We tried our own take on a recipe presented by Pepe Solla at the Salón de Gourmets in Madrid last week. The gastronomic trade fair features food producers, winemakers, chefs, and loads of delicious food and drink.
For the ajoblanco recipe, we tried one found on epicurious.com posted by Bon Apétit Magazine, adding a bit of green apple to the traditional white gazpacho. To maintain a Spanish theme, try a cabrales blue cheese, but any variety you enjoy will probably do just fine. The mussels in escabeche combined with the flavor of the blue cheese and the ajoblanco seemed to work out well, as I ate all the models for the photographs.
We served them in shot glasses to keep the proper ratio of mussels to cheese to ajoblanco. Also, because it was easiest.
This recipe from Foods from Spain is relatively easy and is a good choice if you're in an Olympics via Spain mood. Or something.
Russian Salad recpie from Foods from Spain
Judy Walker of The Times-Picayune queried some chefs and foodies to discover what foods deserve more love for Valentine's Day. Of course, anchovies get the love they deserve amongst the other foods who do not usually get the love they deserve. Or something.
One of the participants provides a good suggestion for anchovies at home, as he, "sautés canned anchovies in olive oil with garlic, adds parsley and then stirs in pasta or florets of steamed cauliflower (another food that needs more love, he said). The anchovies "provide body and flavor you wouldn't get otherwise."
Read more at nola.com.
If you're looking for traditional Spanish recipes that (allegedly) anyone can prepare, try The Family Meal: Home Cooking with Ferran Adria. I've yet to sample anything from the book, though odds are good there are some delicious dishes that'll come out of it.
The Family Meal: Home Cooking with Ferran Adria
Here's a more time-intensive recipe by Pepe Rodriguez Rey for Foods from Spain. Click the photo for the full recipe. If you give it a try, let us know what you think. I've yet to convince someone to attempt it so I can give it a try.
Marinated Sardines with Strawberry and Cheese Sauces
We hope everyone enjoys a happy and safe holiday season.
Sincerely,
Donostia Foods
From the Bay of Biscay in northern Spain, Bonito del Norte is fished from July until September each year. Each fish is line-caught with live bait and quickly brought back to shore for packing in pure olive oil.
Our Donostia Foods Bonito del Norte Tuna is pictured above, straight from the can.
Total Time: 10 minutes
Ingredients
1 jar (7.58 ounces) - bonito tuna in olive oil
1 - scallion
3 tablespoons - mayonnaise
1 loaf - crusty brown bread
chives, tomatoes, or other topping can be added as desired
Directions
1. Drain the oil off the tuna.
2. Chop the olives.
3. Chop the scallion finely.
4. Mix the scallion, olives, mayonnaise, and tuna in a bowl, mashing the tuna with a fork.
5. Spread and serve on toasted slices of the brown bread. If you'd like, sprinkle snipped chives on top and add a few cherry tomatoes for color.
If you're visiting northern Spain and Basque country, Alameda, open in Hondarribia since 1942, provides an excellent meal that blends the culinary traditions of the region with modern style. We had a great meal there a few weeks ago, including this fine dish:
