna; WineStyles (Montclair).
Pushing Tinned
Joseph Saraceno
Canned food isn’t limited to flaked white tuna and Spam.
As Chris Johns discovers on a culinary tour of northern Spain, some of that country’s best gourmet offerings are handsomely prepackaged, deeply flavourful and catching the attention of Canada’s top culinary talents. Time to indulge in some preserved cockles
On the edge of the Bay of Biscay, deep in the heart of Spain’s Basque country, two Canadian chefs, a Spanish gourmet-food importer and I are sporting borrowed rubber boots, lab coats and hairnets to scrape tuna loins for preservation. We’re not doing the best job.
“You must clean them very carefully,” scolds the woman from the production line who is instructing us, her own knife moving with swift precision. “Each jar must contain exactly 150 grams,” she explains through a translator.
Our small group, including Bar Isabel’s Grant van Gameren (often cited as one of Canada’s leading interpreters of Spanish cooking), Maison Publique’s Derek Dammann (acclaimed for his charcuterie expertise) and Serrano Imports CEO Michael Tkaczuk, is eating and working its way across Spain in search of the country’s best preserved foods.
Tkaczuk already imports some of Spain’s finest cured meats – including the specialty hams known as Jamon Iberico – as well as stone-milled barrel- aged paprika and the famous piquillo peppers from Navarra that chefs adore. Now he wants to expand his product line to include conservas, the canned and preserved seafoods that Spain is renowned for.
That’s how we find ourselves getting an immersive lesson in tuna preparation at the Serrats factory. The nearly 125-year-old, family-owned operation is widely considered one of the best producers in the world. Tuna are line caught at the height of the season and cooked with strict timing, then hand-packed and stored in olive oil for months, marinating and mellowing into something very different – but every bit as special – as the freshest product.
As good as conservas can be, however, convincing Canadians that a jar of tuna or a tin of anchovies is worth $15 – and much more for other products – is going to be tricky. Over dinner one night at Quimet y Quimet in Barcelona – the meal included tins of whole scallops, small sandwiches topped with boquerones (marinated white anchovies) and tapas of smoked salmon draped over Greek yogurt with truffle honey – we mulled over the challenge.
“People’s perception of what preserved fish and seafood is brings back pretty diabolical childhood memories,” Dammann says.
“North Americans look at canned seafood only as a form of preservation, which usually meant the lowest quality,” Tkaczuk adds. By comparison, Europeans and especially Spaniards have been developing preserves for 150, 200 years. They’re so past the point of preserving just for storage that they’re a delicacy in their own right.”
The Spanish ability to preserve food at the highest culinary level is probably most recognized in North America in the form of ham. Anyone who’s ever enjoyed a slice of 18-month-aged Serrano from a producer like Fuente or had someone carve a ribbon of Iberico de bellota – the ne plus ultra of Spanish charcuterie – directly from a leg knows why these products cost as much as $100 a pound.
The central place ham occupies in Spanish life was brought home one night while walking down a quiet street in Bilbao. Van Gameren stops dead in his tracks. “Check this out,” he says, pulling out his phone to snap a photo. “It’s a ham vending machine!” Sure enough, the little wood-fronted machine contained nothing but vacuum-sealed packs of ready-to-eat-slices of Serrano ham. We drop in a few euros and tuck into the salty, savoury slices. “This is incredible,” van Gameren announces. “I need to get one of these for the new restaurant.”
It is not the only inspiration van Gameren will find on this trip for the restaurant he plans to open in Toronto later this year. At Campos De Cambados, in the extreme northwest of the country close to the Portuguese border, we are invited into the company’s tasting room. Over glasses of sharp, crisp albarino, our host, manager Jesus Alfonso, gently peels back the lid from an oval tin of cockles. He has reason to be careful. Berberechos, as they are known locally, represent one of the most prized delicacies in Spanish conservas and one tin is worth the equivalent of $30 Canadian.
Inside, the fleshy, golden-tipped bivalves are carefully arranged and tightly packed, resting in a briny liquid.
“I can’t believe how perfectly intact these things are,” van Gameren says. “Have you ever tried getting a cockle out of its shell undamaged like that?
I can barely do it myself. It’s a real sign of the attention to detail these guys are putting into these products.”
Firm, plump and tasting brightly of the ocean, the delicious berberechos are about as far removed from what we Canadians typically associate with tinned seafood as Spam is from Serrano. Alfonso tells us that he actually prefers tinned cockles to fresh.
“With fresh berberechos, the sauce provides the flavour,” he says. “But this way you can really appreciate the flavour of the cockle itself.” It’s an excellent point. On their own, cockles have about as much character as a rubber eraser, but in the can they are nuanced and complex.
Recognizing how much our group likes the berberechos, Alfonso sends someone to retrieve several more of the company’s products, each tin wrapped in their signature fishing-net packaging. We devour small squid preserved in olive oil and skewer thick razor clams on plain toothpicks.
“The texture is amazing,” Dammann says between bites. “They’re cooked under pressure and all the way through, so everything’s concentrated in there. You get the pure essence of the shellfish with the liquor.” A few chunks of bread, another glass of wine and several tins later, the tasting easily becomes a meal.
That evening, over dark glasses of oloroso sherry at a cafe overlooking the Ria de Arosa, Tkaczuk asks the chefs how they might serve some of the conservas we tasted for an audience back home.
“I think it’s best to keep it simple,” Dammann says. “If you want to dress it up, just serve it with some chilies and parsley and some good olive oil, maybe a squeeze of lemon. Otherwise, some nice crusty bread, a few toothpicks and a big plate are all you’ll need.” “That’s how we’re going to treat them at the new place,” van Gameren concurs. “We’re going to kind of have the option of opening the cans for the table or have a mixed plate with a bit of each can with some pickled beets or something like that. A lot of that stuff is going to be an integral part of the new restaurant. I’ve just got to work on getting one of those damn vending machines now.”
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Canned food isn’t limited to flaked white tuna and Spam.
As Chris Johns discovers on a culinary tour of northern Spain, some of that country’s best gourmet offerings are handsomely prepackaged, deeply flavourful and catching the attention of Canada’s top culinary talents. Time to indulge in some preserved cockles
On the edge of the Bay of Biscay, deep in the heart of Spain’s Basque country, two Canadian chefs, a Spanish gourmet-food importer and I are sporting borrowed rubber boots, lab coats and hairnets to scrape tuna loins for preservation. We’re not doing the best job.
“You must clean them very carefully,” scolds the woman from the production line who is instructing us, her own knife moving with swift precision. “Each jar must contain exactly 150 grams,” she explains through a translator.
Our small group, including Bar Isabel’s Grant van Gameren (often cited as one of Canada’s leading interpreters of Spanish cooking), Maison Publique’s Derek Dammann (acclaimed for his charcuterie expertise) and Serrano Imports CEO Michael Tkaczuk, is eating and working its way across Spain in search of the country’s best preserved foods.
Tkaczuk already imports some of Spain’s finest cured meats – including the specialty hams known as Jamon Iberico – as well as stone-milled barrel- aged paprika and the famous piquillo peppers from Navarra that chefs adore. Now he wants to expand his product line to include conservas, the canned and preserved seafoods that Spain is renowned for.
That’s how we find ourselves getting an immersive lesson in tuna preparation at the Serrats factory. The nearly 125-year-old, family-owned operation is widely considered one of the best producers in the world. Tuna are line caught at the height of the season and cooked with strict timing, then hand-packed and stored in olive oil for months, marinating and mellowing into something very different – but every bit as special – as the freshest product.
As good as conservas can be, however, convincing Canadians that a jar of tuna or a tin of anchovies is worth $15 – and much more for other products – is going to be tricky. Over dinner one night at Quimet y Quimet in Barcelona – the meal included tins of whole scallops, small sandwiches topped with boquerones (marinated white anchovies) and tapas of smoked salmon draped over Greek yogurt with truffle honey – we mulled over the challenge.
