Real Aphrodisiacs for Valentine's
How to Make a Healthy Snack
McBites = Modern McNuggets?
Classic Valentine Dishes
How to Scrape a Vanilla Bean
Chocolate Beers for Valentine's
Less than 1100
continuedThe Annotated Recipe
Stuffed Andalusian Chicken (Pollo Relleno a la Andaluza)
Serves 6 {Ahem, in our case, it seemed to serve four … insatiable Americans!}
6 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound 2 ounces tart apples, peeled, cored, and chopped {This was the seductive element for me—chicken stuffed with apples? Yay!}
Scant 1 cup diced Serrano ham or prosciutto {This had a certain element of seduction, too.}
1/3 cup pine nuts
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 1/2 cups amontillado or other sherry {I couldn’t find anything but cream sherry at the Washington state liquor store … luckily I had something nicer lurking around my liquor cabinet, but still, you might want to call ahead if you’re not going to a Spanish specialist.}
1/4 cup anisette {This was the so-weird-it-must-be-good element for me …}
1 chicken, 3 1/4 pounds
1/3 cup lard or 3 tablespoons sunflower oil
1 large onion, cut into 2-3 pieces
Salt and pepper
Heat the oil in a pan. Add the apple and cook over low heat for 2 minutes. Add the ham, pine nuts, parsley, and cloves, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3-4 minutes. Pour in half the sherry and the anisette, stir well, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly. {Or if you’re a more careful cook than me, cool entirely in the refrigerator—remember, you’re not supposed to put warm stuffing in a raw bird. Plus this recipe takes a while to make; you might not mind having this step all completed the day before.} Preheat the oven to 400°F. Stuff the chicken with the mixture, reserving any extra cooking liquid. Sew up the opening or secure with skewers. Spread the lard or brush the oil all over the bird and place it in a roasting pan. Pour the reserved apple cooking liquid around the chicken. Season with salt and put the pieces of onion on either side of the chicken. Roast, turning occasionally {That turning is the test of your trussing—I had been lazy and the wobbly legs started some ugly fissures in the skin. In general with roasting, I let the chicken brown, back down, in an ovenproof pan for 5 to 10 minutes, then, without turning, throw the whole thing into the oven to finish roasting; it gives the longer-to-cook thighs a head start over the breasts. Next time, I think I might incorporate this step into the method and not bother turning at all.} for 20 minutes, then pour the remaining sherry over the chicken. (If the tips of the legs start to brown during cooking, cover them in foil.) Return to the oven and roast, basting occasionally, for about 40 minutes more, until the chicken is tender and cooked through. Check that it is done by piercing the thickest part of the thigh with the tip of a sharp knife; if the juices run clear and the meat is no longer pink, the chicken is cooked. Carve the chicken {I let mine rest for a little while} and spoon out the stuffing onto a warm serving dish. Serve immediately with the sauce.
{The combination of sherry apples and ham plus chicken juices is just scrumptious. Thanks in part to my less-than-stellar trussing, the bird wasn’t the prettiest roast I’ve made (the apple mixture comes out sort of putty brown, too), but man was that sauce good.}
Wish I had read this before writing my own review. I think its worth noting that Phaidon has been corning the market on these "rustic" cookbooks lately. The Silver Spoon, Vefa's Kitchen, 1080 Recipes, I Know How to Cook, etc. They all claim to be the "bibles" representing the cooking of their respective countries. There's some truth to that, but basically what Phaidon is doing is repackaging...+READ
Wish I had read this before writing my own review. I think its worth noting that Phaidon has been corning the market on these "rustic" cookbooks lately. The Silver Spoon, Vefa's Kitchen, 1080 Recipes, I Know How to Cook, etc. They all claim to be the "bibles" representing the cooking of their respective countries. There's some truth to that, but basically what Phaidon is doing is repackaging popular cookbooks from 30-50 years ago that, while popular in their respective countries may never have been published before in English. While they are beautiful cookbooks, they may disappoint people in that they tend to feel a little dated and a little less "local" than one would expect. I expect many readers want a little mystery and romance in their spanish cooking, and instead, they're getting the Irma Rombauer in Spanish.-COLLAPSE
Perhaps the idea that Spanish tapas and other dishes are heavy on sauces comes from a confusion with certain Latin American cuisines, which are an entirely different realm. The best Spanish recipes, if done right, do not drown the flavor of the ingredients with an overwhelming sauce. There is, however, a danger of overdoing garlic, which has the same numbing effect... not a good idea.
Best,...+READ
Perhaps the idea that Spanish tapas and other dishes are heavy on sauces comes from a confusion with certain Latin American cuisines, which are an entirely different realm. The best Spanish recipes, if done right, do not drown the flavor of the ingredients with an overwhelming sauce. There is, however, a danger of overdoing garlic, which has the same numbing effect... not a good idea.
Best, Mario http://epicureanways.com/blog-COLLAPSE
As has been mentioned, this popular book is a basic guide for everyday Spanish cooking. However, Spain is a very regional country and Ortega’s book does not fully reflect the particularities of its many cuisines. For that purpose I would recommend The Cuisines of Spain by Teresa Barrenechea (Tenspeed Press) and, for someone interested in Catalan cooking, the classic Catalan Cuisine by Colman...+READ
As has been mentioned, this popular book is a basic guide for everyday Spanish cooking. However, Spain is a very regional country and Ortega’s book does not fully reflect the particularities of its many cuisines. For that purpose I would recommend The Cuisines of Spain by Teresa Barrenechea (Tenspeed Press) and, for someone interested in Catalan cooking, the classic Catalan Cuisine by Colman Andrews (Harvard Common Press). Certain intriguing sauces are an integral part of much Catalan cookery and are likely to be of interest to American cooks.
Best, Mario http://epicureanways.com/blog-COLLAPSE
To chime in...
It should be noted that bechamel is used for much more that croquetas. Look at bechamel-based lasagna and canelones, for example. This is partucularly true in Catalunya.
I do agree that American tapas are much heavier on the sauces, toppings, are generally fancier, and even depart from real Spanish cooking, many times moving into the Latin American realm.
I disagree that...+READ
To chime in...
It should be noted that bechamel is used for much more that croquetas. Look at bechamel-based lasagna and canelones, for example. This is partucularly true in Catalunya.
I do agree that American tapas are much heavier on the sauces, toppings, are generally fancier, and even depart from real Spanish cooking, many times moving into the Latin American realm.
I disagree that most middle class households had hired help in 1973, under Franco.-COLLAPSE
> not meant to be anything other than good old fashioned bourgeois cookery
Exactly. That's why I'd say it's more Betty Crocker than Joy of Cooking (which I would place a step above on a sophistication scale). It's good for stuff like knowing the right proportions and techniques for making a natilla turn out. But I think most people would view the recipes as a jumping off point, not as...+READ
> not meant to be anything other than good old fashioned bourgeois cookery
Exactly. That's why I'd say it's more Betty Crocker than Joy of Cooking (which I would place a step above on a sophistication scale). It's good for stuff like knowing the right proportions and techniques for making a natilla turn out. But I think most people would view the recipes as a jumping off point, not as definitive models of authentic cooking.-COLLAPSE
It´s a very dull book, really, and not meant to be anything other than good old fashioned bourgeois cookery, written at a time when most middle class households had hired help.
As for the bechamel, it´s still big in Spain, we haven´t moved forward a lot, I´m afraid.
I haven't seen the English translation, but I think the problem here is that, in Spain, 1080 recetas is sort of like the Betty Crocker cookbook. It's a rough paperback with no frills that your mom gives you when you first move out of the house. It cost 12 euros.
These are really simple, and not necessarily immaculately traditional, recipes. There are lots of regional cuisines underrepresented....+READ
I haven't seen the English translation, but I think the problem here is that, in Spain, 1080 recetas is sort of like the Betty Crocker cookbook. It's a rough paperback with no frills that your mom gives you when you first move out of the house. It cost 12 euros.
These are really simple, and not necessarily immaculately traditional, recipes. There are lots of regional cuisines underrepresented. There are also lots of really useful recipes, but they aren't meant to be definitive. These very basic versions to be embellished upon (and when you grow up eating this food, you'll have a good sense of what the variations are). But the book doesn't really seemed to be marketed this way--and the price doesn't seem to reflect that fact, either.
In Spanish cuisine, sauces, toppings, and bechamels are actually used much, much more sparingly than the are in the US (croquetas are made from bechamel, but not a whole lot else). In fact, when people come to visit from the US, they nearly always mention this (and often complain about it, because they are used to having "American" tapas with a plethora of dipping sauces, condiments, etc.). Remember, also that the original author is from a French family. The book reflects her personal and eclectic tastes.
As an alternative or supplement in English, I very much recommend all of Janet Mendel's cookbooks.-COLLAPSE