Here is a Spanish-themed menu that we used in a class last night. I haven't spent much time in Spain

J

joe

Well-known member
so I'm not sure how authentic it is. In fact I forgot to pack the garlic. Only an imposter would forget the garlic for a Spanish menu! Fortunately Jacques brought some over. This meal took 3 whole heads, and it was really good. Half of these recipes came from an Australian book on Mediterranean cuisine, no author, that we picked up on a closeout table for $3.99--a really surprising source.

FLAVORS OF SPAIN:

Roasted Olives with Fennel and Orange

·

Serrano Ham Croquettes

·

Tortilla Espanola (potato omelet) with roasted peppers and arugula

·

Whole Sea Bass Baked in a Salt Crust, with homemade aioli and fresh asparagus spears

·

Crema Calalana, a Catalan version of crème brulee

 
Roasted Olives with Fennel and Orange

ROASTED OLIVES WITH FENNEL AND ORANGE

From The Essential Mediterranean Cookbook, Bay Books, Australia


1 fennel bulb, finely shaved
1 tsp. fennel seed
Olive oil
2 cups black olives
2 garlic cloves, sliced
1 Tbs. grated orange zest
¼ cup orange juice
¼ cup red wine vinegar


Preheat oven to 350°F.

Sauté the fennel bulb and fennel seed in a little olive oil until fennel bulb is soft, about 10 minutes.

Toss in a baking dish with the olives, the garlic, the orange zest, the orange juice and the vinegar. Bake for 20 minutes.

Season to taste and drizzle with a little more olive oil before serving.

(Can be refrigerated up to 2 weeks).

 
Serrano Ham Croquettes

The shop down the street from the cooking shop sells imported Serrano ham, and it's owned by the same family, so I sort of had to splurge. Regular prosciutto would be just fine.


SERRANO HAM CROQUETTES

From Cooking in Spain by Janet Mendel


Almost anything can be used in croquettes—cooked meat, fish or vegetables, as long as it is well drained.

3 Tbs. butter or olive oil
½ small onion, minced
4 Tbs. flour
1 cup milk
Pinch ground nutmeg
½ tsp. salt
Pinch ground pepper
1 scant lb. (400g.) finely chopped Serrano ham
2 eggs, beaten with a little water
2 cups bread crumbs
Olive oil for frying


Heat the butter or oil in a saucepan and sauté the minced onion until transparent. Do not let it brown. Stir in the flour and cook 2 minutes. Whisk in the milk gradually. Cook, stirring, until this sauce thickens. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Stir in the ham.

Spread the mixture out in a dish and refrigerate until solid.

Place the eggs in a dish, and the breadcrumbs in another. With moistened hands, form the croquette mixture into balls, cylinders or cones. Dip each croquette first into egg, then into breadcrumbs, taking care that they are well covered. Allow to dry in a cool place for 30 minutes.

Heat oil in deep fryer to 375°F and fry the croquettes, a few at a time, until golden, about three minutes.

 
Whole Sea Bass Baked in a Salt Crust, with aioli

This is such a winner. It's a gentle way of cooking fish and it stays incredibly moist. Thin blanched asparagus was nice on the side.


WHOLE FISH BAKED IN SALT WITH AIOLI

Adapted from The Essential Mediterranean Cookbook, Bay Books, Australia

1 3-4 lb. whole fish (e,g, sea bass, snapper, grouper) cleaned and scaled
2 lemons, sliced
4 sprigs of fresh thyme
1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced (or a handful of fennel tops)
6 lb. rock salt.
4 egg whites
Aioli (below)

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Rinse the fish and pat dry inside and out with paper towels. Place the lemon, thyme and fennel inside the cavity.

Combine the salt and egg whites in a large bowl. Pack half the salt mixture into a large baking dish and place the fish on top. Cover with the remaining salt, pressing down until the salt is firmly packed around the fish.

Bake the fish for 30-40 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the center of the fish comes out hot.

(Another note--when you suddenly smell the aroma of fish cooking, it is done. This is a sign that the flesh has released its juices).

Remove the dish from the oven. Carefully remove the salt crust from the top of the fish to one side of the pan. Peel the skin away, ensuring that no salt remains on the flesh.

Serve hot or cold with aioli.


AIOLI
(Garlic Mayonnaise)

4 garlic cloves
Salt
2 egg yolks
1 Tbs. lemon juice, or more, to taste
1-¼ cups light olive or vegetable oil
White pepper

Have all ingredients at room temperature.

Put the garlic through a garlic press into a small bowl and sprinkle with a little salt. Mash with the back of a spoon until smooth and frothy (Alternatively, pound peeled garlic and salt in a mortar with a pestle.

Put egg yolks in the bowl of a processor with the lemon juice, Run machine until well combine. Add garlic puree and run to combine again.

With machine running, add oil in a thin stream, very slowly at first until mixture starts to thicken, then a little faster. Season the finished sauce to taste with lemon juice, salt and white pepper.

 
Crema Catalana

CREMA CATALANA

Adapted from The Essential Mediterranean Cookbook, Bay Books, Australia


1 liter (1 generous quart) milk
1 cinnamon stick
Zest of one small lemon, cut into strips
2 strips orange zest, 1½ x ¾ inches
8 egg yolks
½ cup granulated sugar
Pinch of salt
4 Tbs. cornstarch
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 Tbs. brown sugar


Place the milk, cinnamon stick and lemon and orange zests in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer 5 minutes, then strain and set aside.

Whisk the egg yolks with the granulated sugar in a bowl until pale and thick, about 5 minutes. Whisk in the cornstarch. Slowly whisk in the hot milk. Return to the sauce pan and cook over low to medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until mixture is thick and creamy, 5-10 minutes. Do not boil or it will curdle.

Pour custard into six 1-cup ramekins and refrigerate for 6 hours, or overnight.

When ready to serve, sprinkle evenly with brown sugar and broil for 3 minutes, or until sugar caramelizes.

 
Wow, that all sounds good. How were the croquette? I've always wanted to make

them and also make the bacalao ones. Next time you make your tortilla try doing just what you did but slowly simmer your potatoes and onion together in olive oil, then stir into your eggs and let stand for about ten minutes before cooking. Penelope Casas writes terrific tapas and Spanish cooking cookbooks. She does it this way and says to make sure you don't brown your potatoes.

 
The croquettes were sinfully good. Crispy on the outside and creamy inside. This is the second time

I've made them and they disappear as fast as you can fry them.

I'm afraid my tortilla got quite brown--I'm still getting the hang of the induction burner and it burned. But it got gobbled up anyway.

I remember your post a while back about simmering in oil and I will have to try it sometime

 
Joe - have you ever tried using Panko instead of the breadcrumbs? I'm wondering if it would work...

 
I am sure it would. I used fresh crumbs because I had a stale loaf of bread on hand,

but the cookbook called for dry.

 
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