“People’s perception of what preserved fish and seafood is brings back pretty diabolical childhood memories,” Dammann says.
“North Americans look at canned seafood only as a form of preservation, which usually meant the lowest quality,” Tkaczuk adds. By comparison, Europeans and especially Spaniards have been developing preserves for 150, 200 years. They’re so past the point of preserving just for storage that they’re a delicacy in their own right.”
The Spanish ability to preserve food at the highest culinary level is probably most recognized in North America in the form of ham. Anyone who’s ever enjoyed a slice of 18-month-aged Serrano from a producer like Fuente or had someone carve a ribbon of Iberico de bellota – the ne plus ultra of Spanish charcuterie – directly from a leg knows why these products cost as much as $100 a pound.
The central place ham occupies in Spanish life was brought home one night while walking down a quiet street in Bilbao. Van Gameren stops dead in his tracks. “Check this out,” he says, pulling out his phone to snap a photo. “It’s a ham vending machine!” Sure enough, the little wood-fronted machine contained nothing but vacuum-sealed packs of ready-to-eat-slices of Serrano ham. We drop in a few euros and tuck into the salty, savoury slices. “This is incredible,” van Gameren announces. “I need to get one of these for the new restaurant.”
It is not the only inspiration van Gameren will find on this trip for the restaurant he plans to open in Toronto later this year. At Campos De Cambados, in the extreme northwest of the country close to the Portuguese border, we are invited into the company’s tasting room. Over glasses of sharp, crisp albarino, our host, manager Jesus Alfonso, gently peels back the lid from an oval tin of cockles. He has reason to be careful. Berberechos, as they are known locally, represent one of the most prized delicacies in Spanish conservas and one tin is worth the equivalent of $30 Canadian.
Inside, the fleshy, golden-tipped bivalves are carefully arranged and tightly packed, resting in a briny liquid.
“I can’t believe how perfectly intact these things are,” van Gameren says. “Have you ever tried getting a cockle out of its shell undamaged like that?
I can barely do it myself. It’s a real sign of the attention to detail these guys are putting into these products.”
Firm, plump and tasting brightly of the ocean, the delicious berberechos are about as far removed from what we Canadians typically associate with tinned seafood as Spam is from Serrano. Alfonso tells us that he actually prefers tinned cockles to fresh.
“With fresh berberechos, the sauce provides the flavour,” he says. “But this way you can really appreciate the flavour of the cockle itself.” It’s an excellent point. On their own, cockles have about as much character as a rubber eraser, but in the can they are nuanced and complex.
Recognizing how much our group likes the berberechos, Alfonso sends someone to retrieve several more of the company’s products, each tin wrapped in their signature fishing-net packaging. We devour small squid preserved in olive oil and skewer thick razor clams on plain toothpicks.
“The texture is amazing,” Dammann says between bites. “They’re cooked under pressure and all the way through, so everything’s concentrated in there. You get the pure essence of the shellfish with the liquor.” A few chunks of bread, another glass of wine and several tins later, the tasting easily becomes a meal.
That evening, over dark glasses of oloroso sherry at a cafe overlooking the Ria de Arosa, Tkaczuk asks the chefs how they might serve some of the conservas we tasted for an audience back home.
“I think it’s best to keep it simple,” Dammann says. “If you want to dress it up, just serve it with some chilies and parsley and some good olive oil, maybe a squeeze of lemon. Otherwise, some nice crusty bread, a few toothpicks and a big plate are all you’ll need.” “That’s how we’re going to treat them at the new place,” van Gameren concurs. “We’re going to kind of have the option of opening the cans for the table or have a mixed plate with a bit of each can with some pickled beets or something like that. A lot of that stuff is going to be an integral part of the new restaurant. I’ve just got to work on getting one of those damn vending machines now.”
6 Unexpected Pantry Staples We Can't Stop Using
Jasmine, basmati, arborio...and bomba. You need them all.
Belle Cushing
Our nominees for America’s Best New Restaurants have us crushing on these unexpected (and newly essential) pantry staples. Here’s how we’re using them.
