Famed iberico ham makes a perfect traveling companion for culinary tour of Spain
Adam Goldman
The bellhop in Madrid had a confused look on his face when I handed him a bag with a black hoof sticking out it.
"What?" I asked. "It's a jamón ibérico de bellota."
The young man understood. As everyone knows in Spain, this was no mere pig. The marbled meat of the jamón de bellota is a delicacy, the granddaddy of all hams. My friends and I had been carrying one around to nibble on during a culinary trip through Spain.
"The ultimate," said Don Harris, who owns La Tienda in Williamsburg, Va., which sells a wide array of Spanish products.
A descendent of the wild boar that predates the Roman Empire, the ibérico or Iberian breed is only found in Spain. The black beasts, commonly known as pata negra or "black hoof," graze in lush mountain meadows called dehesas where they devour mushrooms and roots. The meadows are dotted with oak trees that layer the ground with acorns.
There are two types of ibérico. Jamones ibérico are slaughtered before autumn and the hindquarters are cured for two years. Sausages and a type of ham called lomo can take up to four months to cure.
But it's the bellota (acorn in Spanish) that's most prized and the most expensive. These pigs spend the fall months gorging on acorns, storing huge levels of monounsaturated fat in their muscle -- the same fat found in olive oil. During these particular months, the bellota pigs can double their size, reaching 400 pounds.
For a bellota, curing the hindquarters can last three years. Shoulders for both types of ibérico take a little less time because they're smaller and there's less fat.
Both types of ibérico are covered in sea salt for a number of days and then washed off and put in a cellar to dry. As a result, ibérico hams are less salty than, for example, proscuitto hams, which are hand-salted and slathered in lard, or smoked Virginia hams.
Neither type of ibérico has ever been available in the U.S. But that's about to change, said Taylor Griffin, president of The Rogers Collection, an importing company based in Portland, Maine.
Griffin and the well-known Spanish chef Jose Andres, who has popular restaurants in Washington, D.C., have teamed up to bring the famous hams to the U.S.
"Jose Andres, he's really helped get this whole thing going, convincing the producer it was worth doing," Griffin said.
At the moment, their company, called Fermin USA, is the only approved importer of the ibérico ham, Griffin said. Embutidos y Jamones Fermin in Spain is raising the pigs and exporting them to the U.S. Griffin said in July 2005, the U.S. Department of Agriculture approved an ibérico slaughterhouse in La Alberca, near Salamanca. Last year, some ibérico sausages and lomo were imported into the country, but the shipments were halted after a series of bureaucratic glitches.
Griffin said by the end of the year, all ibérico products -- except for the bellota -- will become available in the U.S. People will have to wait for the bellota until July 2008, Griffin said. Prices will be steep for both products. In the store, a pound of bellota will run about $160, he said. The ibérico will retail at about $85 a pound. (The one we bought in Madrid weighed about 11 pounds and cost $130).
But finding the hams won't be easy. At La Tienda in Williamsburg, customers had to put down a $250 deposit to get the first of these savory pigs. "We've got hundreds of people waiting," said Harris.
Lemon roasted green beans with Marcona almonds
Molly Stevens
This is a fresh twist on green beans amandine. Marcona almonds, from Spain, are more tender than California almonds and are usually sold roasted and salted. Look for them at specialty foods stores and online at tienda.com.
Servings: Makes 8 servings
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Ingredients
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
2 pounds green beans, trimmed
1 onion, peeled, cut into 8 wedges
6 large fresh marjoram sprigs
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Coarse kosher salt
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon (packed) finely grated lemon peel
1/2 cup coarsely chopped Marcona almonds or roasted regular almonds
Preparation
Position 1 rack in top third and 1 rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 450°F. Spray 2 large rimmed baking sheets with nonstick spray. Combine green beans, onion wedges, and marjoram in large bowl. Drizzle with oil, then sprinkle with coarse kosher salt and pepper. Toss; divide between prepared sheets.
Roast vegetables 15 minutes. Reverse sheets. Continue to roast until beans are tender and beginning to brown in spots, about 10 minutes longer.
Transfer vegetables to bowl. Add lemon juice, grated lemon peel, and half of chopped almonds. Toss to coat; season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with remaining almonds.
Entertaining With a Spanish Flair
Karen Berman
A gust of saffron and pimenton perfumes the air. But then, to the dismay of kitchen hoverers gathered around the hostess, she closes the oven door, deciding that the paella inside needs a few more minutes. Out in the living room, the host is wielding a treacherous-looking knife to produce paper-thin slices of jamon de serrano, the famed dry-cured country ham of Spain. Others are scooping up Marcona almonds and olives from pretty cazuelas. Some are sipping fino sherry, while others opt for a lovely Marques de Riscal white verdejo from Rueda. The music is low, the talk is convivial, and the clock seems to be moving in slow motion.
It feels like you've touched down in an apartment in Madrid's posh Salamanca district or a sunny villa on the Costa Brava. But no, this is your house, right here in Connecticut. It's just that you've cleverly transformed it, for one night only, into a corner bit of Spain.
Why Spain? Why now? Well, the food is delicious and quite doable for the home cook who is so inclined, the mood is fun and can be as casual as you like, and - perhaps most compelling for the trend-conscious party-giver - five-hundred-plus years after its first Golden Age, Spain is finally having its moment in the culinary sun.
Spanish food is like the actress who labors for years only to be declared an overnight sensation. It's been around forever, but for the food cognoscenti, it languished in the shadow of other ethnic cuisines, with periodic cameo appearances. In the 1970s, every steak house had its special recipe for sangria, Spain's refreshing wine and fruit quaff. In the 1980s and early '90s, the little dishes known as tapas came to the fore. Too often, though, Spanish food was mistaken for Mexican and vice versa.
It was a happy confluence of events in the 1990s that brought Spanish cuisine to our attention once again. The opening of the Frank Gehry-designed Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao had tourists from around the globe flocking to Spain. And in Catalunya, Chef Ferran Adria, stopped traffic -culinary traffic, that is - with his deconstructive cooking, most famously, his foams.
"People started hearing about Spanish food, about paella and tapas," says Don Harris, founder of tienda.com, a leading online merchant of Spanish food, wine, tableware and gifts. A retired navy chaplain, Harris spent years stationed in Spain and came to love the culture. On his retirement, he and his family began their online business. They now carry more than 600 products and are seeing sales growth of 30 to 40 percent each year, as clear an indicator as any of the rising interest in Spanish food and culture. It was in the late 1990s, he says, that "Spanish food broke into the American consciousness."
Spanish cooking is Mediterranean cooking, says Penelope Casas, who went to Spain as a college student, and, in a double stroke of fate, met her husband-to-be and found her calling as the foremost chronicler of Spanish food for the American cookbook audience. "There's a lot of emphasis on grains, beans, olive oil," she says. "Beef is not a big deal at all. Pork is much bigger, and Spaniards eat tons of seafood." The characteristic flavor profile of Spanish food, Casas adds, comes from a handful of ingredients: tomatoes, red peppers, olive oil, garlic and onion."
"A Spanish social gathering is all about the food," says Diana Lefer, an interior designer based in Fairfield. Lefer, whose father was born in Spain, knows that country well, as she has visited it at least once a year since she was a child, sometimes for months at a time, and she has close family there.
Spanish parties are "always built around the food, often around big-deal festive dishes like paella," agrees Gourmet's food columnist Colman Andrews, the former editor of Saveur and author of Catalan Cuisine: Europe's Last Great Culinary Secret.
"Most Spanish food is not super-elaborate," agrees Don Harris. Both he and Casas note that the lion's share of socializing and entertaining in Spain has traditionally taken place in tapas bars and restaurants.
"Today, however, there is more home entertaining and it's changed a lot," says Lefer. "It used to be very European in style. As with the French, you didn't entertain at home, except family." Those who did entertain at home did so with great formality. "When you went to a formal dinner at someone's home, you would never walk into the kitchen," she recalls. "There wasn't that loose, informal feeling."
"There's often an attractive casualness about Spanish parties," says Andrews. He cautions that entertaining styles in Spain depend on region, socio-economic level and age. But in general, he says, the mood is now relaxed. "It's pretty common for people to pitch in and help."
One thing is certain: When Spaniards do entertain, the food and drink are abundant, and the hospitality is boundless.
"When you visit a Spanish home," says Harris, "they'll sit you down and give you a glass of Manzanilla (sherry) and dishes of almonds or membrillo (quince jelly) and five, six or seven other dishes." Some tapas, in true tradition, will be simple, like the dishes of almonds, but for others, the host will turn to the stove and come up with something a bit more complex. "They might serve some garlic shrimp in a cazuela. You heat the olive oil and cook the shrimp with a little garlic," says Harris. "Very likely you'll be showered with a slew of different treats. Eating them will take hours."
A dinner party can be an equally prolonged affair. Your hosts will have set out a variety of nibbles on a table outdoors or on aside table in the dining room. Familiar tapas might include Cabrales, Spain's fabled blue cheese, or canned smoked mussels on toast rounds. You can visit the hosts in the kitchen as they prepare more elaborate dishes, then wander into the library or the garden, until they call you to the table.
Just don't expect that call to be too soon after your arrival. Andrews adds that parties tend to start later and last longer than they do here: "You'd invite friends for lunch around two or three and go into the evening, or for dinner about nine, sitting down at ten-thirty or eleven, and stretching on into the night."
You, too, can entertain with a Spanish flair. Of course, nothing matches being there, but you can give your party an air of authenticity with the wealth of Spanish products that are now available and with a little imaginacion. Here are some ideas - a checklist to help you get started.
The Food
The concept of tapas adapts well to American entertaining. As Casas points out, "It's finger food; it's easy to eat. People love that. It's party food." Tapas are ideal for those parties when you want your guests to mingle. As the various dishes emerge from the kitchen, they're a surefire stimulant to conversation.
Go buffet style, letting guests fill their own plates. Space out your offerings, though, offering a different one every so often, so people can keep nibbling in authentic tapas fashion.
Another advantage of such a party is that you can mix labor-intensive items with easy ones. Strive for a variety of textures, temperatures and flavors, as well as a mix of vegetables, bread-based nibbles, seafood and meat. In Tapas, Casas divides traditional tapas into four categories: cold and marinated tapas, tapas in sauce, tapas with bread or pastry, and tapas that are baked, fried or grilled just before serving. For a small party, serve one or two dishes of each category. For a larger group of guests, the sky's the limit. In another of her books, La Cocina de Mama, Casas suggests "instant" tapas: almonds, preferably Spain's round, sweet Marconas, fried lightly in olive oil and sprinkled with salt; wedges of manchego cheese with slices of membrillo; dishes of pitted olives, cocktail onions, anchovies, pimiento slices or chunks of tuna speared on tooth picks; green or black olive pate; slices of sauteed chorizo sausage on rounds of bread; or Spanish sardines on garlic toast topped with strips of bottled hot red pepper and chopped parsley. For something a little -complex, but not much, add a few tapas with sauce. The sauce can be as simple as mayonesa or a broth-wine reduction flavored with garlic and onion sauteed in olive oil. Or it can require a bit more labor, as with Casas's Zarzuela de Pescado, a very tasty mix of seafood in almond wine sauce (see recipe at mofflypub.com).
You can make a satisfying meal of tapas, but, if you prefer to serve a true main course, there's no better party dish than paella. For the uninitiated, Harris defines it as "a rice dish cooked in good broth and you add garnishments," which range from vegetables to shellfish to chicken to chorizo (see page 2 for a paella recipe). Lefer notes that paella is traditionally prepared in a special paella pan, whose most important characteristic is its shallowness, which allows even cooking.
"Dessert is very important," she continues. "It used to be that every mother or grandmother would make flan. Now, with all the packaged flans, they don't make it anymore." But flan, Spain's caramel custard, is still a staple, as are tartas - cakes in various flavors. "There's one called brazo de gitano, the Gypsy's arm," says Lefer. "It's a sponge cake and you put in a sherry-flavored filling, roll it like a jelly roll and top it with whipped cream spiked with sherry."
