Restaurant Review - Christmas - Andalucian Style

Christmas - Andalucian Style

Christmas - Andalucian Style Christmas - Andalucian Style

Words by Gillaine Hathaway 01/12/2006

IT'S TIME TO START PLANNING AND PREPARING FOR THOSE SPECIAL CHRISTMAS MEALS - AND OUR DOYENNE OF TRADITIONAL MEDITERRANEAN RECIPES, GILLAINE HATHAWAY, IS NOT TALKING ABOUT TURKEY!

Andalucian Christmas cuisine is far different from much of the rest of Europe, even though some homes do prepare a Christmas turkey. This, however, is not like the roast turkey you know, as the stuffing - made of bread, parsley, onions, leeks and other herbs - is placed between the skin of the breast, wings and legs prior to roasting.
It is also the time to enjoy those special Christmas sweetmeats that today fill the shops and supermarkets but which, in days gone by, were made at home. Many of these are based on ancient Sephardic Jewish or Moorish recipes. Today polverones and mantecados (manufactured in the village of Estepa near Sevilla), and turron (nougat to us) and marzipan are especially popular.
Christmas in Spain means 12 days of round the clock celebrations, customs dating back many centuries. Christmas Eve is the most important meal of the festive season apart from New Year's Eve and the all-important Three Kings (Los Reyes) on 6 January when presents are handed out (just as the Three Kings gave their presents to Jesus after his birth). The Christmas Eve meal features special treats for the first course, such as cured cheese, the all-important pata negra ham, and prawns dipped into alioli, a garlic-flavored mayonnaise.
Another important traditional dish which accompanies the first course on Christmas Eve is rice salad flavored with a vinagrette and some chopped, cooked peppers (pimientos) and garnished with olives. The following recipe is a modern version of the traditional, is easy to prepare and can be done in advance. Just remember that Spanish rice takes longer to cook then Indian and Oriental rice.

ANDALUCIAN RICE SALAD

Ingredients (serves 4 to 6):
1 cup of cooked Spanish rice
8 tbsps of olive oil
3 tbsps of wine vinegar
1 large clove of garlic, finely chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 tbsps of parsley
Salt and pepper
1 jar of whole pimientos (peppers)
Green and black olives to garnish

Drain the pimientos. Cut six narrow strips, set them aside and finely chop the rest.
Make the vinagrette sauce by mixing the oil, vinegar, garlic and onions and seasoning with salt and pepper.
Stir into the cold rice and add the chopped pimientos and parsley.
Spoon the rice mixture into a serving bowl, cover and chill thoroughly.
When ready to serve decorate with the pepper strips and olives.

The Andalucian main course is generally based on fish, but chicken, rabbit, lamb or even goat could be served. Once again it all depended on what the housewife had to hand.
So, as many of us make the trip to Gibraltar to stock up on British Christmas classics such as Christmas pudding and mincemeat, let us take a leaf from the Rock's customs and celebrate Christmas like the Gibraltarians.
As one who has enjoyed several Christmases there, I suggest we follow their lead and celebrate Christmas Eve in Spanish style and Christmas Day with the traditional British turkey, and add into your festive menu recipes from two of our finest local restaurants...
For the main course we asked Casa Fernando to provide us with a traditional Andalucian Christmas dish. The restaurant, on the seaside in San Pedro Alcántara, provides a wealth of traditional Mediterranean dishes, whether in its elegant dining rooms or outdoors in summer in the beautiful terraces and gardens.
But the story of this restaurant goes back to 1977 when Fernando and his wife Margarita opened Bar Fernando in a little side street off San Pedro's main street. Over the years the couple worked together serving a wonderful variety of tapas and local dishes for the town's inhabitants and ever-growing number of foreign visitors on holiday on the Costa del Sol or coming to live on the Coast, until in 2000 they realised their dream and built their own restaurant, combined with their home near the seafront. A restaurant which carries on the family tradition, as it is today run by their twin sons Fernando and Julio.
Though meat dishes are part of the menu Casa Fernando is famous for its fish, so who better to provide us with a Christmas Eve fish dish. Though this is traditionally a stuffed fish dish, chef Juan Manuel has adapted the recipe to make home cooking easier, especially for us.

CRISPY SEA BASS AND SPINACH ON A BED OF MUSHROOMS, PRAWNS AND HERBS
Ingredients (serves 4):
1 sea bass (lubina); weighing approx. 13/4 kilos, cut into 4 fillets (you can ask your fishmonger to prepare this for you)
4 sheets of filo pastry
2 tbsps of melted butter
250 gr of spinach

For the sauce:
200 gr of mixed wild mushrooms, cleaned and chopped
4 shallots, finely chopped
1 knob of butter
1 handful of chives, finely chopped
200 ml of vermouth
50 ml of cream
10 strands of saffron
10 ml of fish stock
16 small Dublin Bay prawns (cigalas), shelled

First make the sauce by pouring the vermouth into a saucepan with the chopped shallots. Heat and add the chives and cook until reduced by one-third.
Add the saffron and cream and cook until the mixture is reduced by half. Set aside.
Into a frying pan melt the knob of butter, add the mushrooms and fry for a few minutes before adding the fish stock. Set aside.
Brush each sheet of filo pastry with the melted butter. Lay a sea bass fillet on top of each and cover with the spinach. Roll up each parcel, sealing the ends, and transfer to an oven heated to 200º C and cook for 12 minutes until the parcels are golden and crispy.
Meanwhile, re-heat the mushroom sauce, stir in the Dublin Bay prawns, cook for a couple of minutes and finally pour in the vermouth sauce and heat, stirring well.
When the fish is ready spoon the sauce into four deep plates, cut each parcel into two and place on top and enjoy.

So time now for a delicious dessert, and back to those Spanish Christmas sweetmeats with a recipe from El Padrastro in Mijas village - not only renowned for its cuisine but also for the breathtaking views from its location perched above the main square.
The restaurant is well known for promoting Spanish food and annually hosts the town's International Week of Cuisine - held since 1990 in November. The week includes talks by experts on wines and the bodegas they come from, combined with a cookery demonstration by some of the province's best chefs - who prepare a three-course meal before the public, explaining each step as they go along before it's time to enjoy eating it.

MOUSSE DE TURRON

Ingredients (serves 6 to 8):
300 gr of almond turron
150 gr of butter, unsalted
100 gr of sugar
6 egg yolks
6 egg whites
150 ml of milk
2 or 3 drops of lemon juice

Break up the turron and put it into a food processor. Pour in the milk and blend until a nice creamy consistency is reached.
In a bowl beat the egg yolks with the sugar until it becomes pale and thickens. Gently stir in the turron and milk mixture until the ingredients are mixed well.
Place the egg whites into a separate bowl, add the drops of lemon juice and beat until stiff peaks are formed.
Slowly add the beaten egg whites to the turron mixture little by little, stirring gently so as not to lose the air, until a mousse-like consistency is formed.
Carefully pour the mixture into individual moulds and refrigerate for a minimum of 12 hours.
Serve sprinkled with ground coffee and a little whipped cream.

So have a magnificent festive season and don't forget that on New Year's Eve, when the clock strikes midnight, it is time to eat the traditional 12 grapes - guaranteed to bring good fortune in the coming year.

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