1. Lumaconi
Pasta “snails” that trap sauces in their hollows (try broccoli with garlic and oil).
We like: Pastificio G. Di Martino Lumaconi, available at Whole Foods Market
Get the recipe: Lumaconi with Prosciutto and Lemon Breadcrumbs
2. Arepa Flour
Savory breakfast idea: Make golden corn cakes in the time it takes to prepare French toast.
We like: Goya Masarepa
Get the recipe: Arepas
3. Orange-Flower Water
Stir this floral essence into honey or yogurt, or add a few drops to custards.
We like: Nielsen-Massey Orange Blossom Water
Get the recipe: Rice Pudding with Fresh Pears and Honey
4. Bomba Rice
Typically associated with paella, these fat grains make extra-creamy risotto, too.
We like: Peregrino Bomba Paella Rice
Get the recipe: Rice Pudding with Fresh Pears and Honey
5. Cornstarch
The secret ingredient for light, shatteringly crisp fried foods: Replace half the flour in your regular batter with cornstarch and prepare to be amazed.
We like: Argo Corn Starch
Get the recipe: Crab Fat–Caramel Wings
6. Canned Lychees
We’re keeping these on hand for making tropical sorbets and kitschy drink garnishes.
We like: Aroy-D Lychee in Syrup
Get the recipe: Pork Sausage with Coconut-Chile Sauce and Lychees
Read more
Belle Cushing
Our nominees for America’s Best New Restaurants have us crushing on these unexpected (and newly essential) pantry staples. Here’s how we’re using them.
1. Lumaconi
Pasta “snails” that trap sauces in their hollows (try broccoli with garlic and oil).
We like: Pastificio G. Di Martino Lumaconi, available at Whole Foods Market
Get the recipe: Lumaconi with Prosciutto and Lemon Breadcrumbs
2. Arepa Flour
Savory breakfast idea: Make golden corn cakes in the time it takes to prepare French toast.
We like: Goya Masarepa
Get the recipe: Arepas
3. Orange-Flower Water
Stir this floral essence into honey or yogurt, or add a few drops to custards.
We like: Nielsen-Massey Orange Blossom Water
Get the recipe: Rice Pudding with Fresh Pears and Honey
4. Bomba Rice
Typically associated with paella, these fat grains make extra-creamy risotto, too.
We like: Peregrino Bomba Paella Rice
Get the recipe: Rice Pudding with Fresh Pears and Honey
5. Cornstarch
The secret ingredient for light, shatteringly crisp fried foods: Replace half the flour in your regular batter with cornstarch and prepare to be amazed.
We like: Argo Corn Starch
Get the recipe: Crab Fat–Caramel Wings
6. Canned Lychees
We’re keeping these on hand for making tropical sorbets and kitschy drink garnishes.
We like: Aroy-D Lychee in Syrup
Get the recipe: Pork Sausage with Coconut-Chile Sauce and Lychees
Culinary Cult Objects: Worth the Price?
Jamón Ibérico de Bellota vs. Edwards 'Surryano' Ham
Josh Ozersky
THE "ULTIMATE" // Jamón Ibérico de Bellota: This Spanish ham is widely promoted as hog heaven, but to me its all-acorn diet gives it an aggressive nuttiness that gets in the way of the pork flavor. $950 for a 12- to 13-pound Fermín ham, tienda.com
THE CHALLENGER // Edwards "Surryano" Ham: This ham produced in Surry, Va., is, to my mind, superior to any Spanish rival in the clarity and force of its pork taste, which neither salt nor smoke can obscure. $215 for a 15- to 17-pound bone-in ham, edwardsvaham.com
THE VERDICT: Unless you are addicted to acorns, it's Surryano by a country mile.
Read more
Josh Ozersky
THE "ULTIMATE" // Jamón Ibérico de Bellota: This Spanish ham is widely promoted as hog heaven, but to me its all-acorn diet gives it an aggressive nuttiness that gets in the way of the pork flavor. $950 for a 12- to 13-pound Fermín ham, tienda.com
THE CHALLENGER // Edwards "Surryano" Ham: This ham produced in Surry, Va., is, to my mind, superior to any Spanish rival in the clarity and force of its pork taste, which neither salt nor smoke can obscure. $215 for a 15- to 17-pound bone-in ham, edwardsvaham.com
THE VERDICT: Unless you are addicted to acorns, it's Surryano by a country mile.