The Pour
Spain has produced wine since before the birth of Christ, and the Spanish wine trade has seen its ups and downs in the centuries since then. Jerez, in southern Spain, has offered up sherry, its fabled fortified wine, for hundreds of years. In fact, the Spanish word for sherry is Jerez; sherry is a British mispronunciation that gained popularity. In the north, Rioja has bottled red wines prized by connoisseurs.
Dry sherry makes a wonderful aperitif and is the perfect accompaniment to tapas. To accompany food, choose from the dry, delicate fino or the very dry Manzanilla, which comes from the port town of Sanlucar de Barrameda. Cava, the sparkling wine of Spain, is a wonderful party drink. Sangria-wine mixed with sliced citrus fruit and, depending on the recipe, simple syrup and soda - is a festive alternative to the punch bowl. For a nonalcoholic choice, Harris suggests cidra (sparkling cider). And to end the evening, brew up some espresso. Tell your guests who take milk with it that they're drinking what Spaniards call cortado.
The Mood
There's lots you can do to transport your Connecticut homestead to Spain. Invest in a few - or more - authentic Spanish serving pieces, and they’ll create ambiance for your gathering and look great on the mantle when the party’s over. Choose from a colorful sangria pitcher with it’s pinched spout to keep the fruit out of the glass, or a terra cotta cazuela or a festively painted ceramic Sargedello serving dish or the whole set. For table linen, says Lefer, it's "white linen, always." And for flowers, she adds, choose red carnations, a Mediterranean favorite.
It can be fun to introduce your guests to the bota, or wineskin, and the porron, the glass beaker that's typically held up at arm's length so the wine can be poured into the mouth. "You've got to know how to handle that thing," warns Lefer, "or you get a face full of liquid."
For something a bit less hazardous to your white carpet, just add music. A CD of classical Spanish guitars makes a lovely backdrop to conversation. You can't go wrong with a recording by the great guitarist Andres Segovia. If you're not familiar with the Spanish guitar repertoire, look for pieces by Isaac Albeniz (his Suite Espanola is a classic) or Enrique Granados (his La Maja de Goya is a tribute to the Spanish painter) or Manuel de Falla, who took Spanish folk music as his inspiration. Intersperse your guitar selections with recordings by Catalan cellist Pablo Casals or Placido Domingo singing "Granada" or singing just about anything.
Another option is flamenco, the music of the Spanish Gypsies. "Some people find it mournful," says Harris, explaining that it was the music of exile. Think of it as the Spanish answer to the blues.
To make the party really come alive, don't stop with a CD. Give your guests a flamenco lesson. Organizations such as the New York Center for Flamenco Performing Arts will send a flamenco teacher to instruct your guests in the basics of the dance. Jorge Navarro, an Andalusian-born dancer and assistant principal of Arts Flamenco, says he and his fellow teachers concentrate on the movements for the arms and hips, so your guests won't overexert themselves; as he puts it, "We don't do the percussion steps.” A session costs several hundred dollars, depending on the location, the size of the crowd and whether you want recorded or live music.
This is the perfect month to throw a Spanish-themed party. October 12 marks La Fiesta de la Hispanidad, Spain's national day, which celebrates the country's role in Columbus's journey to the Americas and honors those who have given their lives for their country. Spaniards celebrate with parades and air shows, but you can fly the flag or display the Spanish colors of red and gold.
It can be fun to bring in holiday customs at Christmas, New Year's Eve (when the countdown is accompanied by an attempt to eat twelve grapes, one for each month of the year) or Three Kings Day, but you don't need to tie your Spanish-accented party into a particular holiday. The food, drink, table arts, music, and camaraderie that characterize Spanish culture are spark enough for any party. More than enough. Or as they say in Spanish, basta.
RESOURCES
Spanish food and tableware
Tienda.com
800-710-4304
Read more
A gust of saffron and pimenton perfumes the air. But then, to the dismay of kitchen hoverers gathered around the hostess, she closes the oven door, deciding that the paella inside needs a few more minutes. Out in the living room, the host is wielding a treacherous-looking knife to produce paper-thin slices of jamon de serrano, the famed dry-cured country ham of Spain. Others are scooping up Marcona almonds and olives from pretty cazuelas. Some are sipping fino sherry, while others opt for a lovely Marques de Riscal white verdejo from Rueda. The music is low, the talk is convivial, and the clock seems to be moving in slow motion.
It feels like you've touched down in an apartment in Madrid's posh Salamanca district or a sunny villa on the Costa Brava. But no, this is your house, right here in Connecticut. It's just that you've cleverly transformed it, for one night only, into a corner bit of Spain.
Why Spain? Why now? Well, the food is delicious and quite doable for the home cook who is so inclined, the mood is fun and can be as casual as you like, and - perhaps most compelling for the trend-conscious party-giver - five-hundred-plus years after its first Golden Age, Spain is finally having its moment in the culinary sun.
Spanish food is like the actress who labors for years only to be declared an overnight sensation. It's been around forever, but for the food cognoscenti, it languished in the shadow of other ethnic cuisines, with periodic cameo appearances. In the 1970s, every steak house had its special recipe for sangria, Spain's refreshing wine and fruit quaff. In the 1980s and early '90s, the little dishes known as tapas came to the fore. Too often, though, Spanish food was mistaken for Mexican and vice versa.
It was a happy confluence of events in the 1990s that brought Spanish cuisine to our attention once again. The opening of the Frank Gehry-designed Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao had tourists from around the globe flocking to Spain. And in Catalunya, Chef Ferran Adria, stopped traffic -culinary traffic, that is - with his deconstructive cooking, most famously, his foams.
"People started hearing about Spanish food, about paella and tapas," says Don Harris, founder of tienda.com, a leading online merchant of Spanish food, wine, tableware and gifts. A retired navy chaplain, Harris spent years stationed in Spain and came to love the culture. On his retirement, he and his family began their online business. They now carry more than 600 products and are seeing sales growth of 30 to 40 percent each year, as clear an indicator as any of the rising interest in Spanish food and culture. It was in the late 1990s, he says, that "Spanish food broke into the American consciousness."
Spanish cooking is Mediterranean cooking, says Penelope Casas, who went to Spain as a college student, and, in a double stroke of fate, met her husband-to-be and found her calling as the foremost chronicler of Spanish food for the American cookbook audience. "There's a lot of emphasis on grains, beans, olive oil," she says. "Beef is not a big deal at all. Pork is much bigger, and Spaniards eat tons of seafood." The characteristic flavor profile of Spanish food, Casas adds, comes from a handful of ingredients: tomatoes, red peppers, olive oil, garlic and onion."
"A Spanish social gathering is all about the food," says Diana Lefer, an interior designer based in Fairfield. Lefer, whose father was born in Spain, knows that country well, as she has visited it at least once a year since she was a child, sometimes for months at a time, and she has close family there.
Spanish parties are "always built around the food, often around big-deal festive dishes like paella," agrees Gourmet's food columnist Colman Andrews, the former editor of Saveur and author of Catalan Cuisine: Europe's Last Great Culinary Secret.
"Most Spanish food is not super-elaborate," agrees Don Harris. Both he and Casas note that the lion's share of socializing and entertaining in Spain has traditionally taken place in tapas bars and restaurants.
"Today, however, there is more home entertaining and it's changed a lot," says Lefer. "It used to be very European in style. As with the French, you didn't entertain at home, except family." Those who did entertain at home did so with great formality. "When you went to a formal dinner at someone's home, you would never walk into the kitchen," she recalls. "There wasn't that loose, informal feeling."
"There's often an attractive casualness about Spanish parties," says Andrews. He cautions that entertaining styles in Spain depend on region, socio-economic level and age. But in general, he says, the mood is now relaxed. "It's pretty common for people to pitch in and help."
One thing is certain: When Spaniards do entertain, the food and drink are abundant, and the hospitality is boundless.
"When you visit a Spanish home," says Harris, "they'll sit you down and give you a glass of Manzanilla (sherry) and dishes of almonds or membrillo (quince jelly) and five, six or seven other dishes." Some tapas, in true tradition, will be simple, like the dishes of almonds, but for others, the host will turn to the stove and come up with something a bit more complex. "They might serve some garlic shrimp in a cazuela. You heat the olive oil and cook the shrimp with a little garlic," says Harris. "Very likely you'll be showered with a slew of different treats. Eating them will take hours."
A dinner party can be an equally prolonged affair. Your hosts will have set out a variety of nibbles on a table outdoors or on aside table in the dining room. Familiar tapas might include Cabrales, Spain's fabled blue cheese, or canned smoked mussels on toast rounds. You can visit the hosts in the kitchen as they prepare more elaborate dishes, then wander into the library or the garden, until they call you to the table.
Just don't expect that call to be too soon after your arrival. Andrews adds that parties tend to start later and last longer than they do here: "You'd invite friends for lunch around two or three and go into the evening, or for dinner about nine, sitting down at ten-thirty or eleven, and stretching on into the night."
You, too, can entertain with a Spanish flair. Of course, nothing matches being there, but you can give your party an air of authenticity with the wealth of Spanish products that are now available and with a little imaginacion. Here are some ideas - a checklist to help you get started.
The Food
The concept of tapas adapts well to American entertaining. As Casas points out, "It's finger food; it's easy to eat. People love that. It's party food." Tapas are ideal for those parties when you want your guests to mingle. As the various dishes emerge from the kitchen, they're a surefire stimulant to conversation.
Go buffet style, letting guests fill their own plates. Space out your offerings, though, offering a different one every so often, so people can keep nibbling in authentic tapas fashion.
Another advantage of such a party is that you can mix labor-intensive items with easy ones. Strive for a variety of textures, temperatures and flavors, as well as a mix of vegetables, bread-based nibbles, seafood and meat. In Tapas, Casas divides traditional tapas into four categories: cold and marinated tapas, tapas in sauce, tapas with bread or pastry, and tapas that are baked, fried or grilled just before serving. For a small party, serve one or two dishes of each category. For a larger group of guests, the sky's the limit. In another of her books, La Cocina de Mama, Casas suggests "instant" tapas: almonds, preferably Spain's round, sweet Marconas, fried lightly in olive oil and sprinkled with salt; wedges of manchego cheese with slices of membrillo; dishes of pitted olives, cocktail onions, anchovies, pimiento slices or chunks of tuna speared on tooth picks; green or black olive pate; slices of sauteed chorizo sausage on rounds of bread; or Spanish sardines on garlic toast topped with strips of bottled hot red pepper and chopped parsley. For something a little -complex, but not much, add a few tapas with sauce. The sauce can be as simple as mayonesa or a broth-wine reduction flavored with garlic and onion sauteed in olive oil. Or it can require a bit more labor, as with Casas's Zarzuela de Pescado, a very tasty mix of seafood in almond wine sauce (see recipe at mofflypub.com).
You can make a satisfying meal of tapas, but, if you prefer to serve a true main course, there's no better party dish than paella. For the uninitiated, Harris defines it as "a rice dish cooked in good broth and you add garnishments," which range from vegetables to shellfish to chicken to chorizo (see page 2 for a paella recipe). Lefer notes that paella is traditionally prepared in a special paella pan, whose most important characteristic is its shallowness, which allows even cooking.
"Dessert is very important," she continues. "It used to be that every mother or grandmother would make flan. Now, with all the packaged flans, they don't make it anymore." But flan, Spain's caramel custard, is still a staple, as are tartas - cakes in various flavors. "There's one called brazo de gitano, the Gypsy's arm," says Lefer. "It's a sponge cake and you put in a sherry-flavored filling, roll it like a jelly roll and top it with whipped cream spiked with sherry."
