Restaurant Review - Slow Cooking... Andalucian Style - Comments

Slow Cooking... Andalucian Style

Poster: Gillaine Hathaway 01/01/2007

WITH THE DEPARTURE OF THE THREE KINGS, CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR CELEBRATIONS ARE WELL OVER AND - NOTES OUR DOYENNE OF TRADITIONAL MEDITERRANEAN RECIPES, GILLAINE HATHAWAY - IT'S BACK TO EARTH WITH A BUMP.

It's now time to sort out all those bills that accumulated due to so many days and nights of partying, and no one knew better how to cope with this than the Andalucian housewife of yesteryear. When it came to providing the family meals she knew that it was more than a question of what was available outside her kitchen door. It became a matter of creating substantial meals for the family with as little expenditure as possible.
Of course January is not the best time to gather vast quantities of vegetables from the garden, and more of a time to combine what is available with anything in the house that has been left over from all the celebration meals. A piece of meat, pieces of pork fat saved from the slaughter, and some of those spicy Spanish sausages she had prepared in the autumn and had hanging in the kitchen left over from the festive season.
One-pot cooking was an important part of January meals for the Andalucian housewife, as homes did not have indoor ovens and most cooking was done on the stove top, where dishes simmered for long periods. These days we all complain about not having enough time, but just think about it: a slow-cooked dish can be prepared the day before, especially as it generally tastes better if left to rest. Then when you get home it is a matter of just heating it up and enjoying the dish. And think of all that washing up you save.
So let's see if this month we can inspire you with dishes made from the basic vegetables in season combined with some dried pulses. And how about using some of those dried spicy Spanish sausages which today are so easily available in all shops and supermarkets?
Let's start with a classical Andalucian soup based on seasonal vegetables and in particular that so often neglected pumpkin or squash. Calabaza is so much more than something to be turned into a Halloween adornment and, though hard to de rind, it is well worth the effort. I find a serrated knife is the best way to get through that tough skin. It requires a little patience and perhaps a few of the seeds spill onto the floor, but the flavour of a seasonal pumpkin gives many one-pot dishes its special umphh.
Pumpkin is also great cut into large chunks and scattered onto a shallow roasting dish with some sliced onions. Sprinkle with herbs such as thyme or sage, drizzle over some olive oil, season with salt and pepper and roast in the oven until the vegetables are soft and beginning to brown.

POTAJE ROJO
Ingredients
(serves at least 8 portions)

150 gr of dried haricot beans (soaked in water for 12 hours or overnight)
500 gr of squash after removing rind and seeds, coarsely chopped
2 large onions, chopped
3 or 4 carrots cut into thin rounds
1/2 kg of ripe tomatoes with skins removed and roughly chopped
(450 gr tin of tomatoes can be substituted for the fresh tomatoes)
2 or 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
Small glass of olive oil
1 tablespoon of sweet paprika (pimenton dulce)
100 gr of fideos (noodles - Nº 4)
2 chicken cubes
Salt and pepper to taste

Put all the vegetables into a large saucepan and pour over the oil, sprinkle with the paprika and stir well until all the ingredients are coated.
Cover with cold water, bring to the boil and simmer gently for approximately one hour or until the beans are tender, stirring occasionally and gently mashing the pieces of squash so they form part of the sauce.
Now add the spaghettis and chicken cubes. Mix well and simmer for approximately 10 minutes, until the spaghettis are cooked.
Adjust the seasoning, adding salt and freshly ground pepper to taste and more water if necessary as the pasta is inclined to soak up the water.

Like the other recipes this "red soup" tastes even better the next day and keeps well in the fridge. So remember that all that chopping is well worth it as you have a warming soup dish to serve on more than one occasion.

The following one-pot dishes used to be prepared as the whole meal! In times gone past the meat was cooked whole and removed at the end of the cooking time and set aside to be served as the main course, while the rest was served as a hearty first course soup. This is a modern version, however, as long-stewed meat looses so much of its flavour and texture and in this day and age times are not so hard. Served as a first course, or even as main course, both dishes feed so many. They keep well in the fridge and can be served up again several days later. They even freeze well.

POTAJE de ACELGAS
Ingredients:
(serves 8 or more)

1 bunch of chard (acelga - strip off the leaves and reserve for adding 20 minutes before serving
with...
at least 150 gr of chorizo (spice sausage - more if preferred)
optional morcilla (blood sausage - just a little)
3 tablespoons of SOS rice

Into a large pan place...
Chard stalks, which have been roughly chopped
115 gr of garbanzos (chick peas - soaked overnight)
I piece of stewing beef (around 1/2 kilo), cut into cubes
Piece of panchetta approx. 150 gr or more (or use a piece of fat bacon)
Large piece of pumpkin, cut into chunks
6 to 8 tomatoes, peeled and chopped
2 onions, peeled and chopped
4 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
1 potato, peeled and chopped
3 tablespoons oil
2 teaspoons sweet paprika
3 beef cubes

Cook all together for several hours.
Remove the panchetta and discard.
Add the chard leaves, morcilla and rice and cook for a further 20 minutes.
Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve.

And last but by no means least, another of those one-pot meals using the humble cabbage...

POTAGE DE OLLAS DE COLE (cabbage stew)

Ingredients
(serves 8 portions or more!)

150 gr of dried haricot beans, soaked in water overnight
1 medium cabbage, roughly chopped
1 kg of pork, chopped into cubes
150 gr piece of tocino (the fat of the pork), cut into cubes
2 onions, chopped
4 large tomatoes, skinned and chopped
2 or 3 medium-sized potatoes, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, pealed and finely chopped
1 teapsoon of sweet paprika
2 beef cubes
100 gr of morcilla sausage, cut into cubes
100 gr of chorizo sausage, cut into cubes
3 tablespoons of round Spanish rice
Salt and pepper to taste

Put all the vegetables into a large pan, add the piece of tocino, the pork, paprika and stock cubes, and cover with water.
Bring to the boil and simmer for approximately one hour until the beans are tender, stirring from time to time.
Then stir in the morcilla, chorizo and rice, and cook for a further 20 to 30 minutes.
Serve small portions as a starter or larger ones as a main course.

Comments

There are currently no comments for this entry.

Back to top