Ham sandwiches: The best thing to eat in Spain
Erica Marcus
What was the best thing you ate in Spain?
I'm just back from a vacation that took me to Tarragona, Valencia and Barcelona in Spain and I ate very, very well -- sea bass that had been swimming in the Mediterranean hours before being grilled, true paella Valenciana cooked over a wood fire. But I think the culinary highlight was the parade of terrific ham sandwiches.
In Spain, it seems, you cannot get a bad ham sandwich. At the Autogrills that punctuate the superhighways, at museum cafes, at snack bars, at tourist sites. It's nothing but great ham sandwiches made without mayo, mustard, pickles, lettuce, tomatoes or cheese. Just good ham and good, crusty rolls.
To understand what makes Spanish ham so great, you need to understand some ham terminology. Strictly speaking, a ham is the hind leg of a pig. Usually, however, the term refers to a cured hind leg. To cure, in culinary terms, is to preserve, and there are two major ways to preserve ham -- with salt and with smoke.
Dry-cured hams are preserved by coating them with salt and aging them until the meat dries out, anywhere from one to three years. The most common dry-cured hams in America are Prosciutto di Parma and Prosciutto di San Daniele imported from Italy.
The Spanish equivalent of prosciutto is jamón serrano. But then Spain kicks it up a notch. Jamón Ibérico is made in a similar fashion but using an ancient breed native to the Iberian peninsula, the pata-negra (black-footed) pig. The pinnacle of Spanish ham is Jamón Ibérico de Bellota, which is made from pata-negra pigs that have ranged free in the oak woods along the border between Spain and Portugal, eating their fill of acorns.
(Spanish ham is much less common in local markets than Italian, but it's widely available online. Tienda.com, a leading importer, sells serrano ham for $19.50 for 6 ounces; Iberico is $25 for 3 ounces; Iberico de Bellota is $48 for 3 ounces. Or, take a field trip to Despaña for the New York area's best selection of imported Spanish foods.)
Picnic Prep: 10 Seafood Conservas That Travel Very Well
Sierra Tishgart
Canned is all too often a dirty word here in the States, but in Spain, canned seafood is considered a delicacy. It's why the new Basque restaurant Huertas offers several conservas, tins of scallops, calms, mussels, anchovies, and sardines. In fact, canned seafood has been such a hit at one-year-old Maiden Lane that in a few weeks, the restaurant will launch an online retail store and begin delivering the cans through Caviar. But here's the most obvious bonus, especially this time of year: Tinned seafood travels well and requires literally no effort to prepare. It's why we're excited about all the excellent brands that are on the market now. Here are ten standouts to look for, providing a very easy way to take picnics to the next level:
Conservas de Cambados
What to Buy: Razor Clams
This Spanish company offers a wide range of canned seafood products: cockles packed in brine, octopus in Galician sauce, mackerel fillets, and even tiny baby eels — a delicacy.
Read more
Canned is all too often a dirty word here in the States, but in Spain, canned seafood is considered a delicacy. It's why the new Basque restaurant Huertas offers several conservas, tins of scallops, calms, mussels, anchovies, and sardines. In fact, canned seafood has been such a hit at one-year-old Maiden Lane that in a few weeks, the restaurant will launch an online retail store and begin delivering the cans through Caviar. But here's the most obvious bonus, especially this time of year: Tinned seafood travels well and requires literally no effort to prepare. It's why we're excited about all the excellent brands that are on the market now. Here are ten standouts to look for, providing a very easy way to take picnics to the next level:
Conservas de Cambados
What to Buy: Razor Clams
This Spanish company offers a wide range of canned seafood products: cockles packed in brine, octopus in Galician sauce, mackerel fillets, and even tiny baby eels — a delicacy.