The Pour
Spain has produced wine since before the birth of Christ, and the Spanish wine trade has seen its ups and downs in the centuries since then. Jerez, in southern Spain, has offered up sherry, its fabled fortified wine, for hundreds of years. In fact, the Spanish word for sherry is Jerez; sherry is a British mispronunciation that gained popularity. In the north, Rioja has bottled red wines prized by connoisseurs.
Dry sherry makes a wonderful aperitif and is the perfect accompaniment to tapas. To accompany food, choose from the dry, delicate fino or the very dry Manzanilla, which comes from the port town of Sanlucar de Barrameda. Cava, the sparkling wine of Spain, is a wonderful party drink. Sangria-wine mixed with sliced citrus fruit and, depending on the recipe, simple syrup and soda - is a festive alternative to the punch bowl. For a nonalcoholic choice, Harris suggests cidra (sparkling cider). And to end the evening, brew up some espresso. Tell your guests who take milk with it that they're drinking what Spaniards call cortado.
The Mood
There's lots you can do to transport your Connecticut homestead to Spain. Invest in a few - or more - authentic Spanish serving pieces, and they’ll create ambiance for your gathering and look great on the mantle when the party’s over. Choose from a colorful sangria pitcher with it’s pinched spout to keep the fruit out of the glass, or a terra cotta cazuela or a festively painted ceramic Sargedello serving dish or the whole set. For table linen, says Lefer, it's "white linen, always." And for flowers, she adds, choose red carnations, a Mediterranean favorite.
It can be fun to introduce your guests to the bota, or wineskin, and the porron, the glass beaker that's typically held up at arm's length so the wine can be poured into the mouth. "You've got to know how to handle that thing," warns Lefer, "or you get a face full of liquid."
For something a bit less hazardous to your white carpet, just add music. A CD of classical Spanish guitars makes a lovely backdrop to conversation. You can't go wrong with a recording by the great guitarist Andres Segovia. If you're not familiar with the Spanish guitar repertoire, look for pieces by Isaac Albeniz (his Suite Espanola is a classic) or Enrique Granados (his La Maja de Goya is a tribute to the Spanish painter) or Manuel de Falla, who took Spanish folk music as his inspiration. Intersperse your guitar selections with recordings by Catalan cellist Pablo Casals or Placido Domingo singing "Granada" or singing just about anything.
Another option is flamenco, the music of the Spanish Gypsies. "Some people find it mournful," says Harris, explaining that it was the music of exile. Think of it as the Spanish answer to the blues.
To make the party really come alive, don't stop with a CD. Give your guests a flamenco lesson. Organizations such as the New York Center for Flamenco Performing Arts will send a flamenco teacher to instruct your guests in the basics of the dance. Jorge Navarro, an Andalusian-born dancer and assistant principal of Arts Flamenco, says he and his fellow teachers concentrate on the movements for the arms and hips, so your guests won't overexert themselves; as he puts it, "We don't do the percussion steps.” A session costs several hundred dollars, depending on the location, the size of the crowd and whether you want recorded or live music.
This is the perfect month to throw a Spanish-themed party. October 12 marks La Fiesta de la Hispanidad, Spain's national day, which celebrates the country's role in Columbus's journey to the Americas and honors those who have given their lives for their country. Spaniards celebrate with parades and air shows, but you can fly the flag or display the Spanish colors of red and gold.
It can be fun to bring in holiday customs at Christmas, New Year's Eve (when the countdown is accompanied by an attempt to eat twelve grapes, one for each month of the year) or Three Kings Day, but you don't need to tie your Spanish-accented party into a particular holiday. The food, drink, table arts, music, and camaraderie that characterize Spanish culture are spark enough for any party. More than enough. Or as they say in Spanish, basta.
RESOURCES
Spanish food and tableware
Tienda.com
800-710-4304
One-pan wonders
Give summer a singular send-off with paella
By Marty Meitus, Rocky Mountain News
If your end-of-the-summer blowout tends to be the same ol' same-ol', borrow a theme from the recent Food & Wine Classic in Aspen:
Throw a Spanish patio party.
Not only did guests enjoy an array of tapas and Spanish wines at the home of Spanish chef-restaurateur José Andrés, but they attended a seminar on paella, the one-dish meal that's perfect for a crowd.
The dish is named for the shallow, round, two-handled paella pan and combines saffron, rice, stock, chicken and other ingredients, limited only by the cook's imagination.
"Will everyone be making paella in 10 to 15 years across America?" Andrés asked at the seminar, then offered his own answer: "Yes."
To complement the dish, look no further than the Spanish sangria. The fruity mixture, once a way to look hip - and use up leftover red wine - has become a vaunted drink of its own, combining a mixture of fruits, such as apples, peaches, lemons and limes, with red or even white wine. Sitting center-stage at a cocktail seminar in Aspen given by Fine Living Network's Tony Abou-Ganim, a pretty pitcher of sangria couldn't have looked more inviting.
Although making paella is relatively simple, Spanish cooks such as José Andrés talk a lot about understanding the essence of paella, which means understanding the core ingredients and cooking techniques:
• Rice: "Everything in paella is about the rice," Andrés said. "The rice is like a sponge that absorbs every single flavor." In some regions, the rice is added to the pan first, before adding hot stock (like making risotto); in other regions, the stock is added first, then the rice.
Rices from Spain - such as Bomba or Calasparra, available at Web sites including tienda.com - are bred for paella to absorb more liquid. If you can't find Spanish paella rice, use a medium-grain rice.
• The stock: Whether you use chicken, fish or lobster stock, it adds another dimension of flavor. Andrés even suggested a quick mussel stock: Put mussels in a hot pan with olive oil and add 1 1/2 cups of water. When the mussels have cooked, remove with a slotted spoon and use the stock. The mussels can be eaten as part of the paella.
• Sofrito: The flavor base of many Spanish dishes, sofrito can be as simple as a mixture of tomatoes, onions and peppers or as complex as sofrito de sepia, made of cuttlefish (similar to squid) and squid ink.
Andrés makes his tomato-and-onion sofrito by caramelizing the onions with a little sugar in a saucepan (see recipe 11).
• The pan: Because the paella pan is flat, you end up with a layer of rice a couple of inches thick, rather than a saucepan filled with rice. If you don't have a paella pan, you'll want to prepare the recipe in conventional pans but serve it in a flat dish in which you can spread the rice so that it doesn't look like a jumbled casserole.
• The technique: Andrés prepares the sofrito first, then browns the meat, seafood or vegetables, adding the stock and then the rice.
Secrets of Paella
American's favorite Spanish dish comes in endless variations
Sam Gugino
Whether it is barbecue in Memphis or bouillabaisse in Marseilles, certain dishes spark debate about which version is the genuine one. Add the Spanish dish paella to the list. While Americans have more or less a common notion of what should be in paella, one Spaniard might tell you it has to have rabbit, another that it must contain lima beans, another snails, and on and on. But all agree that almost any way you cook it, paella is a one-pan wonder that makes great dinner party fare. It’s a versatile meal for wine pairing, too.
“Paella,” writes Penelope Casas in her book Paella! Spectacular Rice Dishes From Spain (Henry Holt), “is among the best known and most beloved dishes in the world.” And yet, Casas notes, it is also one of the most misunderstood and thus most abused dishes in the world. The reason, Casas says, is that “Spaniards who came to the United States in the 1930s and 1940s mostly came from northern Spain where there is little paella. They used cheap ingredients, including converted rice, but found a formula that was appealing to many Americans.” This is much the same way spaghetti and meatballs found a home here as “typical” Italian fare.
But paella has become much more authentic in America in recent years. At Taberna del Alabardero in Washington, D.C., chef Santi Zabaleta once made 10 different paellas for a paella festival, from the classic Valenciana (with duck, rabbit and chicken) to Arroz Negro, paella with squid ink. “I think paella has been a bit exploited, like tapas,” Zabaleta says. “There are no rules. People invent.”
Paella was born in the rice fields of Valencia, on Spain’s eastern coast. It was created as a lunch dish by rice-field workers, who cooked it outdoors over an open fire using whatever local ingredients were available. While it eventually migrated to restaurants, paella is still often cooked outdoors at home, usually by men, for Sunday afternoon dinner.
The heart and soul of paella is the rice. Preparing paella without good rice is like making risotto from Uncle Ben’s. As with risotto, the rices used for paella, such as bomba, are short grain. Bomba is a low-starch rice, but the higher-starch arborio rice used for risotto can be successfully substituted because paella is not stirred constantly as is risotto. So the grains of rice will be drier and separate, not creamy as in risotto.
From an authenticity standpoint, anything that goes into the rice for paella can be considered a condiment. And such condiments can include just about anything from squid ink to lentils. However, Daniel Olivella, who has several paellas on his menu at B44 restaurant in San Francisco, says non-Spaniards “think paella has to have a lot of tropezones, meaning things that stumble in your mouth”—a reference to a kitchen-sink list of seafood, sausage and poultry that can appear all together in some versions. But the Spanish, and particularly the Valencians, prefer to highlight more focused ingredients by having separate paellas for each of meat, seafood or vegetables. That said, I happen to like the way some Spanish dishes mingle seafood and pork, whether serrano ham or chorizo.
While saffron (always in thread form, not powder) is the spice most associated with paella, Casas believes smoked paprika is just as important. “It makes a huge difference,” she says. Spanish chorizos also contain quite a bit of smoked paprika.
Though making paella may seem daunting to some home cooks, it’s really not that difficult. The keys, Zabaleta says, are to have everything at the ready and to use good ingredients. “You can make a good paella with just clams if the clams and the stock are good,” he says.
Paella is traditionally made in a wide (17 inches is the best width) and shallow paella pan; the Spanish prefer pans made of rather cheap, rolled or carbon steel over more expensive stainless steel versions because the former darken to a rustic hue. The shape allows the rice to cook completely without becoming creamy or soupy. One of the highlights of true Valencian paella is the socarat, a thin layer of rice at the bottom of the pan that becomes brown and crusty. Failing an authentic paella pan, use a roasting pan or large sauté pan.
Regardless of the pan, start your paella on top of the stove, where it will have to straddle two burners. Keep moving the pan around to cook evenly until it goes into the oven to finish. You can also finish your paella on top of the stove covered with foil, as I had to do when I found out at the last minute that my oven was too small. If you are feeling adventurous, do your paella over a charcoal fire, which will give it a smokier flavor. Companies such as La Tienda in Virginia also sell tripod and propane burner setups for outdoor paella cooking.
The Spanish typically eat paella communally, helping themselves to the pan set in the middle of the table.
While paellas with meat could stand up to a red wine, such as a young and fruity crianza from Rioja, for most paellas I think white wines are more appropriate. I particularly liked an Albariño and a Verdejo. Also good choices are the many fine rosés from Spain, especially from Navarra or Rueda.
The following recipe is an adaptation of Casas’ traditional paella from Valencia. Feel free to modify it with seafood or sausage. Just don’t tell your Spanish friends it’s authentic.
Paella Valenciana
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 teaspoon saffron threads
• 6 sprigs fresh rosemary
• Salt
• 1 Cornish hen or half of a 2-1/2- to 3-pound chicken
• 1 small rabbit
• 8 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 green bell pepper, finely chopped
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 8 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 medium tomatoes, finely chopped, or a 14-ounce can
• diced tomatoes
• 1/2-pound green beans (preferably broad, flat beans), trimmed and halved, crosswise
• 1/2-pound snap or snow peas, strings removed
• One 14-ounce can artichoke hearts in water, drained and quartered
• 2 tablespoons minced parsley
• 1 teaspoon paprika, preferably smoked
• 3 cups short-grain rice, such as bomba or Italian arborio rice
1. Put the broth in a large saucepan over medium heat. Crush the saffron between your fingers into the broth. Add the rosemary and salt to taste. Gently simmer 20 minutes. Remove, discard rosemary and keep the broth over very low heat.
