Restaurant Review - Mediterranean cooking....with passion

Mediterranean cooking....with passion

Mediterranean cooking....with passion Mediterranean cooking....with passion

Words by Gillaine Hathaway 01/06/2006

GILLAINE HATHAWAY JOINS A COOKING CLASS BY RASHIDA K. REIDEL.

Though these article focus on the food of Andalucía, those of you who wish to learn more about Mediterranean dishes from other parts of southern Europe, northern Africa and the eastern Mediterranean have a wonderful opportunity at cooking classes given by Rashida K. Reidel at her beachside El Paraiso villa. In this beautiful setting her personalised classes teach you how to create delicious Mediterranean dishes, cooking in the open air and enjoying the day's creations at the end of class, accompanied by a glass or two of wine.
Algerian-born Rashida's passion for food began in her early teens. Since then she has travelled and lived in many European countries and other parts of the world, where she delighted in the regional food and absorbed and adapted their recipes. Since coming to live on the Costa del Sol in the mid '80s she has dedicated her culinary skills to producing Mediterranean food, but with that special Rashida element, "the healthy way". And this passion combines oriental and western Mediterranean flavours.
Though famous for her parties and entertaining it wasn't until three years ago that friends inspired Rashida to pass on her knowledge and skills to others. So she created "easy dishes", filling the void by teaching easy and healthy home cooking to anyone wishing to improve their skills. Not professional catering folk, but busy people who need a little help and inspiration.
This meant that Rashida's own life became "super" busy for, as well as her classes for up to 10 people, she gives private classes for two or three, goes to houses to train the kitchen staff and on request takes small groups off to the fish market to learn the difference between farm-raised fish and wild fish, before going to her villa to cook the produce they have purchased. Rashida also shares her knowledge and passion for food in local radio broadcasts and is frequently called on to teach special groups at Les Roches catering college.
So we were delighted to visit one of Rashida classes, for which she designed a special "Hi" menu of Andalucian food combined with her own Andalucian version of a Greek specialty:

• Bacalao con naranja - a delicious cod dish with oranges and coloured salad from Granada.
• Dolmades - the famous Greek dish of vine leaves stuffed with blue fish, with Rashida's unique tomato and red pepper sauce.
• And back to Andalucía for a delectable marzipan dessert with a strawberry coulis.

Stuffed vine leaves with bluefish, tomato sauce and clams
(serves 4)
Ingredients - for the stuffed vine leaves:
1 jar of vine leaves
300gr blue fish (tuna, sardines or fresh anchovies)
100gr rice
2 onions, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 tablespoon chopped tarragon
juice from 1 or 2 lemons
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon salt and freshly ground black pepper
Lemon zest

1/2 kg clams (almejas), soaked in salted water (changed two or three times, every half hour)

Ingredients - for the tomato sauce:
500gr chopped fresh red tomatoes, skinned and chopped
3 cloves garlic
5 tablespoons olive oil
1 guindilla (hot cayenne pepper), cut in two and finely chopped
2 bay leaves
2 slices of lemon
4 to 6 threads of saffron
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon chopped parsley or cilantro

Prepare the tomato sauce first as it needs at least an hour to cook...
Heat a heavy bottomed pan, pour in two tablespoons of olive oil and one of garlic cloves (without the green inside), thinly cut, and crush it in the oil until golden. Add the tomatoes, bay leaves, guindilla and lemon slices.
Bring to the boil and then simmer until the sauce begins to thicken, stirring occasionally. (Remember that the longer you cook the sauce, the richer it will be.)
Just before serving add the saffron, salt, chopped parsley or cilantro, and the rest of the garlic, finely chopped, and three tablespoons of olive oil.

