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Spanish Cassoulet

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Arrocina beans were the original base for this. They are tiny white beans grown in the Gredos mountains of Spain. I’d never heard of them until I found the original of this recipe in Barrafina but I imagine any of the white pulses would do admirably. The original had more of a description than a title: Arrocina Beans with Chorizo, Morcilla and Pork Belly. However, given that it is a stew of white beans, belly pork and sausages, this seems to be something of a Spanish equivalent of a French Cassoulet, hence my title.

[Yet to be tried.]

Planning

serves: 6
preparation time: 30 mins
cooking time: 2½ hrs

Ingredients

  • 500g pork belly, in the piece
  • 1tsp cumin seeds
  • 2 fennel bulbs, diced
  • 2 medium carrots, diced
  • 2 banana shallots, chopped
  • 1 leek (white only), diced
  • 2 sticks celery, diced
  • 1 head garlic, cloves finely chopped
  • 150g morcilla curada
  • 3 dried choricero peppers, soaked for 2 hrs
  • 3 dried guindilla chillies, halved lengthwise
  • 5 bay leaves, preferably fresh
  • small bunch fresh thyme
  • 500g dried white beans, soaked overnight
  • 2ltrs chicken stock
  • 800g cooking chorizo, sliced
  • 150g morcilla de Burgos, skinned & sliced
  • 1 Savoy cabbage, finely sliced & lightly cooked
  • Salt & pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4.

Rub the meaty side of the pork belly with a little of the olive oil and season it with salt, pepper and cumin seeds. Put it into a large roasting tray. skin side down, and roast in the oven for 2 hours. Remove from the oven and cut it into strips ~ 3cm in width. Set aside.

Meanwhile, heat a large pan or casserole over a medium heat and add 2 dessertspoons of olive oil. Add the vegetables and garlic and cook gently, stirring, for 10 minutes. Peel the morcilla curada and crumble it into the casserole with your hands. Drain the choricero peppers and slice, removing the seeds. Add the choriceros, chillies, bay leaves and thyme to the casserole and cook for a further 2 minutes. Add the drained Arrocina beans and the chicken stock and simmer very gently, uncovered, for 1½ hours, stirring occasionally. until the beans are cooked and beautifully soft.

Heat a dessertspoon of olive oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the chorizo and morcilla de Burgos and cook for 5 to 6 minutes. then add to the stew. Finally add the sliced pork belly and cooked Savoy cabbage. Season with salt and pepper. and serve.

Posted in Meat Tagged with:

Arroz Campero

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This is similar to a paella but I think, technically, is what would be classed in Spain as one of the arroces. Since this one features a couple of my favourite ingredients, rabbit and morcilla de Burgos, I could hardly resist it.

Morcilla de Burgos is a Spanish black pudding containing rice and onions. I haven’t found a half-way reasonable substitute yet in the UK – British black pudding just doesn’t do it, so one really needs a Spanish food supplier.

[Right, tested a half-quantity of this and all is well.]

Planning

serves: 6
preparation time: 30 mins
cooking time: 1 hr

Ingredients

  • olive oil
  • 1 rabbit, cut into 12 pieces
  • 500g mixed mushrooms
  • 4 bay leaves
  • handful of fresh thyme
  • 2 banana shallots, finely chopped
  • 4 clove garlic, finely sliced
  • 2 leeks (white only), finely chopped
  • 150g morcilla de Burgos, skin removed
  • 1ltr rabbit stock (use head and trimmings)
  • 300g paella rice (bomba)
  • 50g Pecorino cheese (or other ewe’s milk cheese)
  • 2 tbs parsley, roughly chopped
  • Salt & pepper

Method

Season the rabbit pieces and brown them with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a heavy-bottomed frying pan over a medium heat, cooking for a few minutes on each side. Remove the rabbit from the pan and set aside.

Add a splash more oil to the pan, then add the mushrooms and cook gently for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Throw in the bay leaves and thyme and cook for a further few minutes before adding the shallots, garlic and leeks. Cook for 5 minutes.

Remove the bay leaves and thyme from the pan, then crumble in the morcilla along with 125ml of the stock, stirring well. Add the rice and a little more of the stock, then put the rabbit back into the pan and mix well. Keep adding the stock bit by bit, stirring until it has all been absorbed.