2. Meanwhile, remove the Cornish hen wing tips and the wings, discarding the tips. Separate the thigh from the drumstick. Halve the breast lengthwise and cut the back into 2 pieces. If using chicken, cut into similar size pieces, 2 to 3 inches long. Do the same to the rabbit. Sprinkle all the meat with salt.
3. Heat the oven to 400° F. Put the oil in a 17-inch-wide paella pan over two burners on high heat. Brown the chicken quickly without cooking it all the way through. Remove to a platter. Do the same with the rabbit. Add the pepper, onion and garlic to the pan. Lower the heat to medium and cook until softened. Add the tomatoes, beans, peas and artichoke hearts. Return the heat to high and cook for 3 minutes.
4. Add the parsley, paprika and rice and stir well. Pour in the hot broth and bring to a boil. Return the chicken and rabbit to the pan and taste for salt. Boil for 5 minutes or until the rice is no longer soupy but enough liquid remains to continue cooking the rice. Stir periodically to cook evenly.
5. Transfer the pan to the oven. Cook, uncovered, until the rice is almost completely cooked but still quite firm, about 10 to 12 minutes in a gas oven, 15 to 20 minutes in an electric oven.
6. Remove the pan to a warm spot (such as on top of the stove with the burners off) and cover with foil. Let sit 5 to 10 minutes. For the socarat, put the pan over high heat for a few minutes or until a nice crust forms on the bottom of the pan without burning.
Serves 6.
HOW TO GET IT
For authentic Spanish ingredients try these mail-order companies:
Las Española Meats Inc., Harbor City, CA, (310) 539-0455, www.laespanolameats.com
Olé Olé Foods, Belleville, NJ, (201) OLE-8270, www.oleolefoods.com
La Tienda, Williamsburg, VA, (888) 472-1022, www.tienda.com
Read more
Sam Gugino
Whether it is barbecue in Memphis or bouillabaisse in Marseilles, certain dishes spark debate about which version is the genuine one. Add the Spanish dish paella to the list. While Americans have more or less a common notion of what should be in paella, one Spaniard might tell you it has to have rabbit, another that it must contain lima beans, another snails, and on and on. But all agree that almost any way you cook it, paella is a one-pan wonder that makes great dinner party fare. It’s a versatile meal for wine pairing, too.
“Paella,” writes Penelope Casas in her book Paella! Spectacular Rice Dishes From Spain (Henry Holt), “is among the best known and most beloved dishes in the world.” And yet, Casas notes, it is also one of the most misunderstood and thus most abused dishes in the world. The reason, Casas says, is that “Spaniards who came to the United States in the 1930s and 1940s mostly came from northern Spain where there is little paella. They used cheap ingredients, including converted rice, but found a formula that was appealing to many Americans.” This is much the same way spaghetti and meatballs found a home here as “typical” Italian fare.
But paella has become much more authentic in America in recent years. At Taberna del Alabardero in Washington, D.C., chef Santi Zabaleta once made 10 different paellas for a paella festival, from the classic Valenciana (with duck, rabbit and chicken) to Arroz Negro, paella with squid ink. “I think paella has been a bit exploited, like tapas,” Zabaleta says. “There are no rules. People invent.”
Paella was born in the rice fields of Valencia, on Spain’s eastern coast. It was created as a lunch dish by rice-field workers, who cooked it outdoors over an open fire using whatever local ingredients were available. While it eventually migrated to restaurants, paella is still often cooked outdoors at home, usually by men, for Sunday afternoon dinner.
The heart and soul of paella is the rice. Preparing paella without good rice is like making risotto from Uncle Ben’s. As with risotto, the rices used for paella, such as bomba, are short grain. Bomba is a low-starch rice, but the higher-starch arborio rice used for risotto can be successfully substituted because paella is not stirred constantly as is risotto. So the grains of rice will be drier and separate, not creamy as in risotto.
From an authenticity standpoint, anything that goes into the rice for paella can be considered a condiment. And such condiments can include just about anything from squid ink to lentils. However, Daniel Olivella, who has several paellas on his menu at B44 restaurant in San Francisco, says non-Spaniards “think paella has to have a lot of tropezones, meaning things that stumble in your mouth”—a reference to a kitchen-sink list of seafood, sausage and poultry that can appear all together in some versions. But the Spanish, and particularly the Valencians, prefer to highlight more focused ingredients by having separate paellas for each of meat, seafood or vegetables. That said, I happen to like the way some Spanish dishes mingle seafood and pork, whether serrano ham or chorizo.
While saffron (always in thread form, not powder) is the spice most associated with paella, Casas believes smoked paprika is just as important. “It makes a huge difference,” she says. Spanish chorizos also contain quite a bit of smoked paprika.
Though making paella may seem daunting to some home cooks, it’s really not that difficult. The keys, Zabaleta says, are to have everything at the ready and to use good ingredients. “You can make a good paella with just clams if the clams and the stock are good,” he says.
Paella is traditionally made in a wide (17 inches is the best width) and shallow paella pan; the Spanish prefer pans made of rather cheap, rolled or carbon steel over more expensive stainless steel versions because the former darken to a rustic hue. The shape allows the rice to cook completely without becoming creamy or soupy. One of the highlights of true Valencian paella is the socarat, a thin layer of rice at the bottom of the pan that becomes brown and crusty. Failing an authentic paella pan, use a roasting pan or large sauté pan.
Regardless of the pan, start your paella on top of the stove, where it will have to straddle two burners. Keep moving the pan around to cook evenly until it goes into the oven to finish. You can also finish your paella on top of the stove covered with foil, as I had to do when I found out at the last minute that my oven was too small. If you are feeling adventurous, do your paella over a charcoal fire, which will give it a smokier flavor. Companies such as La Tienda in Virginia also sell tripod and propane burner setups for outdoor paella cooking.
The Spanish typically eat paella communally, helping themselves to the pan set in the middle of the table.
While paellas with meat could stand up to a red wine, such as a young and fruity crianza from Rioja, for most paellas I think white wines are more appropriate. I particularly liked an Albariño and a Verdejo. Also good choices are the many fine rosés from Spain, especially from Navarra or Rueda.
The following recipe is an adaptation of Casas’ traditional paella from Valencia. Feel free to modify it with seafood or sausage. Just don’t tell your Spanish friends it’s authentic.
Paella Valenciana
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 teaspoon saffron threads
• 6 sprigs fresh rosemary
• Salt
• 1 Cornish hen or half of a 2-1/2- to 3-pound chicken
• 1 small rabbit
• 8 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 green bell pepper, finely chopped
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 8 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 medium tomatoes, finely chopped, or a 14-ounce can
• diced tomatoes
• 1/2-pound green beans (preferably broad, flat beans), trimmed and halved, crosswise
• 1/2-pound snap or snow peas, strings removed
• One 14-ounce can artichoke hearts in water, drained and quartered
• 2 tablespoons minced parsley
• 1 teaspoon paprika, preferably smoked
• 3 cups short-grain rice, such as bomba or Italian arborio rice
1. Put the broth in a large saucepan over medium heat. Crush the saffron between your fingers into the broth. Add the rosemary and salt to taste. Gently simmer 20 minutes. Remove, discard rosemary and keep the broth over very low heat.
2. Meanwhile, remove the Cornish hen wing tips and the wings, discarding the tips. Separate the thigh from the drumstick. Halve the breast lengthwise and cut the back into 2 pieces. If using chicken, cut into similar size pieces, 2 to 3 inches long. Do the same to the rabbit. Sprinkle all the meat with salt.
3. Heat the oven to 400° F. Put the oil in a 17-inch-wide paella pan over two burners on high heat. Brown the chicken quickly without cooking it all the way through. Remove to a platter. Do the same with the rabbit. Add the pepper, onion and garlic to the pan. Lower the heat to medium and cook until softened. Add the tomatoes, beans, peas and artichoke hearts. Return the heat to high and cook for 3 minutes.
4. Add the parsley, paprika and rice and stir well. Pour in the hot broth and bring to a boil. Return the chicken and rabbit to the pan and taste for salt. Boil for 5 minutes or until the rice is no longer soupy but enough liquid remains to continue cooking the rice. Stir periodically to cook evenly.
5. Transfer the pan to the oven. Cook, uncovered, until the rice is almost completely cooked but still quite firm, about 10 to 12 minutes in a gas oven, 15 to 20 minutes in an electric oven.
6. Remove the pan to a warm spot (such as on top of the stove with the burners off) and cover with foil. Let sit 5 to 10 minutes. For the socarat, put the pan over high heat for a few minutes or until a nice crust forms on the bottom of the pan without burning.
Serves 6.
HOW TO GET IT
For authentic Spanish ingredients try these mail-order companies:
Las Española Meats Inc., Harbor City, CA, (310) 539-0455, www.laespanolameats.com
Olé Olé Foods, Belleville, NJ, (201) OLE-8270, www.oleolefoods.com
La Tienda, Williamsburg, VA, (888) 472-1022, www.tienda.com
Smoked Paprika Recipes from Bon Appetit
GRILLED TOMATO-BELL PEPPER GAZPACHO
Molly Stevens
Why you'll make it: Because it's the tastiest way we know to use up all those ripe tomatoes you've got at the ready. The flavors of cold soup become muted once the soup is thoroughly chilled. Before serving the gazpacho, check the salt and vinegar and then adjust them, if need be.
Servings: Makes 6 servings.
Ingredients
3 1/4 to 3 1/2 pounds firm but ripe medium tomatoes
1 (8- to 9-ounce) red bell pepper
1 (8- to 10-ounce) red onion, unpeeled, quartered lengthwise
8 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
3 (5 x 3 x 1/2-inch) slices country-style bread
3 garlic cloves, divided
1 (10- to 11-ounce) cucumber, peeled, halved, seeded, cut into small cubes, divided
3 tablespoons (or more) Sherry wine vinegar
2 teaspoons chopped fresh marjoram
3/4 teaspoon smoked paprika*
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3/4 cup (about) cold water (optional)
3 green onions, cut into thin strips
*Sometimes labeled Pimentón Dulce or Pimentón de La Vera Dulce; available at some supermarkets, at specialty foods stores, and from tienda.com.
Preparation
Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Place first 3 ingredients on baking sheet. Brush with 3 tablespoons oil; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Brush both sides of bread with 2 tablespoons oil. Grill vegetables until skins are charred, turning frequently, about 8 minutes for tomatoes, 10 minutes for onion, and 15 minutes for pepper. Return to baking sheet. Grill bread until toasted, about 11/2 minutes per side. Cut 1 garlic clove in half; rub over toasted sides of bread. Cut bread into small cubes; reserve croutons.
Remove charred skins and cores from tomatoes. Peel, seed, and core pepper; coarsely chop. Remove charred papery peel and core from onion. Set aside half of chopped cucumber for garnish. Working in 2 batches, add half each of tomatoes, pepper, onion, and remaining cucumber to processor and blend until coarse puree forms. Transfer mixture to large bowl. Repeat with remaining tomatoes, pepper, and onion. Using garlic press, squeeze in remaining 2 garlic cloves. Stir in remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil, 3 tablespoons vinegar, marjoram, smoked paprika, cumin, and cayenne. Thin soup, if desired, with cold water by 1/4 cupfuls. Season with salt and pepper. Chill at least 2 hours.
DO AHEAD
Gazpacho and croutons can be made 8 hours ahead. Cover gazpacho and chopped cucumber garnish separately and refrigerate. Cover and store croutons at room temperature.
Season gazpacho to taste with more salt and more vinegar, if desired. Ladle into bowls. Garnish with cucumber, croutons, and green onions; serve.
Bon Appétit | July 2007
Cheryl Alters Jamison and Bill Jamison
BARBECUED PORK SANDWICHES WITH PICKLED RED ONION
Instead of pork shoulder, this southern-inspired recipe uses quicker-cooking pork tenderloin. For fullest flavor, look for Berkshire pork or another heritage breed. Smoked salt in a grinder can be found in the spice section of most supermarkets.