Meanwhile, prepare the vine leaves...
Sauté the onion and garlic in the olive oil, stir in the rice, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
Skin and bone the fish, chop into very small pieces and place in a bowl. Add the parsley, tarragon, salt and pepper and mix well with a fork.
Stir the rice and onion mixture into the fish mixture. De-glaze the hot pan with a couple of tablespoons of water and stir this in too.
Carefully separate the vine leaves, rinse them in cold water, drain and dry. Spread the leaves on a flat surface, the shiny side down with its stem towards you. Place a good teaspoonful of stuffing in the centre of the leaf, fold in the outer edges and roll up toward the tip of the leaf, loosely, leaving room for the rice to expand by two or three times as it cooks.
Cover a casserole pan with the remaining vine leaves, pour over some olive oil, sprinkle over the lemon zest and place the rolls on top in a layer, close to one another. Pour over the lemon juice and half a cup of hot water. Carefully place a plate that is not heavy on the top of the rolls so that they don't break open during cooking.
Allow to simmer gently on a medium heat for around 30 minutes, until the water has been absorbed and the rice cooked, adding more water and lemon juice if necessary. Scatter the clams over the rolls, replace the lid and leave to cook until the clams open.
Remove from the heat and allow the dish to rest before drizzling with extra virgin olive oil. Serve the vine leaves with the cooked clams and tomato sauce, garnished with lemon slices.

Though vines are all around us in Andalucía, stuffed vine leaves are not a traditional part of the cuisine. The local housewife was and is much more inclined to use the humble cabbage. Add to this seasonal tomatoes and a handful of carrots and we pay tribute to Rashida's elegant stuffed vine leaves with this local version. So why not try both recipes and, like the traditional Andalucian housewife, adapt them to your preferences. After all it can only add more healthy creativity to your menus.

Stuffed cabbage leaves in tomato sauce
(serves 4)

Ingredients - for the stuffed leaves:
1 cabbage (the loosest, greenest one you can find)
500 gr lean minced pork or beef
2 or 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon chopped flat leaf parsley
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon salt and generous grind of black pepper
250 gr carrots, chopped and sliced into thin rounds

Ingredients - for the tomato sauce:
3 tablespoons oil,
2 medium onions, peeled and finely chopped
2 garlics, very finely chopped
1 teaspoon salt and some freshly ground black pepper
1kg fresh tomatoes, skinned and finely chopped (or 1/2 kilo if not very ripe and 450 gr tin of tomato "triturado")
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon tomato puree
1/2 litre chicken, vegetable or beef stock
1 tablespoon fresh basil

Start by preparing the cabbage leaves...

• In a large shallow pan pour in hot water up to five centimetres and bring to the boil.
• Remove around 16 to 18 of the outer leaves of the cabbage. (The inner white leaves can be used another time as a vegetable or for a coleslaw.).
• Blanch the leaves, two or three at a time, in the boiling water for a few minutes until softened. Remove, strain and cool.
• Carefully cut out the centre stalk and place on a board ready for the stuffing. (Depending on the size of the cabbage leaves you can use one or two per parcel.)
• In a bowl mix the meat with the garlic, parsley, salt and pepper, and stir in the egg to bind.
• Divide the mixture between the cabbage leaves, and carefully roll it up so that the meat mixture is sealed.
• Take a long piece of sewing thread and roll this around the leaves to ensure that they keep their shape.
• Cook the carrots in the same water in which you blanched the cabbage leaves, until nearly tender. Remove and save whatever liquid is left to add to the tomato sauce.

Now prepare the tomato sauce...

• Heat the oil in a pan and then add the onions.
• When softened stir in the tomatoes, tomato paste, paprika, garlic and sugar, and cook for around five minutes, until soft.
• Then add the leftover cooking water and stock and simmer for around 20 minutes until you have a sauce consistency.
• "Finish" by adding salt to taste, freshly ground pepper and the basil.
• When the tomato sauce is ready stir in the carrots and carefully place the stuffed leaves into the sauce.
• Bring to the boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for around 20 minutes, carefully turning the parcels over at least once.
• Prior to serving remove the parcels with a scoop to a bowl and carefully unwind the cotton.  Check the tomato and carrot sauce for seasoning and pour over the stuffed leaves.
• Serve accompanied by mashed potatoes or potato croquettes.

(N.B.: It is better that the sauce is quite thick before you add the stuffed cabbage leaves, as the juice from the leaves will slacken the mixture.)

Though pork is the traditional meat because this is what the housewife had to hand, minced beef, chicken or fish can be used instead. The herbs can vary too. Some use oregano while in Gibraltar, due to the Italian influence in their cuisine, marjoram is the chosen herb.
But then, once again it is back to the housewife and what she had to hand.