Restaurant Review - Rich Gastronomic Traditions
Rich Gastronomic Traditions
Rich Gastronomic Traditions Rich Gastronomic Traditions
THE IS TIME FOR THE GRAND FINALE OF EASTER CELEBRATIONS – AS GILLAINE HATHAWAY REPORTS – THAT MEANS THE END OF FASTING AND CARNIVALS AND TIME FOR ANDALUCIANS TO RETURN TO “NORMAL” EATING.
Yes, the period of Lenten fasting is over and once again it is time to enjoy those meaty meals, often flavoured with wine. Though Sevilla is the leader in Easter celebrations, and its April fair is known worldwide, the beautiful town of nearby Córdoba is renowned for one of Spain’s most famous dishes, a hearty ox tail stew.
The traditional Andalucian housewife used every piece of the animals she and her husband reared, partly for economy but also for flavour. Just think of those delicious stews you ate in years gone by: perhaps they were made by your grandmother or mother, but they were definitely made with the cheaper cuts of meat.
I am sure the memory is still there and so too is the flavour and taste of the ox tail in Andalucía. They are easy to buy, as your butcher will prepare and cut them into pieces for you. So don’t be squeamish.
RABO DE TORO
(serves 4)
Ingredients:
1 ox tail, cut into pieces
1 teaspoon of sweet paprika
3 tablespoons of good quality olive oil
3 or 4 onions, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and cut into rings
1 whole head of garlic (peel the cloves but do not cut them)
Approximately 1 litre of beef stock
3 bay leaves
1 glass of white wine
1 stick of cinnamon and nutmeg
6 cloves
Salt and freshly ground pepper
- Heat the oil in a large heavy-based saucepan and fry the cut tail pieces until golden brown all over.
- Add the paprika and stir in rapidly (be careful not to burn it) and quickly add the onions, garlic cloves and carrots and stir well.
- Now stir in the white wine, add the bay leaves, torn into pieces to enhance the flavour, the cinnamon stick, a generous grinding of nutmeg and the cloves ? and season with salt and pepper.
- Pour over the stock until all the ingredients are covered. Bring to the boil, then turn down the heat and leave to simmer for approximately an hour and a half.
- Remove and set aside to rest for at least two hours, or overnight.
- Reheat when ready to serve, adding more salt and pepper if necessary, and enjoy accompanied by chunky fried potatoes.
In Córdoba they traditionally use their local Montilla wine in this dish, a good half litre of it, and therefore this means they use much less water ? but a good quality white wine and water makes a good substitute.
Fish is such an important feature of Andalucian cuisine that it is a regular part of the menu. But for an Easter treat may I suggest using monk fish. It is now an expensive fish but try making it into a delicious dish of fish balls for which you need less fish per person. The following recipe comes from the Algeciras area and can be used as a first course or as a main.
MONK FISH BALLS
(serves 4)
Ingredients for the balls:
½ kg of monk or angler fish, minced
100 gr of grated cheese (hard Spanish cheese such as Manchego or you can even substitute good quality cheddar)
2 tablespoons of breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon of fresh parsley
1 tablespoon of fresh oregano or marjoram (or 1 teaspoon dried)
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
½ teaspoon of salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 to 3 eggs
Ingredients for the sauce:
2 to 3 tablespoons of olive oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
l large onion, finely chopped.
½ litre of fish stock (or water and fish cube)
1 tablespoon of flour
Salt and pepper to taste
- Prepare the fish balls first as they need to stand for a while to firm up.
- Mix the ingredients for the fish balls, except the eggs, in a bowl and then incorporate the eggs, one by one, until you have a nice soft consistency and then set aside.
- Make the sauce by heating the oil in a casserole and frying the garlic and onion until soft and beginning to brown. Stir in the flour until it absorbs the juices and begins to thicken. Then stir in the fish stock, stirring all the time.
- Bring to the boil, check the seasoning and leave to simmer gently for approximately half an hour until well cooked.
- Roll the fish ball mixture into walnut-sized balls and flour them.
- Cover a frying pan generously with sunflower oil and fry a few balls at a time, rolling them around the pan gently until lightly golden.
- Remove and drain on kitchen paper.
- Liquidise the sauce, return to the pan and gently add the fish balls and simmer for a further 10 to 15 minutes before serving.
We’ve been to Córdoba and moved down to Algeciras, so let’s continue on to Manilva ? where a delicious local wine is made which is similar to sherry. Manilva is famous for its large, sweet, green grapes which, while being excellent for eating, also make a sweet white wine whose cultivation goes back to Roman times.
Manilva wine makes a good pudding into a great one, as you will find when you try this dessert recipe which was given to me by a British lady who has lived in the Manilva area for many years ? and where she had her own restaurant.
SU’S PASTEL CASATA MANILVEÑO
Cake ingredients:
2 tablespoons of unsalted butter, melted
70 gr of cake flour
20 gr of cornflower
3 eggs and 3 egg yokes
2 egg whites
115 gr of castor sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla essence
240 ml of Manilva wine
Filling ingredients:
240ml of unskimmed milk
240 ml of double cream
115 gr of castor sugar
2 eggs and 4 egg yokes
35 gr of cornflower
2 teaspoons of vanilla essence
55 gr of plain chocolate, chopped into half-centimetre pieces
To make the cake…
- Heat the oven to 325ºF/170ºC.
- Coat the inside of a 12 cm x 3 cm cake tin with melted butter, line with grease proof paper and re-grease.
- Sift the flour and cornflower and set aside.
- Place the three eggs, three egg yolks and vanilla essence into a bowl with the sugar, and whisk with an electric mixer until thick and lemon in colour (three to four minutes).
- Whisk the two egg whites in a metal bowl until stiff but not dry (two to three minutes).
- Add the dry ingredients to the egg and sugar and mix on high for 10 seconds.
- Using a rubber spatula and fold in the whites.
- Pour the batter into the tin, spread evenly and bake 25 to 30 minutes until the skewer comes out clean.
- Turn out and return so it is right way up.
To make the filling…
- Heat the milk and cream in a 2½ litre saucepan on medium heat and bring to the boil.
- While the cream is heating put sugar, eggs and egg yolks with the cornflower into the electric mixer and whisk until thick and lemon coloured.
(At this point the cream should be boiling; if not reduce the mixer speed to low.) - Pour the boiling cream into the egg mix and whisk to combine.
- Return the mixture to the saucepan and heat on medium heat until it reaches 185ºC (approximately three minutes).
- Remove from the heat, add vanilla essence and whisk.
- Transfer the custard to a metal bowl and cool in an ice water bath (ice and cold water in the sink) for half an hour.
- When cold add the chopped chocolate and refrigerate.
To assemble…
- Slice the cake horizontally into two pieces, place on two plates, sprinkle 120 ml of
- Manilva wine on each layer and allow to absorb. (The top layer will take longer.)
- Spread the chilled chocolate custard evenly over the top layer. Invert the bottom layer onto the custard so that the top is now the smooth bottom of the original cake.
- Gently press together and smooth custard around the edges with a spatula.
- Chill for two hours, dust with cocoa powder and serve.
If you prepare and eat all of these dishes in one meal, I suggest a good long walk should follow!