Servings: Makes 6 servings.
Ingredients
Onion
1 red onion, halved, thinly sliced
1 1/2 cups boiling water
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons orange juice
6 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon (scant) salt
Vinaigrette
1 garlic clove, peeled
1/2 teaspoon smoked salt or coarse kosher salt
3 tablespoons purchased tomato-based barbecue sauce
2 tablespoons orange juice
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/2 cup olive oil
Pork
1 tablespoon coarsely ground black pepper
1 tablespoon smoked Spanish paprika (Pimentón de La Vera)*
1 teaspoon smoked salt or coarse kosher salt
2 (1-pound) pork tenderloins
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
6 large onion rolls, split, toasted
*Available at some supermarkets and specialty foods stores, and from tienda.com.
Preparation
For onion:
Place sliced onion in medium bowl. Pour boiling water over. Let stand 10 minutes; drain well, then return to bowl. Add juice, vinegar, and salt and stir to blend. Cover and chill at least 2 hours and up to 1 day.
For vinaigrette:
Chop garlic with salt to paste; scrape into small bowl. Add barbecue sauce, orange juice, and lime juice to bowl. Gradually whisk in oil. Season vinaigrette to taste with pepper. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.
For pork:
Blend pepper, smoked paprika, and salt in small bowl. Sprinkle seasoning mix evenly over both tenderloins. Let stand at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours.
Spray grill rack with nonstick spray. Prepare barbecue (high heat). Grill tenderloins uncovered 5 minutes, rolling over to sear all sides. Cover grill and continue to cook until thermometer inserted into thickest part registers 145°F, turning often and moving to cooler part of grill as needed, about 15 minutes longer. Transfer to cutting board; let rest 10 minutes.
Thinly slice tenderloins crosswise into rounds. Mound pork on roll bottoms. Top with well-drained onion slices, then drizzle with vinaigrette. Cover with roll tops and serve, passing extra onion slices and vinaigrette separately.
Bon Appétit | July 2007
Tori Ritchie
SMOKEY CORN AND TOMATO BRUSCHETTA
Try the topping on burgers or in quesadillas, too.
Servings: Makes 8 servings.
Ingredients
On the grill:
1 large ear of yellow corn, husked
1 small red onion (about 6 ounces), peeled, halved through root end
Olive oil (for grilling)
1 1/2 pounds medium tomatoes (such as cluster or vine-ripened; do not use heirloom; about 5)
1 small country bread, sliced
For the dish:
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/8 teaspoon hot smoked Spanish paprika*
1 tablespoon olive oil
*Spicy smoked paprika, sometimes labeled hot Pimentón or hot Pimentón de La Vera; available at specialty foods stores and from tienda.com.
Preparation
Prepare barbecue (medium heat). Brush corn and onion with oil; sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Place corn, onion halves, and tomatoes on grill. Cook until corn is charred, onion is just tender, and tomato skins are blistered and loose, turning often, about 12 minutes for tomatoes and 15 minutes for corn and onion. Transfer to foil-lined baking sheet and cool. Brush bread with oil; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill until crisp, about 2 minutes per side. Core tomatoes and cut in half horizontally. Gently squeeze out or spoon out juices and seeds. Coarsely dice tomato flesh and place in medium bowl. Cut corn kernels from cob; add kernels to tomatoes. Chop onion; add to tomatoes. Mix in garlic, lime juice, paprika, and 1 tablespoon oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
DO AHEAD
Can be made 3 hours ahead. Cover; let stand at room temperature. Serve with grilled bread.
Bon Appétit | April 2007
Molly Stevens
ROASTED LAMB CHOPS WITH CHARMOULA AND SKILLET ASPARAGUS
Charmoula is a zesty herb and garlic sauce from the Middle East.
Servings: Makes 4 servings.
Ingredients
Charmoula
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 1/2 cups (lightly packed) fresh Italian parsley leaves
1/2 cup (lightly packed) fresh mint leaves
1/2 cup (lightly packed) fresh cilantro leaves
2 large garlic cloves
1 tablespoon sweet smoked paprika (pimentón dulce)* or sweet Hungarian paprika
1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Lamb
8 (1 1/4- to 1 1/2-inch-thick) lamb loin chops (about 2 2/3 pounds)
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 pounds thin asparagus, trimmed, peeled, tops cut into 3-inch-long pieces, stalks cut into 1/2-inch pieces
3 tablespoons chopped shallot
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel
*Sometimes labeled sweet pimentón de La Vera; available at some supermarkets, at specialty foods stores, and from tienda.com.
Preparation
For charmoula:
Heat small skillet over medium heat. Add cumin seeds and toast until aromatic and slightly darker, stirring occasionally, about 2 minutes. Transfer to processor. Add parsley leaves and next 6 ingredients to processor. Using on/off turns, process until coarse paste forms. With machine running, gradually add 4 tablespoons oil. Transfer 2 tablespoons charmoula to small bowl; whisk in lemon juice and remaining 2 tablespoons oil. Cover and chill to serve with lamb.
For lamb:
Transfer remaining charmoula to large resealable plastic bag. Add lamb chops; seal bag and turn to coat well. Chill at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours.
Let lamb and charmoula sauce in bowl stand at room temperature 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 500°F. Line rimmed baking sheet with foil. Place rack on prepared baking sheet. Place lamb on rack and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast until thermometer inserted into center registers 130°F for medium-rare, about 13 minutes. Transfer lamb to platter. Tent with foil and let rest 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, melt butter with 1 tablespoon oil in heavy large skillet over high heat. Add asparagus and sauté until tender, stirring often, about 3 minutes. Add shallot and lemon peel. Sauté 1 minute. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Place 2 lamb chops on each of 4 plates. Divide asparagus among plates. Drizzle lamb and asparagus with charmoula sauce, passing remaining sauce alongside.
Bon Appétit | February 2007
Molly Stevens
ROAST CHICKEN WITH SPANISH PAPRIKA AND HERB-ROASTED SMASHED POTATOES
Start this early in the day or the night before. Chilling the chicken uncovered for several hours makes the skin crispy when roasted.
Servings: Makes 4 to 6 servings (plus leftovers).
Ingredients
2 (5-pound) roasting chickens
8 large sprigs fresh thyme plus 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
2 tablespoons coarse kosher salt
2 1/2 teaspoons hot smoked Spanish paprika* divided
1 1/2 pounds baby potatoes (1 to 1 1/2 inches in diameter)
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons olive oil
*Sometimes called hot Pimentón de La Vera; available at some supermarkets and at tienda.com.
Preparation
Butterfly the chicken. Tuck wing tips behind shoulder. Transfer to large rimmed baking sheet. Using fingertips, separate skin from chicken over breasts and thighs. Insert 1 thyme sprig between skin and flesh over each breast and each thigh. Repeat with second chicken. Mix 2 tablespoons coarse kosher salt and 2 teaspoons paprika in small bowl. Sprinkle all over chickens.
Transfer uncovered chickens, skin side up, to refrigerator; chill at least 8 hours or overnight.
Preheat oven to 400°F. Place potatoes in 11x7x2-inch baking dish. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon paprika. Sprinkle with salt and pepper; toss. Drizzle chicken with 2 teaspoons oil. Place chicken and potatoes in oven; roast until thermometer inserted into thickest part of thigh registers 175°F, about 1 hour. Let chickens rest 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, toss potatoes with 1 tablespoon chopped thyme. Return to oven and roast until tender and skins wrinkle slightly, about 5 minutes. Coarsely smash. Cut chickens into breast, wing, thigh, and leg pieces. Transfer to platter. Drizzle some drippings over; serve.
Bon Appétit | August 2006
SAUTÉED SCALLOPS WITH CHERRY TOMATOES, GREEN ONIONS, AND PARSLEY
Servings: Makes 4 servings.
Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds large sea scallops, side muscles removed
Fleur de sel or coarse kosher salt
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
4 large green onions, chopped, white and green parts separated
1 12-ounce container cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes
4 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh Italian parsley, divided
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon mild Spanish paprika (pimentón dulce)* or Hungarian sweet paprika
*Available at specialty foods stores and online from tienda.com.
Preparation
Rinse and drain scallops; pat dry with paper towels. Sprinkle with fleur de sel and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add scallops; sauté until browned outside and just opaque in center, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer scallops to plate; cover. Add 1 tablespoon oil to same skillet; add white parts of green onions and sauté until almost tender, about 1 minute. Add tomatoes and green parts of onions and sauté until tomatoes begin to burst and release juices, about 5 minutes. Stir in 3 tablespoons parsley, lemon juice, and paprika. Return scallops and any accumulated juices to skillet and stir just until heated through, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer scallop mixture to platter. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon oil and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley.
Bon Appétit | December 2007
Michael Chiarello
PARMESAN AND SMOKY PAPRIKA FRICO
These fried cheese crisps are fun to make, so enlist a few guests to help if you decide to make them at the last minute.
Servings: Makes 16 to 18
Ingredients
5 cups (about 14 ounces) finely grated Parmesan cheese
4 teaspoons smoked paprika*
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
Preparation
Toss cheese and paprika in large bowl.
Spray small nonstick skillet with nonstick spray. Place over medium-low heat. Drop 1/4 cup cheese mixture in mound in center of skillet. Spread to 3- to 4-inch round. Cook until completely melted, bubbling all over, and browning at edges, about 1 1/2 minutes. Remove pan from heat; let stand until bubbling stops. Loosen edges and turn frico over. Return pan to medium-low heat and cook frico until golden on bottom, about 1 minute. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Repeat with remaining cheese mixture. DO AHEAD: Can be made 4 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.
*Sometimes labeled Pimentón Dulce or Pimentón de La Vera Dulce; available at some supermarkets, at specialty foods stores, and from tienda.com.
Soul of Spanish cooking
Richard Slusser
As paella is all about rice, there is one type that is preferred: the short-grained variety produced in the vast rice fields south of Valencia between the Mediterranean and the mountains. The favorite is the bomba variety, which cracks around the middle like an accordion instead of from top to bottom. Mr. Andres says that Calasparra rice from Spain or arborio from Italy may be used instead -- but in Valencia, bomba is the rice of choice for paella.
Besides bomba, there are two other rices that can be certified and marketed as "arroz de Valencia" as a designation of origin under the rules of a regulatory council: senia and bahia, which are both medium-grain. These are Valencia's big three, preferred over the world's more than 5,000 other rices.
The Valencian rices -- about one-third of the Spanish crop -- are produced in the flat fields of the Albufera, a freshwater lake in a national park of the same name. The Albufera is a haven for migratory birds as well as a recreational area for the city and surrounding municipalities.
The lake and sea are separated by the Dehesa del Saler, a narrow six-mile-long stretch of land, much of it sand dunes held in place by Mediterranean pines, shrubs and grasses. The lagoon was formed in prehistoric times by sediment from two rivers, the Turia to the north and the Jucar to the south. At some points, the lake is four miles wide.
Within the Albufera is El Palmar, founded in 1250 by King Jaume I the Conqueror, who granted the local residents a charter allowing them to fish in the lagoon. In El Palmar, local fishing boats can be hired to tour the lake, passing through many channels and pausing for a rice dish for lunch on the boat. Along the seacoast are broad sandy beaches:
Paella a la Valenciana is the most famous, for it was in the Valencia area east of Madrid on Spain's Mediterranean coast that the Moors introduced rice as a crop and developed an irrigation system that made it possible to grow this water-demanding cereal. Some say this happened in the 11th century, but most sources claim that rice production dates from the eighth century.
Valencia's other rice dishes include arroz a banda, made with fish stock; arroz al forno, rice baked with chickpeas, tomato and sausage; arroz con alubias y nabos, which is soupy and includes turnips and white beans; and olleta, a pumpkin and chestnut rice with pork and vegetables.
A favorite non-rice dish in Valencia is fideua, which is similar to a paella and includes seafood but is made with pasta. Cookbook author Teresa Barrenechea suggests substituting small elbow macaroni or angel-hair pasta broken into 2-inch lengths for the Valencian pasta.
The Spanish word for rice is just one of the many Arabic words that have become part of Spanish and other languages: arroz in Spanish from arruz in Arabic. Azafran, the Spanish word for saffron, is another almost direct copy from Arabic, and, like the rice, is essential to a paella. Albufera is from the Arabic word for lake.
Paella evolved from a humble dish cooked over a fire by people working in the orange groves -- as in Valencian oranges. In "The Cuisines of Spain, Exploring Regional Home Cooking" (Ten Speed Press), Miss Barrenechea disputes the claim that "paella" comes from "paelleria," the steel (but not stainless) pan in which it is cooked. The pan, with low sides, has two handles.
Miss Barrenechea says paella "comes from the Latin patella, the term for the large, round dish the Romans used for presenting their gifts to the gods. Apparently the paella pan as we know it today -- and what defines a paella from other rice dishes -- came many centuries after the name was first used."
It has been said that paella is a man's dish and is best made by men, but I have found that many Spanish men happily praise mother's paella. When a man is cooking paella, odds are that he will be doing it outdoors over a wood fire, for a truly traditional paella. When it is done, it must be served immediately -- or some prefer to let it rest briefly to get a bit crustier.
There are two schools about whether the rice should be put directly in the pan with the broth or whether the rice should be sauteed first -- apparently to open the grains for absorbing more flavors.
Paellas are not covered and sometimes are cooked in pans that can fit over two burners on a stove. Food writer Florence Fabricant suggests, instead, that two paellas be prepared in pans that will each fit over one burner, perhaps one seafood, the other meats.
Miss Fabricant provides the recipe Eric Ripert's Seafood Paella, in "The New York Times Country Weekend Cookbook," just published by St. Martin's Press. Mr. Ripert, the chef at Le Bernadin in New York City, cooks paella for guests at his home in Sag Harbor, N.Y.
A seafood paella would use fish stock in place of the chicken broth used for paellas with meat.
Miss Fabricant says a paella should not be attempted "without the proper pan and the proper rice."
She advises using 1/3 to 1/2 cup of rice per person. "Usually twice the quantity of liquid as rice is needed."
Paella pans often are stocked by grocers for Latino communities, and they are available on the Internet, but remember that stainless steel is not the preferred paelleria. Paella pans carried by gourmet shops tend to be much more expensive than the authentic pans available at La Tienda (phone 800/710-4304 or visit www.tienda.com) which stocks Spanish paella pans from 16 inches to 36 inches in diameter.
The saying that half the diameter of a pan indicates how many people a paella made in that pan will serve is not always true. An 8-inch paella pan serves one person, a 10-inch pan will serve two; the 36-inch pan will serve 40 to 50 persons, according to La Tienda.
Paella de pollo y setas (Chicken and mushroom paella)
This recipe by Jose Andres is from his book "Tapas: A Taste of Spain in America."
"In this paella," Mr. Andres says, "you can add some extra vegetables like eggplant, zucchini, cauliflower or any of your favorite vegetables. Just saute the vegetables after the chicken. You can also add chicken livers for extra flavor, or substitute rabbit for the chicken."
Other combinations also work, such as the addition of chorizo, the spicy Spanish sausage. In Valencia, morcilla, the Spanish blood sausage, often is used along with chicken or other meats.
-2 tablespoons Spanish extra-virgin olive oil
-2 chicken legs, cut into small pieces
-8 ounces seasonal fresh mushrooms, whole (such as chanterelles)
-3 ounces green beans, cleaned and cut into 1-inch pieces
-½ garlic clove, finely chopped (about 1 teaspoon)
-2 tablespoons of jamon serrano (Spanish dry cured ham), cut into small cubes
-1/4 cup white wine
-1/4 cup sofrito (recipe follows)
-4 cups chicken stock
-1 pinch saffron
-1 bay leaf
-1 tablespoon salt
-1½ cups Spanish bomba rice, or arborio (Italian)
In a paella pan over high heat, saute the chicken with the olive oil until it's very brown on every side, about 4 minutes. Remove and set aside.
Add the mushrooms and saute until they are golden, about 3 minutes. Add the green beans and the garlic, and cook for 3 minutes. Return the chicken to the pan along with the ham.
Pour in the white wine and allow it to reduce by half, about 1 minute. Add the sofrito and cook for 3 minutes. Pour in the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Crush the saffron and add to the pan along with the bay leaf. Season with the salt. Make sure it's just a little salty, because when we add the rice, the dish will balance itself out.
Add the rice, taking care to spread it evenly around the pan. Cook for 5 minutes on a high flame, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon. You'll see the rice floating around the pan. If it's not, add an extra ½ cup of stock or water.
Reduce the heat to low and maintain a slow boil for an additional 10 minutes, until the liquid is absorbed. Never put your finger or spoon into the paella again or the rice will cook unevenly.
Let sit for 3 minutes. At this stage, the stock has been absorbed by the rice and there's a nice shine to the top of the paella. Serve immediately. This makes generous servings for 4 or more.
SOFRITO (CATALAN TOMATO AND ONION SAUCE)
-10 ripe plum tomatoes
-1½ cups Spanish extra-virgin olive oil
-4 small Spanish onions, peeled and finely chopped (about 4 cups)
-1 teaspoon sugar
-1 teaspoon salt
-1 teaspoon pimenton dulce (Spanish sweet paprika)
-1 bay leaf
Cut the tomatoes in half. Place a grater over a large mixing bowl. Rub the open face of the tomatoes over the grater until all the flesh is grated. Discard the skin.
Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over a medium-low flame. Add the onions, the sugar and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, until the onions become soft and tender and turn a light brown color, about 45 minutes. You want the onions to caramelize. If they get too dark, add ½ tablespoon of water to keep them from burning while they cook.
Add the reserved tomato puree, the pimenton, and bay leaf. Cook for another 20 minutes over medium heat. You'll know your sofrito is ready when the tomato has broken down and deepened in color and the oil has separated from the sauce.
Read more
As paella is all about rice, there is one type that is preferred: the short-grained variety produced in the vast rice fields south of Valencia between the Mediterranean and the mountains. The favorite is the bomba variety, which cracks around the middle like an accordion instead of from top to bottom. Mr. Andres says that Calasparra rice from Spain or arborio from Italy may be used instead -- but in Valencia, bomba is the rice of choice for paella.
Besides bomba, there are two other rices that can be certified and marketed as "arroz de Valencia" as a designation of origin under the rules of a regulatory council: senia and bahia, which are both medium-grain. These are Valencia's big three, preferred over the world's more than 5,000 other rices.
The Valencian rices -- about one-third of the Spanish crop -- are produced in the flat fields of the Albufera, a freshwater lake in a national park of the same name. The Albufera is a haven for migratory birds as well as a recreational area for the city and surrounding municipalities.
The lake and sea are separated by the Dehesa del Saler, a narrow six-mile-long stretch of land, much of it sand dunes held in place by Mediterranean pines, shrubs and grasses. The lagoon was formed in prehistoric times by sediment from two rivers, the Turia to the north and the Jucar to the south. At some points, the lake is four miles wide.
Within the Albufera is El Palmar, founded in 1250 by King Jaume I the Conqueror, who granted the local residents a charter allowing them to fish in the lagoon. In El Palmar, local fishing boats can be hired to tour the lake, passing through many channels and pausing for a rice dish for lunch on the boat. Along the seacoast are broad sandy beaches:
Paella a la Valenciana is the most famous, for it was in the Valencia area east of Madrid on Spain's Mediterranean coast that the Moors introduced rice as a crop and developed an irrigation system that made it possible to grow this water-demanding cereal. Some say this happened in the 11th century, but most sources claim that rice production dates from the eighth century.
Valencia's other rice dishes include arroz a banda, made with fish stock; arroz al forno, rice baked with chickpeas, tomato and sausage; arroz con alubias y nabos, which is soupy and includes turnips and white beans; and olleta, a pumpkin and chestnut rice with pork and vegetables.
A favorite non-rice dish in Valencia is fideua, which is similar to a paella and includes seafood but is made with pasta. Cookbook author Teresa Barrenechea suggests substituting small elbow macaroni or angel-hair pasta broken into 2-inch lengths for the Valencian pasta.
The Spanish word for rice is just one of the many Arabic words that have become part of Spanish and other languages: arroz in Spanish from arruz in Arabic. Azafran, the Spanish word for saffron, is another almost direct copy from Arabic, and, like the rice, is essential to a paella. Albufera is from the Arabic word for lake.
Paella evolved from a humble dish cooked over a fire by people working in the orange groves -- as in Valencian oranges. In "The Cuisines of Spain, Exploring Regional Home Cooking" (Ten Speed Press), Miss Barrenechea disputes the claim that "paella" comes from "paelleria," the steel (but not stainless) pan in which it is cooked. The pan, with low sides, has two handles.
Miss Barrenechea says paella "comes from the Latin patella, the term for the large, round dish the Romans used for presenting their gifts to the gods. Apparently the paella pan as we know it today -- and what defines a paella from other rice dishes -- came many centuries after the name was first used."
It has been said that paella is a man's dish and is best made by men, but I have found that many Spanish men happily praise mother's paella. When a man is cooking paella, odds are that he will be doing it outdoors over a wood fire, for a truly traditional paella. When it is done, it must be served immediately -- or some prefer to let it rest briefly to get a bit crustier.
There are two schools about whether the rice should be put directly in the pan with the broth or whether the rice should be sauteed first -- apparently to open the grains for absorbing more flavors.
Paellas are not covered and sometimes are cooked in pans that can fit over two burners on a stove. Food writer Florence Fabricant suggests, instead, that two paellas be prepared in pans that will each fit over one burner, perhaps one seafood, the other meats.
Miss Fabricant provides the recipe Eric Ripert's Seafood Paella, in "The New York Times Country Weekend Cookbook," just published by St. Martin's Press. Mr. Ripert, the chef at Le Bernadin in New York City, cooks paella for guests at his home in Sag Harbor, N.Y.
A seafood paella would use fish stock in place of the chicken broth used for paellas with meat.
Miss Fabricant says a paella should not be attempted "without the proper pan and the proper rice."
She advises using 1/3 to 1/2 cup of rice per person. "Usually twice the quantity of liquid as rice is needed."
Paella pans often are stocked by grocers for Latino communities, and they are available on the Internet, but remember that stainless steel is not the preferred paelleria. Paella pans carried by gourmet shops tend to be much more expensive than the authentic pans available at La Tienda (phone 800/710-4304 or visit www.tienda.com) which stocks Spanish paella pans from 16 inches to 36 inches in diameter.
The saying that half the diameter of a pan indicates how many people a paella made in that pan will serve is not always true. An 8-inch paella pan serves one person, a 10-inch pan will serve two; the 36-inch pan will serve 40 to 50 persons, according to La Tienda.
Paella de pollo y setas (Chicken and mushroom paella)
This recipe by Jose Andres is from his book "Tapas: A Taste of Spain in America."
"In this paella," Mr. Andres says, "you can add some extra vegetables like eggplant, zucchini, cauliflower or any of your favorite vegetables. Just saute the vegetables after the chicken. You can also add chicken livers for extra flavor, or substitute rabbit for the chicken."
Other combinations also work, such as the addition of chorizo, the spicy Spanish sausage. In Valencia, morcilla, the Spanish blood sausage, often is used along with chicken or other meats.