When the rice is tender, adjust the seasoning.

Shave the Pecorino cheese over the top, scatter with the parsley and serve.

Posted in Meat Tagged with:

Lamb Braised in Manzanilla

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This is something I’m trying in Spain, where the lamb shoulders are much smaller than in the UK and just about big enough for three. If this proves successful, I may then try it back at home with a full sized shoulder of New Zealand/British lamb. That will, of course, need considerably more cooking.

[OK, I’ve tested this now and it’s bloody stunning.]

Planning

serves: 3
preparation time: 10 mins
cooking time: 2½ hrs

Ingredients

  • olive oil
  • shoulder of milk-fed lamb
  • 4 clove garlic, squashed with a knife blade
  • 2 banana shallots, peeled & quartered lengthways
  • handful of fresh thyme
  • 3 fresh bayleaves
  • 200ml manzanilla sherry
  • Salt & pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4.

Put 4 tablespoons of olive oil into a heavy-bottomed casserole and heat until nearly smoking. Add the lamb and sear on all sides until browned, seasoning with salt and pepper as you go. Remove the lamb from the casserole, then turn down the heat a little and add the shallots, garlic, thyme and bay leaves. Add a little more olive oil if necessary and cook until the shallots and garlic are nicely coloured.

Add the sherry and deglaze the casserole over a high heat, scraping all the caramelized bits from the bottom. Return the lamb to the casserole. Put the lid on and cook in the oven for 45 minutes, then turn the oven temperature down to 140°C/275°F/gas 1 and cook for another 1½ hours. The lamb should be beginning to fall off the bone at this stage.

Take the lamb out of the casserole and keep it warm. Put the casserole on a medium heat and simmer until the liquid has reduced by three-quarters. Taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning if necessary.

Carve the lamb with a spoon and serve. Drizzle with the sauce.

Posted in Meat Tagged with:

Caneton aux Navets

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A French country classic. I had a swift panic recently because I thought I might have lost this recipe. Fortunately, I hadn’t; I found the old Time-Life book, The Cooking of Provincial France , from which it comes. However, for future protection, I thought I should document it.

Turnips are wonderful and it’s great to have a recipe that features them in centre stage. They give a wonderful earthy character to the sauce in this duck recipe.

Planning

serves: 4
preparation time: 15 mins
cooking time: 3 hrs

Ingredients

  • 2kg duck (preferably with giblets)
  • 3 carrots, peeled
  • 3 medium onions, peeled
  • 1 celery stick, coarsely chopped
  • 500-600g medium turnips, washed & peeled (peel reserved)
  • 1 bay leaf
  • a few stalks of fresh parsley
  • 6 whole black peppercorns
  • 1 tbs olive oil
  • 15g butter
  • juice of ½ lemon
  • Salt & pepper

Method

First, heat the oven to 150°C/gas 2.

While the oven is heating, get the brown duck stock underway. Fortunately, at the time of writing, most ducks are supplied with their giblets whereas chickens rarely are. Do not use the liver (this would make the stock bitter and, anyway, is much better used as a canapé on toast). Chop up the neck, gizzard and heart. To this add the wing tips and middle wing sections, each cut in half. I cut off the parson’s nose and add that, too. Without adding oil, brown these pieces of duck in a cast iron pan over moderate heat. When they begin to caramelize, add a carrot, onion and celery stick, all roughly chopped, and continue browning. When everything has a nice brown tinge, add water to cover by about an inch. Add a bay leaf, half a dozen black peppercorns and the turnip peelings. Simmer for 2 hours.

Once the stock is simmering, begin braising the duck. Slash the duck skin all over, underneath and sides, too, with a sharp knife to allow the fat to run. Try not to cut into the duck flesh beneath the skin. Season the duck inside with salt and pepper. Heat a suitable roasting pan and add the olive oil. Brown the duck all over, or as much all over as you can. A considerable amount of the duck fat should melt and run out into the pan.

While the duck is browning, roughly slice the remaining two onions and two carrots. In a casserole just large enough to hold the duck, melt the butter and sweat the vegetables until they are becoming soft. Add a bay leaf and a few stalks of parsley. Place the browned duck on top of the onion and carrot bed, season it with salt and pepper, cover with a close-fitting lid and pop into the oven for about 75 minutes.

