This month, we bring you the very best of our recipes from the last year, with a seasonal twist. The Spanish diet is very often dictated by what is in season, and food is undoubtedly at its best when it is fresh and gathered at its peak. September is a great time of year for fresh food, as the summer produce is still available and the autumn fruits and meats are just starting to arrive on the shelves.
Tomatoes
Tomatoes are right in the middle of their British season this month, and are the main ingredient of Spain’s famous chilled soup, gazpacho. This delicious soup is an ideal starter on a lazy Indian summer evening, or makes a perfect light lunch with crusty bread. Choose local classic variety tomatoes, and look out for those still on the vine for an extra burst of freshness.
Prawns
Although frozen prawns are available all year round, they aren’t nearly as good as when they’re fresh out of the sea. Although our recipe for garlic prawns calls for small ones, and makes a great starter or tapas, you could equally choose king or tiger varieties and use the other ingredients as a marinade, then grill them on a barbecue.
Duck
The British wild duck season begins in September, and good butchers should be able to order them for you. Otherwise, farmed duck is available all year round. Our recipe recommends Barbary duck, which is a farmed duck, but any variety will work well. For wild duck, reduce the cooking time as the meat is much leaner, and be careful not to let it dry out. The juices of wild duck should be pinkish when it is cooked properly.
Sardines
Sardines are particularly valued by the Spanish, but they must be absolutely fresh and firm, not tied up or limp. Ask your fish supplier to fillet the fish, but keep them whole, so that they can be opened out like a book to season and then closed up again to cook and serve. In our recipe they are baked with a spiced tomato mixture, and are equally good served at room temperature. Either way, serve with warm crusty bread.
Figs
The fig tree is as ancient to the landscape of Spain as the olive tree and both thrive in the hot, dry climate. Black figs have thick skins; green figs have thin skins. Whichever you choose for this dish, make sure they are fully ripe – squeeze them gently in the palm of your hand. When ripe, they should give slightly. Transporting figs is a delicate business: they get damaged very easily, so avoid those with bruised or broken skin.
Gazpacho caliente
From Cooking in Spain
1 medium onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
2 large tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
50 ml olive oil
1/4 tsp saffron or paprika
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 ground chili pepper (optional)
1 tsp salt
1 litre water or stock
4 slices bread, toasted and cubed
mint for garnish
figs to accompany
In a soup pot combine the onion, pepper, tomatoes, garlic and olive oil and let them stew for 10 minutes. In a mortar crush the saffron and mix with the cumin, pepper and salt. Add to the pot with the water or stock. Bring to the boil and cook for 10 minutes more.
Serve garnished with croutons of toasted bread. (Clams, prawns and pieces of fish can be added to this soup.) Garnish with mint and serve with figs and pieces of green pepper and raw onions, or apples, grapes or diced cucumber. One unusual version includes snails.
Linda Tubby’s
Garlic prawns
From Spanish Country Kitchen
Serves four
48 small, uncooked prawns, about 600g, shelled and deveined, with tail shell left on
4 tbsp extra virgin oil
8 garlic cloves, peeled and bruised
6 small dried chillies
8 small fresh bay leaves
freshly squeezed juice of half a lemon
sea salt
Alioli
5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
large pinch of salt
100ml extra virgin oil
2 tsp lemon juice, plus extra to taste
100ml sunflower oil
fine sea salt and freshly ground white pepper
4 individual cazuelas (terracotta ramekins), 10 -12cm diameter, preheated in a hot oven
To make the alioli, pound the garlic and a large pinch of salt to a smooth, thick, creamy consistency with a mortar and pestle. Slowly drip in the olive oil, mixing with the pestle. Switch to a whisk and mix in the lemon juice, pepper and, little by little, half the sunflower oil. Add one or two teaspoons cold water and whisk well while adding the remaining 50ml oil. The mixture will be very thick. Set aside for at least 30 minutes for the garlic to mellow, then add salt, pepper and extra lemon juice to taste.
To prepare the prawns, put on a plate and sprinkle lightly with salt. Heat the oil in a frying pan, add the garlic and fry until brown. Add the chillies, bay leaves and prawns all at once and fry without turning until the prawns are crusted and curled on one side, then turn them over and crust the other side, about three minutes in total.
Transfer to the preheated cazuelas, sprinkle with lemon juice and top with a spoonful of alioli. Serve immediately while still bubbling hot.
Note Alioli is used with all sorts of dishes. Often an egg yolk is mixed in after the garlic is creamy, making it a little closer to the French aïoili. It’s pungent yet delicious. When first made, it is quite strong, but after about 30 minutes the flavour really mellows. For an even milder taste, blanch the garlic cloves until just soft, then pop them out of their skins and pound to a cream.
Pepita Aris’
Spiced duck with pears
From Spanish
Serves six
Ingredients
6 duck portions, preferably barbary, either breast or leg pieces
15ml/1tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1 cinnamon stick,halved
4 thyme sprigs
475ml/16fl oz/ ¼ cups duck or chicken stock
3 firm, ripe pears
30ml/2 tbsp olive oil
25g/10z/ ¼ cup raisins
salt and ground black pepper
young thyme springs or fresh parsley to garnish
mashed potatoes and green vegetables, to serve (optional)
for the picada:
30ml/1tbsp olive oil
½ slice stale bread, without crusts
2 garlic cloves, sliced
15g/ ½ oz/12 almonds, toasted
15g/ ½ oz/12 hazelnuts, toasted
15ml/1tbsp chopped fresh parsley
salt and ground black pepper
Preheat the oven to 180/ gas 4. Seasont the duck portions, pricking the skins with a fork. Fry them, skin side down, for about 5 minutes, until they give off fat. Turn them over and fry them on the other side more briefly.
Transfer the duck to an ovenproof dish and drain off all but 15ml/1tbsp of the fat left in the pan.
Add the onion to the pan and fry for 5 minutes. Add the cinnamon, thyme and stock to bring to the boil. Pour over the duck, reserving a little of the stock, and bake for 1 ¼ hours.
Make the picada. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and fry the bread over a high heat. Drain on kitchen paper and reserve. Briefly fry the garlic and reserve with the bread.
Put all the nuts in a mortar and pound, or reduce to a paste in a food processor or blender. Add the bread, torn into pieces, and the garlic, and reduce to a thick, smooth paste with a little pan stock. Add the parsley and seasoning.
Peel, core and halve the pears. Fry quickly in the oil in the frying pan until beginning to colour on the cut sides.
Add the Picada to the ovenproof dish with the raisins and pears. Bake for a further 15 minutes until the pears are tender. Season to taste and garnish with mashed potatoes and vegetables, if you wish.
Sergio Vasquez’s
Baked Sardines
From Fresh Spanish
Serves 4–6
3 tbsps olive oil
2 onions, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 red pepper, cored, deseeded and finely chopped
200g can chopped tomatoes
1 tsp pimentón picante (hot paprika)
Large pinch of saffron threads
½ tsp ground cumin
1 bay leaf
1 cinnamon stick
3 tbsps finely chopped flat leaf parsley, plus extra to garnish
12 medium or 20-25 small fresh sardines, prepared and filleted but kept whole
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Heat the oil in a large frying pan, add the onions, garlic and red pepper, and cook over a low heat, stirring occasionally, for 10-15 minutes. Add the tomatoes and their juice, pimentón, saffron, cumin, bay leaf, cinnamon stick and parsley. Season to taste with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, for a further 8-10 minutes.
Gently open out the sardine fillets and lightly season with salt and pepper. Fold back into their original shape. Spread half the tomato mixture over the base of a medium-sized, shallow ovenproof dish, or cazuela. Arrange half the sardines on top in a single layer. Repeat with the remaining tomato mixture and sardines.
Bake in a preheated oven, at 200 degrees (gas mark 6), for 15-20 minutes or until the fish is cooked through. Remove from the oven and serve immediately, garnished with a little finely chopped parsley.
Linda Tubby’s
Fig fritters
From Spanish Country Kitchen
Serves four to eight
The fig tree is as ancient to the landscape of Spain as the olive tree and both thrive in the hot, dry climate. The earliest variety is small, plump and black, fruiting in early summer, with other varieties continuing into late summer. Black figs have thick skins; green figs have thin skins. Whichever you choose for this dish, make sure they are fully ripe – squeeze them gently in the palm of your hand. When ripe, they should give slightly. A slightly split and dewy skin also denotes ripeness.
140g plain flour, plus a little for dusting
1 whole egg and 2 egg whites
200ml white wine
finely grated zest of 1 unwaxed lemon
3 tbsp caster sugar, plus extra for dusting
8 figs with stalks
sunflower oil, for deep-frying
an electric deep-fryer (optional)
Put the flour in a bowl, make a hollow in the centre and break in the whole egg. Add a little of the wine and gradually whisk in the flour from the edges so it doesn’t go in all at once, Mix in the rest of the wine and lemon zest, cover with clingfilm and set aside for 1 hour.
Put the egg whites in a bowl and whisk until soft peaks form. Add the sugar a spoonful at a time, whisking to make a shiny meringue.
If the batter has thickened beyond thick cream stage, stir in a drop of water to loosen it a little. Fold in the meringue.
Fill a saucepan or deep-fryer one-third full with the oil, or to the manufacturer’s recommended level. Heat the oil to 190˚C (375˚F).
Dust the figs with a little flour and dip them into the batter. Add the figs to the hot oil, in batches if necessary. When the batter turns crisp and golden, remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper. Dust with caster sugar and serve while hot.