-2 tablespoons Spanish extra-virgin olive oil
-2 chicken legs, cut into small pieces
-8 ounces seasonal fresh mushrooms, whole (such as chanterelles)
-3 ounces green beans, cleaned and cut into 1-inch pieces
-½ garlic clove, finely chopped (about 1 teaspoon)
-2 tablespoons of jamon serrano (Spanish dry cured ham), cut into small cubes
-1/4 cup white wine
-1/4 cup sofrito (recipe follows)
-4 cups chicken stock
-1 pinch saffron
-1 bay leaf
-1 tablespoon salt
-1½ cups Spanish bomba rice, or arborio (Italian)
In a paella pan over high heat, saute the chicken with the olive oil until it's very brown on every side, about 4 minutes. Remove and set aside.
Add the mushrooms and saute until they are golden, about 3 minutes. Add the green beans and the garlic, and cook for 3 minutes. Return the chicken to the pan along with the ham.
Pour in the white wine and allow it to reduce by half, about 1 minute. Add the sofrito and cook for 3 minutes. Pour in the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Crush the saffron and add to the pan along with the bay leaf. Season with the salt. Make sure it's just a little salty, because when we add the rice, the dish will balance itself out.
Add the rice, taking care to spread it evenly around the pan. Cook for 5 minutes on a high flame, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon. You'll see the rice floating around the pan. If it's not, add an extra ½ cup of stock or water.
Reduce the heat to low and maintain a slow boil for an additional 10 minutes, until the liquid is absorbed. Never put your finger or spoon into the paella again or the rice will cook unevenly.
Let sit for 3 minutes. At this stage, the stock has been absorbed by the rice and there's a nice shine to the top of the paella. Serve immediately. This makes generous servings for 4 or more.
SOFRITO (CATALAN TOMATO AND ONION SAUCE)
-10 ripe plum tomatoes
-1½ cups Spanish extra-virgin olive oil
-4 small Spanish onions, peeled and finely chopped (about 4 cups)
-1 teaspoon sugar
-1 teaspoon salt
-1 teaspoon pimenton dulce (Spanish sweet paprika)
-1 bay leaf
Cut the tomatoes in half. Place a grater over a large mixing bowl. Rub the open face of the tomatoes over the grater until all the flesh is grated. Discard the skin.
Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over a medium-low flame. Add the onions, the sugar and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, until the onions become soft and tender and turn a light brown color, about 45 minutes. You want the onions to caramelize. If they get too dark, add ½ tablespoon of water to keep them from burning while they cook.
Add the reserved tomato puree, the pimenton, and bay leaf. Cook for another 20 minutes over medium heat. You'll know your sofrito is ready when the tomato has broken down and deepened in color and the oil has separated from the sauce.
Sweet Tortas and Single Spices
With a taste of olive oil and sugar and a touch of anise, Tortas de Aceite de Ines Rosales straddle a savory-sweet...
Read full article...
Sweet Vinegars From Spain
Singular grapes and a unique aging process result in unique vinegar that stands out in the American kitchen
Molly Gordy
If Aesop had written a fable about sweet vinegars, Spanish vinagre de Jerez would have played the tortoise and Italy’s aceto balsamico di Modena the hare. The average American diner had never heard of either product in the early 1970s, when an article by New York Times food writer Craig Claiborne introduced readers to the joys of balsamic vinegar, setting off a stampede that has yet to abate.
Fueled by the popularity of Italian restaurants, Italy’s efficient promotion of food exports and our national sweet tooth, the dark and syrupy vinegar from Modena quickly evolved from a fad to a trend to a staple of the U.S. diet. Sherry vinegar, in contrast, was virtually invisible in the United States until the mid-1990s, and is still an infrequent guest on the supermarket shelf. There are several reasons for this. Spain banned food exports for decades in response to the famines that accompanied its Civil War. When the government finally created an aggressive export policy, it concentrated on its most abundant products such as citrus fruit, wine, olives and olive oil.
But just as in Aesop’s fable, this tale of two vinegars may have a surprise ending. Like the swift rabbit, balsamic vinegar has become a victim of its own early success. As demand for balsamic outstripped supply, many Italian producers began adulterating their product with sugar to hasten the maturation process.
Moreover, sales of balsamic took off so rapidly that the average American consumer never learned how to use it properly, notes Darrell Corti of Corti Brothers in Sacramento, California, a leading specialty food store. “True balsamic is a very intense, concentrated vinegar that is designed to be sprinkled, drop by drop, over hard cheese or grilled vegetables, or combined with other vinegars,” Corti says. “People in this country use it by the cupful in salad dressings, which is like putting maple syrup over lettuce.”
Spanish producers, in contrast, took the opposite route. Without the need for haste, they were able to experiment with different blends and methods to produce a wider variety of top quality Sherry vinegars. And as their Italian counterparts blazed the trail in sweet vinegar imports, the Spanish learned from their mistakes. At their insistence, in March 2000 the regional body governing Sherry wine denominations began regulating Sherry vinegars as well.
The result is a versatile product line of guaranteed purity, entering a market already trained to appreciate sweet vinegars, that is increasingly familiar with Spanish wines and ready to try something new after years of tasting nothing but balsamic vinegars. And while imports of Sherry vinegar are unlikely to overtake balsamic any time soon, wholesalers and distributors agree that increasing numbers of Americans are buying Sherry vinegar. “When we opened in 1966, only Spanish customers bought Sherry vinegar,” says Don Harris of La Tienda.com, the largest online supplier of Spanish imports in the United States. “Now I’d say it’s 50-50. The increase has been steady, and all signs point to it continuing.”
Just as authentic balsamic is native to Modena, Italy, true Sherry vinegar comes from a single town: Sanlucar de Barrameda in Andalucía, on the southern Atlantic coast of Spain. And like its Italian counterpart, vinagre de Jerez is the end result of a unique aging process that produces a flavor like no other. But here the similarities end. True balsamico starts with red wine, and must be aged at least 12 years in barrels of different woods such as mulberry, chestnut, juniper, acacia or cherry. The result is a deep purple syrup of such sweet intensity that it is designed to be used primarily in combination with other, more tart vinegars.
The classic vinagre de Jerez is made from the Fino Palomino (Sherry wine) grape grown in white (chalky) soil and aged in oak barrels, producing a caramel-colored vinegar with a more balanced sweet and sour taste suited for use on its own. The least expensive of these vinegars are aged for six months to 2 years. The finer Reservas are aged for two to 10 years, and the elite Gran Reservas may be aged up to 25, 50 or even 75 years.
The most prized varieties come of age through a natural process called Solera, which is unique to the Jerez region. As the Spanish exporter Med International describes it, the system consists of rows of 500-liter oak casks piled up in a pyramid, each row containing Sherry vinegar of similar characteristics but different ages. The barrels, previously used to store Sherry wine, release their aroma and flavor into the vinegar.
The oldest vinegar is stored in the Solera, the bottom row of barrels. No more than a third of the barrel content is ever removed from this layer for bottling. This quantity is then replaced with younger vinegar from the Criadera, the row of barrels stored directly above the Solera. The space in the first Criadera is then filled with still younger vinegar from the row above, and so on, until finally, the top of the pyramid is filled with new vinegar. The blending of new Vinum Acre PX by Anima Aurea, www.animaaurea.com with older vinegars ensures a consistency of flavor, color and aroma, year after year.
A second, sweeter type of Sherry vinegar began entering the United States in 1999 as a smoother alternative to balsamics. Called Vinagre de Jerez PX, it blends the traditional vinegar with wine made from the sweet Pedro Ximénez grapes of Málaga, and can be used alone as well as in combination with other vinegars. An even newer import, an ultra-sweet Moscatel vinegar, is made from white Muscat grapes.
Sherry vinegar is a favorite of celebrity chefs such as Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Mario Batali, Bobby Flay and Paul Bocuse, who use it to add depth of flavor to French, Italian, Southwestern and Thai-inspired cuisines. Their influence is spreading via the internet, where you can press a button and find recipes for dishes like Corn and Chicken Liver Crêpes in a Sherry vinegar beurre blanc; Bluefin Tuna Cheeks with Turnips in a Sherry vinegar glaze; smoked herring and potato salad with hot Sherry vinegar-bacon dressing, or Venison Medallions in a tomato-mushroom-and- Sherry vinegar broth.
“Unlike balsamics, there is no limit to Sherry vinegar’s versatility,” says Steven Jenkins, buyer for the New York Citybased Fairway specialty food stores. “The traditional version is terrific in soups and stews, in sauces and marinades, on fish and chicken, or mixed with olive oil over green salads. The PX is great over fruit salads, hard cheeses or combined with walnut oil over a salad of endive, walnuts and blue cheese.”
While Sherry vinegar is still mainly available only through specialty food stores, the range of producers, prices and and flavors is expansive. Here is a sampling:
A. Columela 50-Year Sherry Vinegar is obtained from the Jerez production zone and aged in barrels of American oak following the traditional system of Soleras and Criaderas. The Soleras that gave birth to this product were established in 1946.
B. Cepa Vieja, the vinegar favored by Mario Batali, is made from a 40-yearold mother vinegar. It has a mellow, rich sherry flavor and mild acidity that won’t overpower delicate flavors. 250 milliliters (8.3 oz) for $18.
C. Las Llaves Sherry Vinegar. Don Harris of La Tienda.com counts this dry and tangy vinegar as his family’s favorite. Its name, which translates as “The Keys,” refers to the Spanish tradition of keeping one’s best wines and vinegars in a small cellar under lock and key. With a relatively high acidity of 7%, a little goes a long way. $19.95 for 22.5 oz.
D. El Majuelo PX Sweet Sherry Vinegar. A superior, natural alternative to condimentgrade balsamic, and at $12.95 for 8.5 oz, a good value.
E. Vinum Acre Anima Aurea. This exquisitely balanced PX is my family’s favorite. It comes in an elegant bottle with cap and pour spout, packaged in a gift box. $12.95 for 8.5 oz.
Molly Gordy is an award-winning journalist, translator and college professor who dreams of moving to Spain. She can be reached at profgordy@gmail.com.
The Vinegars Pictured to the Right are:
1. & 2. Sotaroni PX Gran Reserva 25 years and Moscatel Reserva 12 years,
www.psimports.com
3. Sotaroni PX 12 years,
www.fromspain.com
4. Ferianes PX,
www.aecovi-jerez.com
5. Don Millan PX,
www.valderramaUSA.com
6. El Majuelo PX,
www.forevercheese.com
7. 8. & 9. Agustí Torelló (white cava), Agredolç (red wine), Hacienda Bracamonte(PX),
www.klkellerimports.com
10. L’Estornell (palomino fino, Reserva) Solera established in 1940,
www.demedici.com
11. Cepa Vieja Reserva,
www.rogersintl.com
12. & 13. Vindaro (Rioja wine),
www.yayaimports.com
14. Cerro de los Angeles Reserva,
www.mgilluque.com
Read more
Molly Gordy
If Aesop had written a fable about sweet vinegars, Spanish vinagre de Jerez would have played the tortoise and Italy’s aceto balsamico di Modena the hare. The average American diner had never heard of either product in the early 1970s, when an article by New York Times food writer Craig Claiborne introduced readers to the joys of balsamic vinegar, setting off a stampede that has yet to abate.
Fueled by the popularity of Italian restaurants, Italy’s efficient promotion of food exports and our national sweet tooth, the dark and syrupy vinegar from Modena quickly evolved from a fad to a trend to a staple of the U.S. diet. Sherry vinegar, in contrast, was virtually invisible in the United States until the mid-1990s, and is still an infrequent guest on the supermarket shelf. There are several reasons for this. Spain banned food exports for decades in response to the famines that accompanied its Civil War. When the government finally created an aggressive export policy, it concentrated on its most abundant products such as citrus fruit, wine, olives and olive oil.
But just as in Aesop’s fable, this tale of two vinegars may have a surprise ending. Like the swift rabbit, balsamic vinegar has become a victim of its own early success. As demand for balsamic outstripped supply, many Italian producers began adulterating their product with sugar to hasten the maturation process.
Moreover, sales of balsamic took off so rapidly that the average American consumer never learned how to use it properly, notes Darrell Corti of Corti Brothers in Sacramento, California, a leading specialty food store. “True balsamic is a very intense, concentrated vinegar that is designed to be sprinkled, drop by drop, over hard cheese or grilled vegetables, or combined with other vinegars,” Corti says. “People in this country use it by the cupful in salad dressings, which is like putting maple syrup over lettuce.”
Spanish producers, in contrast, took the opposite route. Without the need for haste, they were able to experiment with different blends and methods to produce a wider variety of top quality Sherry vinegars. And as their Italian counterparts blazed the trail in sweet vinegar imports, the Spanish learned from their mistakes. At their insistence, in March 2000 the regional body governing Sherry wine denominations began regulating Sherry vinegars as well.
The result is a versatile product line of guaranteed purity, entering a market already trained to appreciate sweet vinegars, that is increasingly familiar with Spanish wines and ready to try something new after years of tasting nothing but balsamic vinegars. And while imports of Sherry vinegar are unlikely to overtake balsamic any time soon, wholesalers and distributors agree that increasing numbers of Americans are buying Sherry vinegar. “When we opened in 1966, only Spanish customers bought Sherry vinegar,” says Don Harris of La Tienda.com, the largest online supplier of Spanish imports in the United States. “Now I’d say it’s 50-50. The increase has been steady, and all signs point to it continuing.”
Just as authentic balsamic is native to Modena, Italy, true Sherry vinegar comes from a single town: Sanlucar de Barrameda in Andalucía, on the southern Atlantic coast of Spain. And like its Italian counterpart, vinagre de Jerez is the end result of a unique aging process that produces a flavor like no other. But here the similarities end. True balsamico starts with red wine, and must be aged at least 12 years in barrels of different woods such as mulberry, chestnut, juniper, acacia or cherry. The result is a deep purple syrup of such sweet intensity that it is designed to be used primarily in combination with other, more tart vinegars.
The classic vinagre de Jerez is made from the Fino Palomino (Sherry wine) grape grown in white (chalky) soil and aged in oak barrels, producing a caramel-colored vinegar with a more balanced sweet and sour taste suited for use on its own. The least expensive of these vinegars are aged for six months to 2 years. The finer Reservas are aged for two to 10 years, and the elite Gran Reservas may be aged up to 25, 50 or even 75 years.
The most prized varieties come of age through a natural process called Solera, which is unique to the Jerez region. As the Spanish exporter Med International describes it, the system consists of rows of 500-liter oak casks piled up in a pyramid, each row containing Sherry vinegar of similar characteristics but different ages. The barrels, previously used to store Sherry wine, release their aroma and flavor into the vinegar.
The oldest vinegar is stored in the Solera, the bottom row of barrels. No more than a third of the barrel content is ever removed from this layer for bottling. This quantity is then replaced with younger vinegar from the Criadera, the row of barrels stored directly above the Solera. The space in the first Criadera is then filled with still younger vinegar from the row above, and so on, until finally, the top of the pyramid is filled with new vinegar. The blending of new Vinum Acre PX by Anima Aurea, www.animaaurea.com with older vinegars ensures a consistency of flavor, color and aroma, year after year.
A second, sweeter type of Sherry vinegar began entering the United States in 1999 as a smoother alternative to balsamics. Called Vinagre de Jerez PX, it blends the traditional vinegar with wine made from the sweet Pedro Ximénez grapes of Málaga, and can be used alone as well as in combination with other vinegars. An even newer import, an ultra-sweet Moscatel vinegar, is made from white Muscat grapes.
Sherry vinegar is a favorite of celebrity chefs such as Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Mario Batali, Bobby Flay and Paul Bocuse, who use it to add depth of flavor to French, Italian, Southwestern and Thai-inspired cuisines. Their influence is spreading via the internet, where you can press a button and find recipes for dishes like Corn and Chicken Liver Crêpes in a Sherry vinegar beurre blanc; Bluefin Tuna Cheeks with Turnips in a Sherry vinegar glaze; smoked herring and potato salad with hot Sherry vinegar-bacon dressing, or Venison Medallions in a tomato-mushroom-and- Sherry vinegar broth.
“Unlike balsamics, there is no limit to Sherry vinegar’s versatility,” says Steven Jenkins, buyer for the New York Citybased Fairway specialty food stores. “The traditional version is terrific in soups and stews, in sauces and marinades, on fish and chicken, or mixed with olive oil over green salads. The PX is great over fruit salads, hard cheeses or combined with walnut oil over a salad of endive, walnuts and blue cheese.”
While Sherry vinegar is still mainly available only through specialty food stores, the range of producers, prices and and flavors is expansive. Here is a sampling:
A. Columela 50-Year Sherry Vinegar is obtained from the Jerez production zone and aged in barrels of American oak following the traditional system of Soleras and Criaderas. The Soleras that gave birth to this product were established in 1946.
B. Cepa Vieja, the vinegar favored by Mario Batali, is made from a 40-yearold mother vinegar. It has a mellow, rich sherry flavor and mild acidity that won’t overpower delicate flavors. 250 milliliters (8.3 oz) for $18.
C. Las Llaves Sherry Vinegar. Don Harris of La Tienda.com counts this dry and tangy vinegar as his family’s favorite. Its name, which translates as “The Keys,” refers to the Spanish tradition of keeping one’s best wines and vinegars in a small cellar under lock and key. With a relatively high acidity of 7%, a little goes a long way. $19.95 for 22.5 oz.
D. El Majuelo PX Sweet Sherry Vinegar. A superior, natural alternative to condimentgrade balsamic, and at $12.95 for 8.5 oz, a good value.
E. Vinum Acre Anima Aurea. This exquisitely balanced PX is my family’s favorite. It comes in an elegant bottle with cap and pour spout, packaged in a gift box. $12.95 for 8.5 oz.
Molly Gordy is an award-winning journalist, translator and college professor who dreams of moving to Spain. She can be reached at profgordy@gmail.com.
The Vinegars Pictured to the Right are:
1. & 2. Sotaroni PX Gran Reserva 25 years and Moscatel Reserva 12 years,
www.psimports.com
3. Sotaroni PX 12 years,
www.fromspain.com
4. Ferianes PX,
www.aecovi-jerez.com
5. Don Millan PX,
www.valderramaUSA.com
6. El Majuelo PX,
www.forevercheese.com
7. 8. & 9. Agustí Torelló (white cava), Agredolç (red wine), Hacienda Bracamonte(PX),
www.klkellerimports.com
10. L’Estornell (palomino fino, Reserva) Solera established in 1940,
www.demedici.com
11. Cepa Vieja Reserva,
www.rogersintl.com
12. & 13. Vindaro (Rioja wine),
www.yayaimports.com
14. Cerro de los Angeles Reserva,
www.mgilluque.com
You'll savor the experience of Spanish iberico ham -- eventually
Leslie Cole
For lovers of all things piggy, the expected arrival early this year of iberico ham (jamon iberico), the Perigord truffle of the pork world, was cause for celebration. Despite plenty of promises, the wait isn't over yet.
Streaked with creamy, nutty-tasting fat and so red it's nearly purple, the salt- and air-cured Spanish mountain ham, known also as pata negra (Spanish for black foot or black hoof), is widely acknowledged as the world's greatest.
"It's fantastic," says Steve Jones of Steve's Cheese in Northwest Portland, who tasted the most prized type, the acorn-fed jamon iberico de bellota, several years back at Harrods in London. "It is really hard to forget. The acorns impart a definite nuttiness."
A popular bar snack in Spain (some would call it a national obsession), iberico ham, like its everyday cousin, serrano, is a meatier, gutsier nibble than a delicate slice of prosciutto.
The meat comes from free-range Iberian hogs, a boarlike heirloom breed that roams Western Andalusia gorging on wild acorns. The breed, the feed and the fact each whole-leg ham dry-cures for two to four years, accounts for its appeal and its exorbitant price: around $1,200 for a whole ham, although you can buy it by the slice ($50 to $100 a pound, depending on the grade).
Trouble is, it's never been sold on American shores because until recently Spain lacked a USDA-certified slaughterhouse for it. (Serrano ham gets around that because it's butchered in Holland, which does have USDA facilities, and then sent back to Spain for curing.)
That changed in 2005, when a small Spanish operation called Fermin built a USDA-approved facility and was approved to export iberico pork products to the U.S. Though a few cases of chorizo and salchichon, dry-aged sausages made from the vaunted pork, slipped into Portland last fall (Pastaworks sold them locally for about a month), the shipments stopped, and there's still no sign of that ham.
What's the holdup?
It boils down to missing paperwork, say folks close to the process.
"For the last six months, we've been on a sort of go-slow," says Taylor Griffin, a partner in Fermin USA, the U.S. subsidiary of the Spanish producer. (Another partner in the venture is Spanish chef Jose Andres, who owns Jaleo and six other restaurants around Washington, D.C.)
"We had to verify some of the processing steps in a scientific way for USDA, and they stopped us from exporting more product until we did these things."
Fermin, Griffin says, was "delisted" by USDA officials but is in the process of re-listing. What should have taken 90 days to sort out has taken six months, he says. Within a month he expects to see chorizo and salchichon, spicy, dry-cured sausages made from iberico pork. The chewy, deep-red chorizo is flavored with smoky pimenton; the wine-colored salchichon flecked with black pepper.
Soon after that, Griffin expects lomo, cured pork loin. The first iberico hams should arrive by summer, but it could be August 2008 before anyone sees the top-grade bellota hams, which require longer aging.
Don Harris of Spanish food purveyor La Tienda, a mail-order and online company based in Virginia, says the delay had nothing to do with the products or the processor not meeting U.S. standards.
"It was purely a clerical error. But once the clerical error happens, it takes on a life of its own."
Now "it's been all ironed out" between the Spanish government and USDA officials, he says, and ham could be in hand as early as May.
That would surely please the 300 customers on his waiting list, all of whom have paid $200 deposits for the privilege of getting in on the first shipment.
Fortunately for anyone who pays the price, a little goes a long way. Iberico ham, like its more common cousin, serrano, is meant to be nibbled as a snack, in small, bite-sized slices.
"It's got to be really thin, and it's cut parallel to the hoof, rather than across the grain," Harris says, noting that in Spain barmen slice it to order using a special holder and a long, flexible knife called a cuchillo jamonero.
If you want to capture the spirit of a tapas bar, serve it alongside some olives, toasted almonds and a glass of sherry. And be sure to eat the ham at room temperature to get the most flavor out of that luscious fat.
Another thing about that fat: Peter Kaminsky, author of "Pig Perfect," points out that about 55 percent of it is monounsaturated (the type that's in olive oil) and another 10 percent to 15 percent polyunsaturated because of all those acorns the forest-roaming hogs ingest on their way to becoming meat.
But the reason to buy this ham, if only a single slice, is not good fats. It's good flavor.
Developing a Spanish Accent
With La Tienda, Don Harris and family have found a growing market of customers who share their taste in jamon, pimenton and olive oil.
Ellen Ficklen
For Don Harris, the day in 1965 when he stepped off a ship in Valencia, Spain, remains vivid: "I said, 'I'm home.' "
His reaction was instantaneous, and the sentiment grew. In the 18 days that he spent in ports around the country as a U.S. Navy chaplain, he came to love...
Food Stuff - Tomatoes From Spain To Brighten Winter
Florence Fabricant
A rustic purée of fried tomatoes -- red, not green -- can brighten all sorts of dishes now, when most fresh tomatoes leave much to be desired. This condiment, tomate frito, is made...
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A rustic purée of fried tomatoes -- red, not green -- can brighten all sorts of dishes now, when most fresh tomatoes leave much to be desired. This condiment, tomate frito, is made...