While the duck in braising, quarter the turnips. If you are feeling particularly posh, you can turn the quarters into olive shapes – great for a dinner party.

Remove the casserole from the oven and lift out the duck. Strain the braising juices into a container, pressing down on the vegetables to extract as much flavour as possible. Let the juices settle and remove as much of the fat removed as possible. Discard the braising vegetables. Your stock should have had about two hours by now – strain it and throw away the bits. Return the duck to the casserole and surround it with the turnip quarters. Pour in the braising liquid and enough stock to barely cover the turnips. Return the casserole to the oven for another 20 minutes, or until the turnips are tender when pierced with a sharp knife. Remover the casserole from the oven.

Now magic is required – we are supposed to crisp up the duck skin. Good luck! Personally, I don’t think the duck ever gets truly crispy, having been braised, but give it a go. Increase the oven to 225°C/gas 7. Place the braised duck in a roasting pan and bang it back in the now hot oven for 15 minutes or so.

Meanwhile, remove the turnips from the cooking liquid. Boil the liquid to reduce it, thicken it slightly and intensify the flavours. Add the juice of jalf a lemon to give it a lift and adjust the seasoning.

The 15 minutes in a hot oven should have made the duck skin somewhat crisp. Remove it from the oven for the final time and serve, surrounded by the turnips with the sauce in a boat on the side.


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Sauce Vierge

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Developed by Michel Guérard, this is a fresh, modern, light accompaniment that goes well with plain grilled or pan-fried fish.

It remains to be seen whether I can avoid my beloved Salsa Verde to try this, though. I have one audience member that is now avoiding raw onion, which Salsa Verde does not have. Difficult!

Planning

serves: 4
preparation time: 15 mins
cooking time: 2 mins

Ingredients

  • 2 salad tomatoes, skinned, seeded and diced
  • 1 small garlic clove, finely chopped
  • 1 banana shallot, halved & sliced thinly
  • 5g (ish) fresh soft herbs (e.g. chives, tarragon, parsley, basil, chervil, coriander)
  • 75ml olive oil
  • juice of a lemon
  • 6 coriander seeds, finely crushed (optional)
  • Salt & pepper

Method

Add all the ingredients to a pan and mix well. Let it sit until you are very nearly ready to serve. (A couple of hours would be good.)

When almost ready, warm the sauce very gently for 2 minutes or so. On no account get it hot enough to start cooking.


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Posted in Sauces Tagged with:

Beef Goulash

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I am not a great beef eater but I recently discovered Beef Skirt (for a Steak and Kidney pie) and loved it – it actually has beef flavour [shock, horror]. Anxious to use it again, I went in search of another suitable recipe and came across an old 60s favourite from Supercook: Bogrács Gulyás, Hungarian Beef Goulash. Beef brisket also works very well or, for the adventurous, beef heart.

Missing from the 60s, which is probably when I last cooked this, was the Internet. I now know that, as is frequently the case with recipes, there are as many variations as there are cooks and also that a bogrács is the tradtional iron pot in which this would have been cooked over an open wood fire. Yikes! (The Supercook version used neither a bogrács nor an open fire.)

I discovered another interesting snippet: a Hungarian Goulash is traditionally more of a soup than it is a stew. (The Supercook version was not.) However, I wanted more of a stew. So, in deference to the fact that I’ve made my own amendments to this dish, cook it indoors and used the flavour concepts rather than the precision, I avoid calling it Bogrács Gulyás and refer to it simply as Beef Goulash. As a nod to the smoky fire cooking approach, I put some smoked paprika into the mix.

Should you fancy the more traditional approach in a cast iron pot strung over an open wood fire, feel free to go ahead, though you will almost certainly need more liquid.

Planning

serves: 4
preparation time: 15 mins
cooking time: 3 hrs

Ingredients

  • 900g Beef Skirt, in 2.5cm cubes
  • rapeseed oil (or vegetable oil)
  • 3 medium-large onions, chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 2 tbs sweet paprika
  • 2 tsp sweet smoked paprika
  • 1 tbs plain flour
  • 2 tbs tomato purée
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 250ml red wine
  • 250ml beef stock
  • 2 tsp dried marjoram
  • 3 large tomatoes, (skinned &) chopped
  • 2 sweet peppers (red/yellow/orange)
  • 150ml sour cream
  • Salt & pepper

Method

Grab a heavy casserole (or cast iron pot) and begin by browning the cubes of beef in a few tablespoons of oil over a medium high heat. You will doubtless need to do this in batches. As the meat browns, remove it from the pan and set aside.

When all the meat is browned, lower the heat to medium and add the onions to the same pan, using additional oil if necessary. Cook these, stirring occasionally, for ~5 minutes until soft and translucent. Throw in the garlic and cook for another minute. Now add the paprikas to the onions and stir to get them well coated. Add the flour and stir well to distribute it before adding the liquids – stock, wine and tomato purée. Continue stirring until the liquid comes to simmering point.

Return the browned meat to the pan together with the bay leaves, marjoram, chopped tomatoes (you can have skinned them if you are desperate for work), ~20 turns of your black pepper mill and a teaspoon or so of salt. Cover the pan with its lid, reduce the heat to low and simmer very gently for ~90 minutes.

While the meat is simmering, cut your sweet peppers (a mixture of colours is good) into strips (~½cm thick), removing the seeds and pith as you go. When the meat has simmered and is more or less tender, add the pepper strips, stirring well to distribute. Continue cooking for another 30 minutes.

Finally, sir in the sour cream and cook for another 5 minutes before adjusting the seasoning and serving.

This is good served with some ribbon noodles and, perhaps, some plain boiled young carrots. (Yes, I know I don’t usually do carrots.)


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Posted in Meat Tagged with:

Maiale al Latte

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There are several things to say about this dish. Firstly, this recipe is essentially the Pork in Milk from Rick Stein’s Venice to Istanbul. Secondly, neither the English title of Pork in Milk nor its description, which would be something like “pork served with curdled milk”, sounds particularly appealing, especially to traditionally squeamish Brits. Maiale al Latte sounds so much better, IMHO, hence my reverting to the Italian. (Pig in Milk, which is pretty much how it translates may sound even worse.) Thirdly, it is not the most elegant of dishes to serve due to said curdled milk [see above]. Fourthly, the lactic acid in the milk tenderizes the pork. Lastly, it is a very comforting, absolutely delicious dish that everyone should try.

Rick Stein does this with loin of pork but I’ve read that, loin being a very lean cut, pork shoulder gives a softer end result.

Planning

serves: 4
preparation time: 15 mins
cooking time: 2½ hrs

Ingredients

  • 1.5kg pork joint (loin or shoulder), skin removed and fat trimmed
  • 30g butter
  • olive oil
  • 6 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 8 sage leaves
  • 1 tbs fennel seeds
  • zest of 1 lemon
  • 1 ltr full fat milk
  • juice ½ lemon
  • Salt & pepper

Method

Season the pork well all over with salt and pepper. Melt the butter together with a few glugs of olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed casserole. Brown the pork all over in the oil and butter mixture.

Remove the pork. Throw in the garlic and stir briefly – say, a minute so it doesn’t burn – then add the sage leaves, fennel seads and lemon zest. Moving the flavourings to the side of the pan to clear a patch for the pork and return the pork to the pan. Turn off the heat while you deal with the milk.

In another saucepan, scald the milk: bring it to simmering point then turn off the heat. Pour the scalded milk and lemon juice over the pork. Bring it back to he boil then reduce the heat and simmer very gently with the lid on but slightly ajar. Cook for about 2 hours, turning the meat halfway through cooking. Keep checking every 15 minutes or so to ensure the milk is not burning on the bottom of the pan (hence the need for a heavy bottomed pan)

During cooking, the milk will curdle, separating into the whey and something resembling discoloured ricotta cheese – yummy! After about 2 hours simmering the whey should have more or less all evaporated. If not, remove the pork and reduce the residual sauce separately. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

Serve the pork sliced thickly with dollops of curdled milk sauce.

(Yes, I know, but trust me on this.)


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Alioli Sauce

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Alioli in Spain, aioli in France, garlic mayonnaise in Britain. Traditionally, this would be made with 100% olive oil, preferably extra virgin. Personally, I find that a bit too rich and prefer to cut it 50/50 with something lighter like sunflower oil. Be guided by your own palate. Either way, you need a good hit of garlic.

