La Tienda, based in Virginia, noted that Galicia and Virginia share an Atlantic coast. They have persuaded a local farmer to produce the peppers from imported seeds, and the results are available every year about this time. Thinking back to last summer in Madrid, I could not resist ordering a couple of pounds. Since overnight shipping is a given, I also took the opportunity to tack on the only-just-available Jamón Ibérico Bellota Paleta in a 4 ounce hand-sliced package. That is the subject of another posting, but I can tell you that the peppers alone were worth the shipping cost.

Sources

La Tienda

La Tienda is more than just an essential source for hard-to-find
Spanish ingredients, it’s an outpost of Spanish culture in America.

There was no Spanish food to speak of in this country until Asturian chef José Andrés opened Jaleo in Washington, D.C. Before, paella was the only familiar Spanish dish, and that was probably a sorry mishmash of gummy rice, chicken, shrimp, and sausage (authentic paellas never mix seafood with land food). Andrés transformed the idea of tapas into the now-ubiqutous “small plates” that Americans could easily grasp, and Spanish food was here to stay.

There were no Spanish ingredients in those days either. La Tienda was founded by an American family that had lived in Spain for many years. They began by importing items for their own use in 1996, and happily the business has grown to a national level with over 500 products available.

La Tienda was instrumental in bringing legal Jamón Ibérico to this country, and a complete range of ham is available from mere serrano to Jamón Ibérico Bellota Paleta, thought by many to be the finest ham in the world. Also available are difficult-to-find Spanish sausages, including chorizo, buttifara, morcilla, and a wide variety of essential pantry ingredients: smoked pimentón paprika, roasted piquillo and guindillas peppers, paella rice, and a wide range of unsurpassed oil-packed tunas.

Sources

High Wire Ranch

Monroe Farm

In Liguria the pasta is usually cooked with a potato, which is diced and served with the dish, often with green beans. I used the first potatoes of the season from Monroe Farm, but omitted the beans this time in order to keep it simple.

Pesto Ligurian Style

1. 2 cups basil leaves, packed
2. 3/8 - 1/2 cup olive oil
3. 2 Tb pine nuts
4. 2 cloves garlic
5. 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
6. 2 Tb pecorino Romano, grated
7. salt, 2Tb butter
8. a handful of small potatoes
9. pasta, about one pound

Chop garlic fine, add garlic, basil, pine nuts, and olive oil to a blender or food processor. Process until blended but not too smooth, scraping down the sides as needed. Marcella adds salt and a full 1/2 cup oil; I omit the salt and use a bit less oil. The pecorino adds a nice sharp note, but don’t hesitate to substitute an equal amount of parmesan if you don’t have a well-stocked refrigerator.

Fettuccine is classic (called trenette in Liguria), but spagetti works well also. Chop potatoes roughly into bite-size pieces. Cook pasta and potatoes in salted water until pasta is al dente. Drain, add butter and pesto and toss to coat, then add most of the cheese, reserving a little for the table. Toss once more, and serve immediately.

 Sources

Red Wagon Organic Farm 

Monroe Farm

Apple enters the fine food market. See a very funny spoof of Apple style from a creative agency in España here. Be sure to watch the “guided tour” video … letter perfect.

This is especially timely, as real Jamón Ibérico, even the finest de bellota, is finally becoming available in this backwards country of ours. At a steep price, of course, but no more sweating customs with tightly wrapped jamón concealed in your luggage…

Oeufs de Meurette (Serves 4)

For the sauce:

1. 1 bottle (750 ml) red wine, preferably red Burgundy
2. 1 cup good brown veal, beef, or chicken stock
3. 1 small onion, roughly chopped
4. 1 carrot, roughly chopped
5. 1 celery stalk, roughly chopped
6. thyme sprigs, parsley, a bay leaf, and a few black peppercorns

For the garnishes:

1. 8 slices of bread from a large baguette, about 3/8″ thick
2. 1 garlic clove, cut in half
3. 8 button mushrooms
4. 4 oz bacon, diced
5. 16 pearl onions
6. olive oil, butter

Remaining ingredients:

1. 8 fresh eggs, poached
2. 2 tablespoons butter
3. 2 tablespoons flour 
4. salt and pepper, to taste

First, prepare the sauce. Chop vegetables, combine with wine, stock, and herb mixture. I use a seriously reduced brown stock here – if you are using canned stock, good luck, but you will want to reduce it first. Simmer sauce briskly until reduced by half or even more. The wine is traditionally red Burgundy, but Beaujolais or something unoaked and fruity will do in a pinch. Beware any highly-oaked New World wine, even domestic Pinot Noir – the concentrated oak flavors would be overwhelming or worse.

Next, prepare the garnishes. Make croûtes by frying the bread slices in olive oil; drain on paper towels, then rub both sides of each with the cut garlic. Reserve. Sauté mushrooms in butter, reserve. Sauté bacon, remove and reserve, then add pearl onions to the rendered fat and cook until nicely browned.

Final preparation. Prepare a beurre manié by mixing softened butter with flour. Strain the sauce into a clean saucepan. Over low heat, add beurre manié and stir until slightly thickened and glossy. Poach 4 eggs to your taste. This can be done ahead, reserving nearly-cooked eggs in cold water and reheating in hot water for a minute or so. Place two croûtes on each serving plate, top each with a poached egg, then portion bacon, mushrooms, and onions evenly. Spoon sauce over each plate and serve immediately.

Serve outdoors if possible, and think of early summer in Beaune. Époisses cheese is the perfect dessert.

Sources

Wisdom’s Natural Poultry

“Blasut” is the moniker of the restauranteur in Friuli that invented this recipe. Sounds quaint, but the dish is not traditional at all. As Marcella points out, both the number and quantity of herbs is unusual in Italian cooking, but the effect is wonderful. The recipe calls for lemon peel, mint, rosemary, and sage, and the resulting flavors are multi-level and nuanced. Don’t even think of using dried herbs. Blasut serves the dish with a grilled pasta called mlinci (apparently quite different from the Croatian mlinci); I made do with a high-quality imported penne. I have not tried it, but this dish could be equally wonderful with ground turkey.

Sources

Wisdom’s Natural Poultry (both thighs and ground chicken are available)

Scapes are especially interesting because they are a byproduct of garlic production, a part of the garlic plant that is traditionally cut off to promote the growth of the bulb and discarded. Some clever farmers discovered that they were not only edible, but delicious enough to some that there is a ready market for them at upscale produce venues.

First I made the White Bean and Garlic Scapes Dip described in the article, a sort of cannellini-based hummus. Delicious, with a subtle alterna-garlic kick; this was well-received, though some in our party felt that fewer scapes in the mix would make a less daunting exercise in garlic. Enboldened, and following Melissa Clark’s lead, I threw together the following dish:

Garlic Scapes in the Manner of Green Beans

1. large handful of garlic scapes, chopped diagonally into 2″ lengths
2. 2 Tb butter
3. 1 Tb lemon juice
4. black pepper to taste

Blanch scapes in salted water for 7 minutes. Drain and dry scapes. Melt butter in sauté pan, toss scapes until done to your liking. Add lemon juice and black pepper to taste.

Very interesting. The flavor is subtle, with obvious garlic notes, and texture somewhat similar to that of green beans, but “gummier.”

All excitement at New York Greenmarkets aside, perhaps these are an acquired taste.

Sources

¡Cultiva! Youth Project

Buttermilk Biscuits

1. 2 1/2 cups flour
2. 1/2 tsp baking soda
3. 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
4. 1/2 tsp salt
5. 1/3 shortening (classically Crisco)
6. 1 cup buttermilk

Sift together dry ingredients. These next steps take a light touch: Cut in shortening until there are “no pieces bigger than a pea.” Stir in buttermilk evenly. Turn on to a well-floured pastry cloth and knead ten times (I kid you not). Roll out to 1/2 - 3/4″ thickness, the use can or cutter to create 2 - 3″ rounds. Set oven to 450 degrees. Bake about 15 minutes on baking sheet until golden brown.  If you are a wizard these will rise almost impossibly, and mortals must settle for a mildly risen yet succulent biscuit.

The strawberries themselves are simply sliced and a tiny bit of sugar added, then left to “macerate” (as a food writer might say), releasing delectible juices.

Split still warm biscuits, spoon over strawberries, and top with fresh whipped cream. Perfection.

Sources

Monroe Farm