My first trip to Spain was in 1993, not long after opening Roti, in San Francisco. I was in the restaurant one afternoon, when the phone rang, and a man who introduced himself as Juan said he would like to send me a ticket to Spain. My response was quick: “I don’t have time for this,” I said, thanked him, and hung up. He called back immediately, told me I would be receiving a first-class ticket to Spain the next day, and that he hoped to see me and a lot of other American chefs in Spain in two weeks.
The Spanish government felt that Americans were so focused on Italy and France that they were missing the marvelous cuisine of Spain, and that the only way to change that was to invite American chefs to explore the country. When I arrived in Madrid, a big, handsome Spaniard came up to me and said, “Hello, Cindy.” I recognized his voice—it was Juan. We were soon joined by a half dozen other chefs and we set out on our journey. We visited the buildings of Gaudí, the art of Dalí, and the works of many other Spanish forward-thinkers. We went from city—Madrid, Segovia, Barcelona, San Sebastián—to countryside—craggy mountains, arid plains, lush forests, sandy beaches—and each stop was pure chef heaven to me. Every city and every region had its own culinary traditions, its own flavors, and even the most elegant meals had an intensity of flavor and a sense of fun and warmheartedness. When I returned home, I couldn’t wait to start cooking Spanish food.
Several years later, when friends from Spain were visiting, forty people came to my home for dinner. One of them, Juan Suarez (a different Juan), asked if he could help me with the cooking. In his professional life, Juan is a well-respected lawyer, but as with many men in Spain, he is also a true culinarian. Ajo blanco, a white gazpacho made with bread and almonds, was the evening’s first course, and Juan made it the traditional way, slowly pounding the nuts and bread in a mortar. He prepared it alone, with no help from me or from an electric appliance, and the amount of pounding that that single dish demanded to feed my forty guests was extraordinary. That’s why the opening course of this menu has to be ajo blanco.
WITH PEELED WHITE GRAPES
When you taste this velvety chilled soup, you won’t believe that it contains no cream. The texture comes from finely ground almonds and bread. I’ve researched several recipes for this soup, as I love it, and it seems that people are split half and half on whether to soak the bread in water or in milk. I like to soak the bread in milk (whole, low fat, whatever you have) but I do it in water for my vegan guests. Use your very best olive oil, almonds, sherry, and bread for this dish. Every ingredient has to shine.
The classic garnish for this soup is peeled grapes. Yes, it is like the days of ancient Rome, but it is such a perfect garnish that it is worth the effort. Use a sharp paring knife and sit down for a few minutes to do it. Peel at least three grapes per serving.
I use raw (skin-on) almonds for most dishes because I prefer their appearance, but for this one, I buy blanched almonds. You can skin natural almonds yourself: Bring them to a boil in water to cover, boil for a few minutes, and drain well. Rub them in a tea towel until the skins slip off and then toss the skins. Some people prefer to roast the nuts and steam them wrapped in a towel to loosen the skins. If you do it this way, be sure not to brown them!
You can make this soup the day before the meal (but wait to peel the grapes the day of serving). It will separate but you can whisk it back together in about three seconds. Serve the soup in well-chilled bowls, either by putting the bowls in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before serving or by filling them with ice for about 10 minutes before serving and then tossing out the ice just before ladling in the soup. A ½-cup portion is plenty if you are serving the whole menu, as the soup is quite rich. I often serve it in espresso cups or demitasses to guests while they are still milling around before dinner. It looks especially stunning in dark bowls. This recipe makes more soup than you’ll need if making the rest of the menu, but be sure to keep the leftovers because it’s fantastic the next day for lunch. | SERVES 6 TO 8
½ LOAF DAY-OLD ARTISANAL WHITE BREAD (ABOUT 7 OUNCES)
1 CUP MILK (OR WATER FOR A VEGAN SOUP)
18 TO 30 LARGE WHITE SEEDLESS GRAPES
1⅓ CUPS (7 OUNCES) BLANCHED WHOLE ALMONDS
2 TO 4 CLOVES GARLIC, COARSELY CHOPPED
¾ CUP EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL
1 CUP ICE MIXED WITH 2½ CUPS WATER (THE MEASURING CUP SHOULD READ 3½ CUPS)
2 TABLESPOONS AGED SPANISH SHERRY VINEGAR
SEA SALT
Trim off the crust from the bread and tear the bread into even-sized chunks. Put the chunks in a bowl, pour the milk over them, and let soak for 1 hour. While the bread is soaking, peel the grapes, place in a bowl, cover, and refrigerate.
After 1 hour, squeeze the milk from the bread and discard the liquid. In a food processor, combine the nuts, garlic, and bread. With the motor running, slowly add the olive oil in a thin, steady stream. Then, with the motor still running, slowly add the ice water and then the vinegar. Season with salt.
In Spain, this soup is typically perfectly smooth. To achieve that texture, process the pureed soup in small batches, running each batch for at least 1 minute. Strain the blended soup through a chinois (ultrafine-mesh conical sieve) or a double-mesh sieve. When you taste the soup, it should be velvety, without any graininess at all.
Refrigerate the soup until very cold, at least 30 minutes or up to overnight, and chill the bowls for at least 30 minutes. Just before serving, cut the grapes in half lengthwise. Ladle the soup into the cold bowls, and float some grape halves on top of each serving. Refrigerate any leftover soup in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
SHERRIED SQUAB LIVERS ON TOAST
While the squabs are
roasting in the oven, make this simple, delicious first course from the reserved livers for guests to enjoy with a good Pinot Noir while they wait for the main course. (If your butcher will be cleaning the birds for you, be sure to ask him or her to save the livers for you.) This could also be done with chicken livers, although they will take a little longer to cook.
Use great bread to make the toast. And because the livers will cook very quickly and are best served warm, be sure to have the toast ready before you begin cooking them. You could dress this up with chopped parsley or chervil, but I like to keep it simple: just bite-size toasts topped with the liver cooked in butter and sherry.
| SHOWN HERE | SERVES 4
1 TO 2 TABLESPOONS UNSALTED BUTTER
4 SQUAB LIVERS
1 TABLESPOON DRY SHERRY, PLUS MORE IF NEEDED
4 SLICES COUNTRY-STYLE BREAD, TOASTED AND THEN CUT INTO A SLICE JUST LARGE ENOUGH TO HOLD A LIVER
Heat a small sauté pan over medium heat and add 1 tablespoon of the butter. When the butter is hot, add the livers and cook, turning once, for 30 seconds on each side. Pour in the sherry and continue to cook for 1 to 1½ minutes, until medium-rare or no more than medium. If the pan seems dry, add the remaining 1 tablespoon butter or pour in another splash of sherry. Let cook for 10 seconds more, then remove from the heat.
Place each toast on a plate, top each toast with a liver, and spoon the pan juices over the livers. Serve right away.
Clockwise, from left: Roasted Squab, Ricotta Cheese, Roasted Striped Bass, Sherried Squab Livers on Toast
WITH POTATOES AND TOMATOES
I wish Americans were not so afraid of fish. A big fish like a striped bass is easy to cook once it has been cut into steaks (bone in and with skin intact for flavor), which is what I am using here. Once you arrange all of the ingredients in a
cazuela (see headnote for
Roasted Squab) or shallow ceramic or glass baking dish and slip it into the oven, you only have to baste it a few times and sip wine. You can use skinless fish fillets, but you will need to baste the fish a little more often.
If you are lucky enough to have a wood-burning oven, use it to cook this dish, increasing the cooking time to 25 minutes. You can also try a different type of potato, such as German Butterball, French fingerling, or other yellow-fleshed variety. Do not use new potatoes, however, as they are too waxy and won’t cook up creamy and delicious in the oven. The herb paste may be made the night before and refrigerated. And the entire dish may be assembled ahead of time and kept in the refrigerator under plastic wrap for up to 6 hours. Bring it back to room temperature before placing in the hot oven.
| SHOWN HERE | SERVES 4
SEA SALT AND FRESHLY GROUND BLACK PEPPER
4 LARGE OR 6 SMALL CLOVES GARLIC, COARSELY CHOPPED
4 GREEN ONIONS, WHITE AND PALE GREEN PARTS ONLY, MINCED
LEAVES FROM 1-INCH ROSEMARY SPRIG, COARSELY CHOPPED
LEAVES FROM 3 FRESH THYME SPRIGS, COARSELY CHOPPED
3 LARGE YUKON GOLD POTATOES, THINLY SLICED
4 (6-OUNCE) STRIPED BASS STEAKS, ¾ TO 1 INCH THICK
4 TOMATOES,
PEELED AND HALVED THROUGH
THE EQUATOR
SEA SALT AND FRESHLY GROUND BLACK PEPPER
4 TO 6 TABLESPOONS EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL
Fill a saucepan with salted water and bring to a boil over high heat. While the water is heating, make the herb paste. In a mortar, combine a small amount each of salt and pepper and the garlic and grind together with a pestle until a paste forms. Add the green onions, parsley, rosemary, and thyme and work together with the garlic paste. Alternatively, in a blender, combine all of the paste ingredients and process until everything is well chopped and mixed together. Do not overprocess the paste. It should have some texture. Set the paste aside.
Preheat the oven to 425°F. Oil the bottom of a 12-inch-diameter and 3-inch-deep cazuela with olive oil.
When the water is boiling, add the potato slices and boil for 8 to 10 minutes, until barely cooked. Drain the potatoes in a colander and then lay them in a single layer on a kitchen towel to cool.
Arrange the potato slices in the bottom of the prepared cazuela, covering it completely and evenly. Place the fish steaks on top the potatoes and tuck the tomato halves, cut side up, between the pieces of fish. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Spoon some of the herb paste onto each tomato half and fish steak.
Roast the fish and potatoes, basting the fish 3 or 4 times during cooking, for 15 to 20 minutes, until the potatoes are fork-tender and the fish is just falling off the bone. If the fish is ready and the potatoes have a way to go, transfer the fish to a warmed platter and keep warm while you finish cooking the potatoes. It is better if the potatoes are overdone and the fish is underdone, so always blanch the potatoes more than you think you should.
Serve the fish and potatoes directly from the cazuela. Be sure to spoon some of the sauce from the bottom of the cazuela over the fish and potatoes on each diner’s plate.
WITH GARLIC, ONIONS, AND SHERRY
If you are a hunter, this is a great way to cook game birds. You can make this recipe with any medium or small birds or bird parts: pigeons, ducks, quail, partridge, pheasant breasts, Cornish game hens, bone-in chicken breasts, or chickens split into halves or quarters. Roasting the meat over sherry-braised onions and garlic makes it juicy and flavorful. Cooking times will, of course, vary. Quail will cook the fastest, it depends on size with squab and pheasant, and wild duck will cook much quicker than domestic duck.
Cooking in a cazuela is something you want to do on a slow, lazy cooking-at-home day. If you are in a hurry, you can prepare this dish in a covered sauté pan over medium heat. The onions should be ready in no more than 10 to 15 minutes. Just remember to uncover the pan and give them a stir every now and again. If you don’t have a cazuela and you are not in a rush, use a paella pan or a large sauté pan. You want something with short sides for evaporation and large enough so that the birds are not too crowded.
When the thyme in my garden is in bloom, I stuff handfuls of it into the cavities of the birds. When you serve the birds, you can pull out the darkened thyme sprigs or leave them in. You can also choose to reduce the braising juices or leave them lighter, more like a broth. I prefer a broth consistency so that I can sop it up with slices of crusty bread.
| SHOWN HERE | SERVES 4
SEA SALT AND FRESHLY GROUND BLACK PEPPER
16 TO 24 FRESH THYME SPRIGS (4 TO 6 SPRIGS PER BIRD)
6 TABLESPOONS EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL
1 HEAD GARLIC, SEPARATED INTO CLOVES, LOOSE SKINS REMOVED, AND ROOT END ON EACH CLOVE TRIMMED
2 YELLOW ONIONS, HALVED THROUGH THE STEM END AND THINLY SLICED INTO CRESCENTS (ABOUT 1½ CUPS)
1½ CUPS DRY SHERRY
EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL, UNSALTED BUTTER, OR RENDERED DUCK FAT, FOR THE BIRDS
Rinse each bird under cold running water and pat dry with paper towels. Season the birds inside and out with salt and pepper and place 4 to 6 thyme sprigs in the cavity of each bird. Let the birds rest at room temperature for 30 minutes before cooking, or cover and refrigerate overnight.
Set a large cazuela on the stove top, turn on the heat to the lowest setting, and pour in the olive oil. Add the garlic and onions, sprinkle with a little salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 45 minutes to 1½ hours, until sweet and lightly golden. If you are using a sauté pan or paella pan, start the garlic and onions over medium heat and cook for about 10 minutes, until the onions are sweet and slightly golden, then decrease the heat and continue to cook for about 15 minutes, until tender.
About 20 minutes before the garlic and onions are ready, preheat the oven to 450°F. If you have a convection oven, preheat it to 425°F. (I have also cooked these birds in a covered Big Green Egg barbecue grill and in a wood-fired oven.)
Pour in the sherry and increase the heat a little. When the sherry comes to a boil, remove from the heat and arrange the birds, breast side down, on top of the onions and garlic. Drizzle olive oil over each bird or smear with butter or duck fat and pop into the oven. Roast for 20 minutes, then flip the birds over and roast for another 10 to 15 minutes, basting at least 3 or 4 times during cooking. Remove the birds from the oven when they are golden brown and delicious.
You can plate each bird with a mound of onions and several spoonfuls of the sauce, or you can arrange the birds and onions on a large platter and pass the sauce separately. Alternatively, place the cazuela right on the table, being sure to protect the tabletop from the hot dish.
BECAUSE I DON’T LIKE TO WASTE ANY PART OF THE BIRD, I MAKE A
STOCK FROM THE
SQUAB TRIMMINGS. FIRST, RINSE THE RESERVED TRIMMINGS UNDER COLD WATER AND PLACE THEM IN A SMALL SAUCEPAN. ADD WATER OR
CHICKEN STOCK JUST TO COVER (1 TO 2 CUPS). ADD A FEW YELLOW ONION SLICES, A BAY LEAF OR TWO, A FEW PEPPERCORNS, AND THE STEMS OF ANY HERBS FROM A DISH YOU MIGHT ME MAKING AT THE SAME TIME. BRING TO A BOIL OVER HIGH HEAT, DECREASE THE HEAT TO LOW, AND SIMMER FOR 30 MINUTES OR SO. IF YOU DON’T NEED THE BROTH RIGHT AWAY, LET IT COOL AND STORE IT IN THE FREEZER FOR UP TO 2 MONTHS.
IF THE SAUCE STARTS TO REDUCE TOO MUCH WHEN YOU ARE ROASTING THE SQUABS, ADD SOME OF THIS STOCK. IF YOU NEED A THICKER SAUCE, KEEP THE BIRDS WARM, POUR THE JUICES INTO A LITTLE SAUCEPAN, ADD SOME OF THIS STOCK, AND REDUCE OVER HIGH HEAT. YOU CAN FINISH THE SAUCE WITH A LITTLE BUTTER, BUT THAT TAKES THE DISH TO A DIFFERENT LEVEL—NO LONGER SIMPLE AND RUSTIC.
WITH WARM HONEY AND WALNUTS
It seems in every country you can find a dish that combines cheese or a fermented milk product, honey, and nuts. Here, I mix fresh ricotta cheese with crème fraîche to make a light dessert that has a consistency reminiscent of cheesecake but without all of the work. You will need to use a high-quality ricotta. On the West Coast, Bellwether Farms makes two types, from Jersey cow’s milk and from sheep’s milk, either of which would be good. Top-quality farmer cheese can be used in place of the ricotta.
Warm the honey just before serving and give the nuts a hint of toasting. Don’t brown the nuts too much or you won’t taste the cheese. Walnuts are traditional, but you can also use salted Marcona almonds. Their saltiness delivers a nice contrast to the sweet honey and rich ricotta cheese.
In summer, serve this with fresh berries scattered about or strawberry jam or orange marmalade instead of the honey, if you prefer. For serving, I use shallow, miniature
cazuelas from Spain that hold just ⅓ cup. I like the contrast of the caramel color of the
cazuelas against the white cheese, but any small ramekins or cups will work. You can make this dessert the night before serving, but it goes together so quickly that you won’t feel pressured making it just before dinner.
| SHOWN HERE | SERVES 4
1 CUP FRESH RICOTTA CHEESE
⅓ CUP CRÈME FRAÎCHE
½ CUP FLAVORFUL HONEY (SUCH AS BLACKBERRY, POPULAR IN NAPA, OR ORANGE BLOSSOM)
In a bowl, whisk together the ricotta and crème fraîche just until combined. Spoon into ramekins and smooth the tops, then cover and chill until serving.
When ready to serve, heat the honey just until warm. Pour a little of the warm honey over each filled ramekin and top with the nuts. Serve while the honey is warm.