This is best done in a food processor. This quantity is perfect for the small bowl of my Moulinex.

Planning

serves: n/a
preparation time: 10 mins
cooking time: n/a

Ingredients

  • 2 egg yolks
  • 4 plump cloves garlic
  • 2 tbs lemon juice
  • ½ tsp fine sea salt
  • 125ml olive oil
  • 125ml sunflower oil

Method

Pop the two egg yolks into the bowl of a food processor. You can, of course, use the tradtional glass bowl and manual whisk, should you prefer. Crush the garlic finely and add it to the egg yolks, followed by the lemon juice and salt. Blitz/whisk together well.

Now gradually add the mixed oils, very little at first, blitzing/whisking all the time. Adding oil too fast at first could cause the mixture to split. Continue adding oil gradually until about half the oil is added, when you will have a stable emulsion and can add the remaining oil more steadly.

You should end up with a thick, unctious heart attack waiting to happen. Enjoy!


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Viennese Gulasch

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It’s ages since I cooked a Gulasch (or is that Goulash?) so I thought I should try this one from Rick Stein’s Long Weekend trip to Vienna, despite my generally being rather unimpressed with his meat dishes. Maybe this will make me revise my opinion.

Planning

serves: 6
preparation time: 30 mins
cooking time: 3 hrs

Ingredients

  • 100g lard
  • 1¼kg onions, sliced
  • 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 1 tbs tomato purée
  • 2 tbs sweet paprika
  • 1 tbs hot paprika (or to taste)
  • ½ tsp caraway seeds, crushed
  • 1 tsp brown sugar
  • 2 tsp cider vinegar
  • 1½ kg shin of beef, in 2½cm cubes
  • 1 tbs flatleaf parsley, chopped
  • Salt & pepper

Method

Melt the lard in a large, flameproof casserole and fry the onions to a deep golden-brown. Add the garlic (maybe a little more, if you fancy it) and cook for a minute before adding the tomato puree, paprikas, caraway seeds and sugar. Season further with ~1½ tsp salt and quite a few turns of freshly milled black papper. Add the vinegar and 1 ltr water.

Bring to the boil then add the beef cubes. Turn down to a gentle simmer and cook for 2½ hours, checking the pan frequently and stirring to avoid sticking. Add more water as necessary to keep the meat covered. Check the meat for tenderness and continue cooking if it requires longer.

When tender, remove the meat and cook the sauce down a little to thicken it. Adjust the seasoning to taste and return the meat to the sauce.

Serve sprinkled with parsley and either new potatoes or some noodles, such as spätzle for added authenticity.


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Posted in Meat Tagged with:

Arroz Verde

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From the Cadiz episode of Long Weekends by the eminent Rick Stein, back on home turf in the fish and seafood department. Clams, prawns, rice, masses of parsley and obscene amounts of garlic – how could it be anything other than delicious?

Planning

serves: 4
preparation time: 30 mins
cooking time: 50 mins

Ingredients

  • 4 tbs olive oil
  • 60g shallots, finely chopped
  • 12 garlic cloves, finely chopped (yikes!)
  • 1 ltr fish stock
  • 100g flatleaf parsley, chopped
  • 400g paella rice (bomba/calasparra)
  • 30 raw clams
  • 200g raw peeled prawns
  • Salt & pepper

Method

heat the oil in a 28-30cm sauté pan or paella over medium heat. Fry the shallots for 5 minutes until soft but not coloured. Add the garlic and fry for another minute, then stir in the fish stock, parsley and salt and bring to the boil.

Sprinkle in the rice, stir once and leave to simmer for 6 minutes. Put the clams and prawns on top and shake the pan gently so they sink a little into the rice. Lower the heat and simmer gently for 12 minutes. Almost all the liquid should be absorbed and the rice pitted with small holes (paella technique).

Discard any naughty clams that refused to open before serving with some alioli – just in case there isn’t enough garlic lurking about.

[Note: In Spain, there is very good fissh stock available in cartons in the supermarkets. Here, it makes sense to make your own fish stock. The same could be said for the alioli.]


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Posted in Seafood Tagged with: